Career in Clinical Research Courses in India 2025-26: Admission, Course, Eligibility, Colleges, Jobs, and Salary

Career in Clinical Research Courses in India: Engineering and MBBS have become everyone’s choice when choosing a career after the 12^th. But most of you may not have given any thought to Clinical Research, although it is a very demanding branch of Medical Research. It helps you to be a part of research centres for drugs and medicines. This article will give you an inside review of the Clinical research careers and clinical research jobs available after clinical research courses.

The Indian Government’s mandate that each medicine must undergo examination by a clinical researcher before being introduced to the market significantly increased the demand for clinical researchers.

Recent surveys have shown that around 60,000 clinical professionals are required to make this rule a reality. In this article, you will find all information related to Clinical Research and Clinical Research Investigators.

What is Clinical Research?

Clinical research, a vital branch of healthcare science, focuses on investigating the safety and effectiveness of medications, devices, diagnostic products, and treatments intended for human use. Through clinical research, the most effective methods for preventing and treating various diseases are determined.

A practitioner of Clinical Research who has undergone training in clinical research courses is commonly referred to as a Clinical Research Investigator. The field of Clinical Research is typically divided into three main categories:

• Patient-Oriented research
• Epidemiologic and Behavioral research
• Health Service research

The experiments are done with a test article subjected to pre-clinical studies or animal studies.

How to Become a Clinical Research Investigator?

Those with a Life science or Pharmacy background can take a PhD in different Clinical Research Courses. Students having Research degrees have numerous areas to choose from in the Clinical research field.

A sample of state and privately funded Colleges in India offer different clinical research courses. Getting admission to a college that provides clinical research is not that challenging compared to other pure medical degrees like MBBS.

Various Clinical Research Courses in India

To work as a Clinical Research Investigator, one can earn a degree by following a clinical research course. A Bachelor’s Degree in life sciences or pharmacy is a must to enter this field.

Course Name	Duration
Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research	1 year
Bachelor of Science in Clinical Research	3 years
Master of Science in Clinical Research	2 year
Certificate in Clinical Research	6 months

Eligibility Criteria for Clinical Research Courses

The following are the eligibility criteria for clinical research courses:

Particulars	Description
Qualification	10+2 in the science stream (physics, chemistry, and biology) from a recognised school or board in India.
Qualifying Marks	Candidates should score a minimum of 50% aggregate marks.

Clinical Research Courses Syllabus

Here in this section, we provide detailed information about the Clinical research courses curriculum for diploma, certification, or PG courses. Let’s have a look.

Particular	Courses Syllabus
Diploma	Basic Safety Clinical Trial Planning and Design Clinical Research Guidelines and Regulations Pharmacovigilance Clinical Trial Conduct, Compliance and Quality Assurance Clinical Research Management Data Analysis and Management in Clinical Research
PG Diploma in Clinical Research	Module 1: Introduction to clinical research Module 2: Pharmacology and drug development Module 3: Ethics and Guidelines in Clinical Research Module 4: Regulation in Clinical Research Module 5: Clinical Trial Management Module 6: Clinical Data Management & Biostatistics

BSc Clinical Research Curriculum

Semester I	Semester II
Spoken English	Advanced Spoken English
Management Concepts	Organizational Behaviour And Human Resource Management
Accounting-I	Pharmacology-I
Fundamentals Of Clinical Research	Marketing Management
Introduction To Health Care	Health, Hospital And Drug Administration
Mind Management And Human Values	Medical Therapeutics-I
Semester III	Semester IV
Communicative English	Research Methodology
Analytical And Clinical Biochemistry	Pharmacology-II
Basics of Biostatistics	Fundamentals of Clinical Trials Operations
Bioethics And Bio Safety	Global Regulations Of Clinical Trial
Preclinical Studies	Environmental Studies
Business Application-Excel	Molecular Diagnostics
Medical Therapeutics-II
Semester V	Semester VI
Fundamentals of Pharmacovigilance and safety reporting	Medical Records Management
Clinical Data Management	Basic Epidemiology
Medical writing	Quality In Healthcare and Total Quality Management
Project Management	Ethics In Clinical Research
Healthcare Administration	Hospital Management And Law
SAS Training	Soft Skills & Personality Development Training
Minor Project as per approved topic	Internship Training & Reporting
	Major Project As Per Approved Topic

Top Colleges in India Offering Clinical Research

Many colleges in India offer this course. A few of them are:

College Name	Location
Indian Institute of Clinical Research (ICRI)	Mumbai
Asian Institute of Health Sciences	Mumbai
Jamia Hamdard University	New Delhi
Saveetha University	Gurgaon
ICBIO Clinical Research	Bangalore

Clinical Research Job Opportunities

Recent regulatory changes have a profound impact on the lives of Clinical Research Investigators. According to recent studies, the Clinical Research field, which currently experiences a business growth of approximately 250 crores, is projected to soar to around 5000 crores. This profession offers Investigators the potential for substantial income, akin to that of doctors.

Numerous sectors, including Pharma Industries, Biotech Companies, and Research Labs, have created job opportunities for clinical investigators. Within the realm of Clinical Research, various positions are available, including:

• Clinical Research Associate (CRA)
• Clinical Research Managers (CRM)
• Clinical Research Coordinator (CRO)
• Counselors
• Project Manager

Job Profile

Job Profile	Job Role
Biostatistician	Combines mathematics, statistics and science to arrive at the best possible solutions to the problems in the public health sector.
Clinical Research Associate	Collects and preserves the data obtained during various trials and studies conducted to know more about the issues in the public health sector.
Clinical Research Coordinator	Develops, implements and coordinates research and administrative procedures for successfully managing clinical trials.

Roles of a Clinical Researcher

• Develop and write trial protocols.
• Present trial protocols to a steering committee.
• Design data collection forms, known as case report forms (CRFs).
• Coordinate with the ethics committee, which safeguards all trial subjects’ rights, safety, and well-being.
• Manage regulatory authority applications and approvals that oversee the research and marketing of new and existing drugs.
• Identify and assess the suitability of facilities to use as the clinical trial site.
• Identify/select an investigator who will be responsible for conducting the trial at the trial site.
• Work with doctors, consultants or investigators on conducting the trial.
• Set up the trial sites – ensuring each centre has the trial materials, including the trial drug, often known as the investigational medicinal product (IMP).
• Train the site staff to trial-specific industry standards.
• Monitor the trial throughout its duration, which involves visiting the trial sites regularly and dealing with and solving any issues.
• Verify that data entered into the CRFs is consistent with patient clinical notes, known as source data/document verification (SDV).
• Collect completed CRFs from hospitals and general practices.
• Write visit reports and file and collate trial documentation and reports.

Skills of a Clinical Researcher

• Clinical Research Knowledge
• Skills for Analysis
• Skills for Laboratory
• Confident Student
• Patience and attention
• Coordinating and Cooperating Skills

Average Salary

The following are the average salary for the clinical research courses:

Job Profile	Average Salary
Biostatistician	Rs 2.50 LPA
Clinical Research Associate	Rs 3 LPA
Clinical Research Coordinator	Rs 2 LPA