If you’re already confident in what you want to do post-graduation, check our programs and tracks that will help you graduate ready to take on the next phase of your education and career. We offer a Pre-Professional Scholars Program, which grants conditional admission to our dental or medical schools, or specific tracks that prepare you for careers ranging from architecture to teaching.
Pre-Professional Scholars Program
The Pre-Professional Scholars Program (PPSP) grants undergraduate admission and conditional admission to Case Western Reserve's School of Medicine or School of Dental Medicine.
Admission to PPSP is highly competitive. Outstanding students who are not selected for the program still may be considered for undergraduate admission to Case Western Reserve; many choose to enroll in the first-year class.
Note: PPSP is an application plan for first-year students and differs from our combined graduate study programs; we offer a number of combined degree programs to which you can apply after admission.
8-year medicine program
The average Pre-Professional Scholar in Medicine candidate:
- Pursued a challenging course of study in high school
- Presented academic credentials that would rank among our most competitive applicants for admission
- Engaged in meaningful volunteering and shadowing experiences to gain exposure to medicine
- Was a recognized leader in their school and community
- Participated in a range of extracurricular activities
- Demonstrated care and concern for others
As a Pre-Professional Scholar, you must complete your bachelor's degree before beginning professional studies. If you complete your undergraduate degree requirements in fewer than four years, you are required to pursue other significant experiences to enhance your professional and/or personal development, such as:
- Research
- Study abroad
- Additional undergraduate coursework
- Graduate coursework
7-year dental program
As an interested student in our dental program, you must take the Dental Admission Test (DAT) and earn an average score of 18 or higher on both the academic and perceptual ability sections. You also must complete the prerequisite courses for dental medicine school.
Applying to the Pre-Professional Scholars Program
To apply to the Pre-Professional Scholars Program, select Regular Decision or Early Decision I as your preferred admission plan. Later in the application, you can indicate your interest in applying for PPSP.
If you apply Regular Decision and are not selected as a PPSP finalist, you can be considered under the Regular Decision admission plan.
If you apply as a PPSP candidate under Early Decision I, you commit to attending Case Western Reserve if admitted to the undergraduate program—regardless of whether you are selected as a finalist for PPSP. You must make this commitment before you would know about your status with PPSP.
Pre-Professional Tracks
Pre-professional tracks complement the university's nearly 100 majors and minors and ensure your academics and extracurriculars best prepare you for your next step. (Or, if you want to start a dual-degree program, see our combined graduate study program options.)
Pre-medicine
Whatever your major, you can gain laboratory or clinical experience at some of the nation’s top health care institutions.
Learning Opportunity
Top hospitals within walking distance of campus drive advanced research and raise the bar for patient care. Our exciting environment teems with learning opportunities: You can shadow a pediatrician at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, work on fertility research at Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Reproductive Medicine, volunteer at the Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland, get emergency-room experience at MetroHealth Medical Center or work with veterans at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, just to name a few options.
Teachers, mentors, support team
Your instructors act as mentors and advisors throughout your undergraduate career. They’ll help you find internships and research opportunities suited to your strengths and interests. Their support also means compelling recommendation letters to support your medical school applications.
The research advantage
Work at the cutting edge of the sciences with our faculty members, who welcome undergraduate participants on their research teams. Co-author a paper or design and carry out an independent research project all with guidance from a faculty member invested in your success.
On to medical school
Over the past three years, more than 500 of our undergraduate students have started at medical schools such as:
- Duke University
- University of Michigan
- New York University
- Northwestern University
- University of Pittsburgh
- Vanderbilt University
- Washington University in St. Louis
Pre-architecture
Prepare for graduate-level architectural studies as you get to know the forms, functions and history of architecture—all while gaining hands-on experience in the studio.
Practical study
As a pre-architecture student, you'll gain inspiration and practical knowledge from experiences in and out of the classroom, including field trips, studio time, site visits and research of local and regional architecture. Discussions cover the impact of architectural elements, problems related to architectural scale, relationships between structures, and the encompassing visual world and historic and contemporary architects, engineers and firms.
Pre-law
Prepare for a law career and get familiar with a top-ranked law school before your undergraduate years are even over. Pre-law students gain extra advantages: Cleveland is home to one of the country’s top legal and business centers, the site of four of the nation’s top 50 law firms and ranks fourth in the U.S. for the number of Fortune 500 company headquarters.
Learn from experts
Undergraduate students routinely take law school courses as upper-division electives. Plus, a number of CWRU undergraduate faculty also teach in the School of Law. Along with small class sizes, this means that law professors and advisors will know you well enough to write strong letters of recommendation that distinguish you from the pack of law school applicants nationwide.
Real results
Our pre-law students enroll in some of the country’s top law schools, including:
- University of Virginia
- Columbia University
- New York University
- Yale University
- College of William & Mary
- Ohio State University
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Music Teacher Education
The curriculum in Music Education prepares students for careers as band, orchestra, choir, and general music teachers. Graduates are eligible for the Multi-Age PK-12 License in Music in Ohio. Over 40 states have a reciprocity agreement with Ohio for the Music Education License.
The teacher licensure program at Case Western Reserve University is accredited by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and the Ohio Department of Higher Education. The teacher education unit is nationally accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).