The first academic programs in Clinical Research were developed in the late 1990s. Those early programs were successful in providing a pipeline of new, highly qualified graduates to the clinical research enterprise. With the increasing number and complexity of clinical trials and the severe shortage of qualified new clinical research professionals, these graduates continue to be highly sought after today.

Clinical Research has thus become a recognized academic discipline, and there are more than 50 academic programs in the US and more than 50 in other parts of the world.