7 - Master’s degree programs

Abstract

So, you want to be a part of a drug hunting enterprise? Congratulations—saving lives is addictive! Most likely you will follow traditional educational routes, even in an age of creative destruction and innovation. Training in liberal arts is important, but if you plan to practice chemistry, study chemistry. Patent attorneys are another variation on the technical theme. The higher your degree, the more alternatives you are likely to have. The later the stage of your work, the more you will benefit from knowledge of project management and regulatory affairs. To practice medicine, you need a medical degree, but consider allied professions including pharmacy and nursing. People good at translating biology to chemists or vice versa, or similarly between the sciences and medicine or business, can be especially valuable team members and leaders. While chemical and biomedical training dominates laboratory-based biotech/pharma research and development divisions, economics and other financial degrees or sales and marketing experience are more common in business and operations. Ethics surfaces too, especially when patients are involved. Given a cast of thousands from idea to market, there must be a good role for you to play, whether it’s with a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Public Health, or one of the several possible Master of Science programs! And lifelong learning will be essential. From all of these perspectives, a Master’s degree may be just the right degree for what you want to do and what biotech/pharma research and development needs.