{"id":18127,"date":"2026-09-06T11:14:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T11:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/?page_id=18127---b0fd693c-63c4-4074-aaa3-32bf87c0cfe5"},"modified":"2026-10-02T11:58:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T11:58:57","slug":"medical-degree-involvement-clinical-research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/nursing-degrees\/medical-degree-involvement-clinical-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Do I Need to Have a Medical Degree to be Involved in Clinical Research?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Most people think of clinical researchers as medical doctors performing clinical trials with pharmaceutical or medical device companies, but what is clinical research? Clinical research is the study of health and illness in people and ways to prevent, diagnose and treat illness. It is conducted by medical doctors, but many other researchers are involved in the entire process. Clinical research is performed to learn more about disease and improve healthcare for people in the future. Such a huge project allows for an umbrella of people with various skills, backgrounds, and education to become involved. <\/span>According to the National Institute of Health<\/a> (NIH), clinical research involves epidemiology, behavioral health, health sciences, and clinical trials.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Education needed for clinical research<\/b><\/h3>\n

Education is the first thing to consider to become involved in clinical research. Undergraduate and graduate schools are both options and students can choose between three pathways. The first is to gain a bachelor\u2019s degree in a health-related field and then get certified as a Clinical Research Associate (CRA) or Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC). CRAs supervise clinical trials and work closely with other administrators to monitor progress and ethical standards. CRCs perform clinical trials and follow the guidelines of good practice and uphold ethical standards. Both CRAs and CRCs work under the supervision of the principal investigator. The second pathway is to obtain a Master\u2019s level degree in clinical research or similar field. The third way to consider is to complete a medical doctorate and\/or PhD for the highest educational degree offered for clinical research.<\/span><\/p>\n

Essentially, undergraduate degrees related to biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pre-medicine, nursing, health science, or biotechnology are good stepping stones to begin a career in clinical research.<\/b> The following undergraduate degrees are directly related to clinical research and are offered at various universities around the United States:<\/span><\/p>\n