Frequently Asked Questions

Regenerative medicine is defined as therapeutic advancement with stem cells.

Students who pursue a degree in Regenerative Medicine have many avenues to go into including going for advanced education, research, business, and law. 

Learn more about each pursuit here. 

The masters program offers an opportunity to discover different sides to the field of regenerative medicine. While students pursuing a PhD would be fully immersed in the research side, this provides an avenue for students to give them career exploration and flexibility. Neither one is better than the other, it all just depends on what the students need from a program.  

Our full-time students complete the 30-credit hour master's degree in two years.

You do not need a PhD, MD, or even an MD/PhD to work in the field! Depending on the student's previous studies and experiences they can acquire a Masters to help them get the necessary exposure to work in regenerative medicine.   

At this time we do not have an MD/MS agreement with the CWRU Medical School. Without an agreement like this in place, it would be too difficult for a student to complete this program while attending Medical School. 

The majority of our students come in with an undergraduate degree in subjects like Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology, Cell Biology, and Immunology. With that said we do have some students who come in with more of a business and pre-law background apply for the program. 

The program was founded in 2019 and is excited to be one of the first programs of its kind to mix the disciplines of regenerative medicine with business. 

Students are asked to apply by one of our deadlines January 15, March 15, April 15, or July 15 for consideration into the program. For international students the final deadline is April 15 for consideration into the program. There is an online application portal that students can apply through for the program.

Select School of Medicine, Masters and then Regenerative Medicine and Entrepreneurship to start your application.

For our application, we require all college transcripts, a personal essay, and two letters of recommendation.

You can find information about our application requirements here. 

The best time to apply to our program is by our Round 2 application deadline on March 15 to give students ample time to prepare for the Fall start. 

The Application Pre-Screening process gives students a chance to have their application reviewed by the program director before officially submitting their application into the program. If a student takes the time to submit a Pre-Screening request they also will receive an application fee waiver. 

Look at the steps here. 

The average age of an applicant is between the ages of 22-26.

We have a healthy split of interest from students from the United States and students coming from abroad. Representing 11 states and territories within the US and 9 different countries.

The majority of our students come in with an undergraduate degree in subjects like Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology, Cell Biology, and Immunology. 

You can find out more about our enrolled students here. 

Class sizes will vary depending on which department you are taking them through. Courses through RGME will be your full cohort while electives will be a mix of students from your cohort and other programs through the law or business schools and the college of arts and sciences. 

While the program is committed to having its students gain outside experiences from either research, internships, or a combination of the two. We want students to discover which is better for them and their career path when deciding which route to take. 

The majority of your time will be spent in a classroom gaining foundational knowledge about Regenerative Medicine and its intersections with business and law. This is in preparation for your research experience or internship. 

Your foundational classes in RGME and some biomedical electives will be taught through the School of Medicine. While your other electives will be taught through other CWRU schools. 

You will be jointly advised by Dr. Bonfield and Ms. Prestage as you navigate through your courses, internships, and research experiences. 

The academic year for the program begins in the Fall term and typically ends at the completion of the Spring term. However, some students will take an internship course during the summer term to fully immerse themselves in that experience. 

Your classes will be taken in a variety of locations depending on which electives you choose to take. These can be in the business or law schools or over in the various medical and science buildings across campus. 

Yes, international students are welcome to apply to our Masters program! They will just need to complete an application by April 15. 

International students are required upon admission to submit a course-by-course transcript evaluation from WES for all international transcripts. All admission without this submitted will be conditional. For further information on this look at our graduate studies website for all international student requirements. 

If the student was taught at an English-speaking university then we would waive the TOEFL exam requirement. For further information on this look at our graduate studies website for all international student requirements. 

While federal loans are for students who are considered United States Citizens or Permanent Residences. International students are encouraged to apply for aid from other sources within their home country, and other scholarship providers. 

You can find more information about those recourses here.  

Many grad students live in the Coventry neighborhood of Cleveland Heights, which is a 20-minute walk from campus. This neighborhood has a supermarket as well as many restaurants and bars. Another popular neighborhood is Little Italy (a 10-minute walk from campus). Some students live in Shaker Square, which is a 10-minute bus ride from campus.

The University runs shuttle buses (free for students) that have regular routes around campus. Cleveland's public transport system (RTA) includes a rapid transit train that stops on campus, providing easy access to many popular destinations (i.e. airport, downtown, West Side Market). RTA also has a bus system that serves the city and suburbs.

Cleveland’s neighborhoods reflect the people from many countries and cultures who settled in the city, including Indian, Arabic, Chinese, Puerto Rican, and Russian, to name a few. International students make up 10-15% of the students in our biomedical graduate programs. Many students participate in the community and activities in the Minority Graduate Student Organization in the School of Medicine.