A program leading to the Master of Science degree in Pathology is available to laboratory technicians who are employed by Case Western Reserve University. Students in this program must be full-time university employees and must have the agreement of their supervisor to begin studies as a part-time student. Courses are available as an employee fringe benefit (up to 6 credits per semester for Fall and Spring; up to 3 credits for Summer) and can only be taken as limited by the fringe benefit regulations.
A formal application for this program must be submitted to the graduate school. Prior to submission of this application, the employee, the supervisor, and the MS Program Director must meet to review and facilitate the student's application for admission.
This program can lead to an MS degree through the Plan A option. Required core courses include IBMS 453 (4 credits), IBMS455 (4 credits), PATH 510 (4 credits), and participation in the seminar course (PATH 511 and/or PATH 512) for at least one semester. IBMS 453, IBMS 455 and PATH 510 must be taken as graded courses (not P/F).
Plan A requires a minimum of 30 total coursework credits. The student must take a minimum of 6 credits of PATH 651 Thesis, which involves research in the laboratory of the supervisor (who serves as the MS Thesis Mentor) and thesis preparation. The student must register for at least one credit of PATH 651 every semester until graduation. A GPA of 3.0 or better must be maintained. An MS thesis must be prepared based on the research, and the student must pass an MS Degree Examination in which the thesis is defended.
The MS Degree Examination Committee is chaired by the MS-A Co-Director and includes two other trainers in the Pathology Graduate Program. Members of the committee must be approved by the MS Program Director. Successful completion requires unanimous agreement of the committee members that the candidate has passed the examination. A student must be registered for at least one credit of PATH 651 during the semester in which the MS Degree Examination is completed.