Biomedical Engineering PhD Program Characteristics and Outcomes

As a member of the Coalition for Next Generation Life Science, Case Western Reserve University publishes statistics annually for PhD programs in the life sciences. Find more information about CWRU's PhD in Biomedical Engineering and the other Degree Programs offered through the School of Graduate Studies.

Updated December 2022

Enrollment Headcounts

  Fall 2019 Fall 2020 *COVID Fall 2021
Recipient Count (%) Count (%) Count (%)
Total 112 100% 112 100% 128 100%
       Domestic 68 61% 65 58% 69 54%
             URM 9 13% 8 7% 11 9%
       International 44 39% 47 42% 59 46%
Male 64 57% 62 55% 66 52%
Female 47 42% 50 45% 60 47%
Other 1 1% 0 0% 1 1%
Unknown 0 0% 0 0% 1 1%

Admissions

Recipient AY 2019 AY 2020 *COVID AY 2021
Applicants 164 142 173
Admits 45 25 42
Matriculants 26 19 28
Admit Rate 27% 18% 24%
Yield 58% 76% 67%

Degree Recipients

by Academic Year of Conferral

Recipient AY 2010-12 AY 2013-15 AY 2016-18
Total 53 59 29
       Domestic 27 41 19
             URM 3 6 1
       International 26 18 10
Male 39 33 18
Female 14 26 11

Median Time to Degree for Recipients

by Academic Year of Conferral

Recipient AY 2010-12 AY 2013-15 AY 2016-18
Total 4.5 5.4 5.2
       Domestic 6.7 5.6 5.3
             URM 5 5.5 4
       International 5 5.4 5.4
Male 5.5 5.6 5.6
Female 5.1 5.4 5

Cohort Completions

by Academic Year of Entry

Recipient AY 2007-09 AY 2010-12 AY 2013-15
Total Entering 61 46 65
    Retained 1 1 22
    Withdrawn 3 2 18
    Left w/ Master's 5 13 4
Total Completed 52 30 21
     Graduate in less than 4 yrs 6 6 1
     4 yrs to less than 5 yrs 10 5 8
     5 yrs to less than 6 yrs 14 15 6
     6 yrs to less than 7 yrs 16 4 6
     7yrs or more 6 0 0

Cohort Completion Rates

by Academic Year of Entry

Recipient AY 2007-09 AY 2010-12 AY 2013-15
All Recipients (graduation rate) 85% 65% 32%
       Domestic 95% 79% 71%
             URM 89% 0% 10%
       International 90% 69% 29%
Male 87% 55% 30%
Female 82% 82% 36%

Notes

  • Underrepresented Minorities (URM) includes individuals who self-identify with one or more of the following: African American/Black; Hispanic/Latino/a; Multiracial, Native American/Alaska Native, and Pacific Islander
  • Time to degree for recipients is the elapsed time between entering a graduate program and degree conferral date and includes any leaves of absence.
  • AY (Academic Year) begins in Summer and includes Fall and Spring.