Frequently Asked Questions

Clinical research is the study of medicines, vaccines, devices and other health products in people, to find out whether they are safe and how well they work. It also studies how diseases behave, what raises the risk of disease, and how well current treatments work.

No. Lab and animal studies are pre-clinical research. Clinical research involves people — patients or healthy volunteers — usually at hospitals and research sites.

Phase 1 tests safety and dosage in about 20 to 100 healthy volunteers or patients. Phase 2 checks whether the drug works, and its side effects, in up to several hundred patients. Phase 3 confirms benefit and monitors side effects in about 300 to 3,000 patients. Phase 4 follows the medicine after it is approved and on the market.

No new medicine, vaccine or device can be approved without evidence that it is safe and works. Clinical research produces that evidence, so every new treatment depends on it.

India runs a large share of global trials thanks to its big patient population, English-speaking healthcare workforce and growing pharma industry. Global CROs, pharma companies and hospitals hire trained graduates for site, data, drug safety and programming roles.

Graduates and post-graduates in life sciences, pharmacy, medicine, nursing, physiotherapy and dentistry are eligible, once they have clinical research training.

Common first jobs are Clinical Research Coordinator, Clinical Trial Assistant, Clinical Data Coordinator, Drug Safety Associate, Medical Coder and Junior SAS Programmer. With experience you can move to CRA, data manager, safety scientist, statistical programmer, auditor, regulatory affairs or medical writing roles.

Pay depends on the role, company and city. AmbitionBox (Sep–Oct 2026) reports Clinical Research Associates in Bengaluru earning about ₹5.8–6.4 lakh a year and Clinical SAS Programmers about ₹6.4–7 lakh, both with 1–6 years of experience. Freshers usually start lower.

Clinical data management (CDM) collects, cleans and checks the data from a clinical trial so it is accurate and ready for analysis. CDM teams work at CROs, pharma companies and technology firms.

No. CDM uses software called EDC (electronic data capture), but you do not need to code. At BCRI you practise on the Clinevo EDC system. Programming is needed for Clinical SAS roles.

Pharmacovigilance, or drug safety, is the work of collecting, assessing and reporting side effects of medicines, vaccines and devices during trials and after they are on the market. Drug safety associates process these reports for pharma companies and CROs.

PG Diplomas and an Advanced Diploma in clinical research, an Advanced Certification in CRA, CRC and CDM, and certificate courses in clinical data management, pharmacovigilance, CRA/CRC, Clinical SAS, regulatory affairs, medical coding, MedDRA coding and safety databases.

It depends on your degree and goals. Diplomas suit freshers who want a broad start and an internship. Short certificates suit people who already know the role they want. Book a free demo class and an advisor will help you choose.

Both. Classes run live online or at our HSR Layout classroom in Bangalore. Clinical SAS and Advanced Regulatory Affairs are live online only.

Classes run Monday to Friday. There are no weekend batches.

New batches start every month. See upcoming batches for confirmed dates, or ask an advisor for the next start date.

Live online batches get recordings for 3 months on the BCRI app. Classroom batches are not recorded.

Our trainers have 10 to 20+ years of industry experience in clinical operations, data management, drug safety and programming.

Yes. Choose live online classes. Your advisor confirms a batch time that suits your time zone, and you can pay in US dollars.

Fees depend on the course. Every current fee, duration and mode is on the course price list. You can pay in full or in instalments, and education-loan options are available.

Fill in the online course application form. An advisor reviews it, calls you, and confirms your batch and fee.

Yes. You can attend a free demo class before you join. Book it through any enquiry form or on WhatsApp.

Diploma and Advanced Certification programmes include a 3 to 6 month internship with an SMO, CRO or hospital, mostly in Bangalore and South India. The host decides any stipend and awards the internship certificate. For online students it is optional and needs you to move to the internship city.

No. BCRI offers placement assistance — resume help, mock interviews and interview referrals — but the employer makes the hiring decision, so a job is not guaranteed. 500+ BCRI students have been placed so far.

Yes. Visit during office hours, Monday to Friday 9 AM to 6 PM or Saturday 10 AM to 3 PM. Call ahead so an advisor is free to meet you.

You receive a BCRI certificate for the course you complete. For eligible courses, BCRI’s Dual Certification also lets you earn an NSQF-aligned LSSSDC certificate by passing LSSSDC’s offline assessment.

The PG Diplomas, Advanced Diploma, Clinical Data Management, Pharmacovigilance and CRA/CRC courses. It is not offered with Clinical SAS, Medical Coding or Regulatory Affairs. The LSSSDC certificate needs you to pass the offline assessment.

BCRI is a training partner of NSDC, LSSSDC (the Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council) and Skill India, and is ISO 9001:2015 certified.

Employers can enter the certificate code, or scan the QR code on the certificate, on the verify certificate page to see the student name, course and issue date.