Programs of Study

The PhD program requires a minimum of 36 credit hours of courses beyond the BS degree AND 18 credit hours of thesis research (EBME 701).  A student's overall Program of Study must clearly demonstrate adequate depth in a field of biomedical engineering relevant to the student's research area. 

The high-level breakdown:  

36 credit hours of courses

• At least 11 credits of Core + Breadth courses

• Up to 5 credits of pre-candidacy research (EBME 601)  (Counts toward additional breadth)

• Up to 2 credits of seminars  (Counts toward additional breadth)

• At least 15 credits of Categorical courses

  • At least 6 credits of Engineering 

  • At least 6 credits of Biomedical Sciences

  • At least 3 credits of Statistics

• Additional electives as required to total 36 credit hours

18 credit hours of thesis research

• 18 credits of EBME 701

1. Note: EBME 701 can be taken at 1 credit or more to maintain full time standing in Fall and Spring semesters;  RSCH 750 can be taken at 0 credits in the summer 

2. Also note that at least 1 credit hour of EBME 701 registration is required for ALL Fall and Spring semesters, starting from the first semester you register for EBME 701 until the semester in which you defend your Ph.D and/or graduate (whichever is second); thus most students choose to start taking research credits later in their program once most of their classes have been taken. 

*   All breadth courses listed above are pass/fail (P/F) except EBME 454. A maximum of 12 P/F credits allowed (graduate credit). If you have advance standing, a maximum of 6 P/F credits is allowed.

**  If you have advanced standing (e.g., from transfer of credits from a MS or prior graduate program), there is space for only 1 cr of EBME 601.

*** Other 400+ level graduate courses may satisfy the Breadth Requirements (If you want to count a course that is not automatically registered by SIS, please submit a petition to the GEC.)

The School of Graduate Studies now tracks the programs of study using the Student Information System (SIS) that can be found at http://sis.case.edu. The "Academic Requirements" page in SIS is autofilled when students register for courses. 

The POS form is therefore now obsolete and only required  for students petitioning the GEC for exceptions to their POS. Students wishing to transfer credits from another university should petition the GEC through Canvas petitions portal. The POS forms are available here: Forms and Resources 

Using Graduate Courses from Other Institutions to Fulfill CWRU Ph.D. Requirements

For students entering with an M.S. degree, up to 18 credit hours of graduate-level coursework from other institutions can count toward Case BME Ph.D. requirements. 

The official transfer of courses (e.g., through graduate studies) is not required to fulfill program requirements and is not the typical or recommended approach. Instead, the Graduate Education Committee (GEC) typically recognizes approved graduate coursework completed elsewhere and adjusts Case BME requirements accordingly. Approval from the GEC is required, and courses must meet the following criteria:

• The course was taken at the graduate level.

• The student earned a grade of A or B.

• The course was not used to fulfill B.S. degree requirements

Petition Process for Course Recognition

To request recognition of graduate-level courses from other institutions, submit a petition through the Canvas system (canvas.case.edu). Follow these guidelines:

1. Cover Page

   • Clearly summarize the request and list all supporting documents.

   • If resubmitting, outline issues raised in the original petition and how the revised petition addresses them.

2. Proof of Graduate-Level Coursework

   • Provide evidence that the course was approved for graduate study at the original institution.

3. Proof of Exceeding B.S. Requirements

   • Show that B.S. degree requirements, including technical electives, were met independently of the requested courses.

4. Detailed Course Syllabus

   • Include information on textbooks, lecture titles, the number of lectures, and grading criteria. This allows the GEC to evaluate the course.

5. Official Transcript

   • Submit a transcript showing the course and grade earned.

6. Course Categorization

   • Specify which category the course fulfills (e.g., Engineering Concentration, Biomedical Science, or Statistics) and justify its relevance.

Important Notes:

• Do not submit original documents to your advisor or the GEC chair; keep originals for your records.

• Check Canvas regularly for comments or questions on your submission.

Exceptions to Core Courses

• There are two circumstances under which exceptions to the core courses may be given:

1. Students may test out of a core course by taking a core competency exam proctored by the core course instructor.  The credits will then be allotted to additional breadth courses to be selected by the student and their advisor/committee.

2. Students may petition the GEC to use an alternative class.  The alternative course should reflect the same principles of measurement, experimental design, modeling, physiology and/or clinical concepts already in the accepted core course it is intended to replace.  The idea is to allow students the flexibility to take courses that focus on an application more aligned with their Ph.D. thesis, while learning the same core concepts.  NOTE: students will be held to the same requirements of receiving a B or better in the course and to the same standard on the Ph.D. qualifier exams.

• The GEC will review petitions to substitute any of the core courses with a course that covers similar core material, but may be delivered in a subject matter more aligned with the students Ph.D. thesis area.  Petitions should be submitted through Canvas (canvas.case.edu) and will be granted on a case by case basis. Do not submit original documents to your advisor or to the GEC chair. ALWAYS SAVE ORIGINALS IN YOUR PERSONAL RECORDS. After submitting your POS, please check Canvas regularly to ensure that there are no questions or comments on the documentation that has been submitted.

Use of Undergraduate Courses in POS

• Undergraduate courses are typically not allowed, and undergraduate courses can never be used to fulfill the biomedical sciences or statistics/mathematical sciences requirements.  Undergraduate courses from other institutions cannot be included in the Ph.D. POS.  

• Students entering the graduate program from a field other than biomedical engineering or from another university may be required to take more than the minimum core course list set by the department.  Whether or not this is necessary will be determined by the Ph.D. Guidance Committee and the GEC.  In general, students are encouraged to craft programs of study that include the smallest number of courses necessary to satisfy all requirements.  

Courses that Count Toward Biomedical Sciences Category

• The overall Program of Study must clearly demonstrate adequate depth in an area of biomedical sciences relevant to their research area, demonstrated by including at least one biomedical sciences course that is beyond the introductory graduate level.  For students enrolled in the MSTP program, courses in the medical school curriculum typically satisfy the entire biomedical science requirements.  CWRU courses must be at the 400 and above level to satisfy the Biomedical Sciences requirement. Appendix V (4.5) lists courses that have typically been approved to fulfill the Biomedical Sciences requirement.

Courses that Count Toward Statistics Course Requirement

• At least three (3) credit hours of graduate-level courses are required whose content is primarily statistics. The courses must be at a higher level than undergraduate calculus and differential equations.   CWRU courses must be at the 400 and above level to satisfy this requirement. Courses from other universities cannot be to waive this requirement. Appendix V (4.5) lists courses that have typically been approved to fulfill the Statistics requirement.

Courses that Count Toward Seminar and Breadth Requirement

• Breath requirements: at least three (3) credit hours of additional courses to meet the breadth requirements.  These courses include the BME Departmental Seminar, the various topic seminars, EBME 570 (Professional Development). Seminars count for one half (0.5) credit per semester, and students may apply a total of four credit hours (eight semesters) from seminars towards their POS.  

• At least one full year of the BME Departmental Seminar and a topic seminar are required, although students are encouraged to continue attending these seminars over the course of their studies.  

• All students are required to take EBME 570.

Additional Elective Courses Required to Reach 36 Credit Hours

• Additional courses in the program of study could be other biomedical science courses, a biomedical scientific methodology course, a course related to translational research, a course on regulatory affairs, or other courses that clearly provide breadth in the broad area of biomedical research. The spirit of these electives is to provide additional breadth / expertise for the student related to their chosen field of study, and should be chosen in coordination their advisor / committee members.

Residency Requirement

• At some point during their Ph.D. training period, all BME Ph.D. students must be engaged full-time in Ph.D. training activities (independent dissertation research and Ph.D. coursework) for two consecutive semesters.  This activity must be primarily conducted on the CWRU campus or in a laboratory at a Case-affiliated institution (University Hospitals, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic).  “Full-time” ideally means that a Ph.D. student focuses all professional activity on their Ph.D. training program during the two-semester residency period, although a limited amount of outside activity may be permitted.  Concurrent employment will be considered on an individual basis by the Graduate Education Committee by petition.  This petition should describe how the student will engage in part-time, non-Ph.D. employment and still receive an overall training experience that is equivalent to Ph.D. students who do not have other employment obligations. 

• Note that, in most cases, students substantially exceed this minimum residency requirement.