Special Programs: Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine

This program is a 5-year program that is a collaboration between Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University that was established in 2002. It is one of three distinct medical school programs within the CWRU School of Medicine. The degree conferred is the Medical Doctor with Special Qualifications in Biomedical Research. Students train at the Health Education Campus across from Cleveland Clinic’s main entrance alongside the CWRU nursing, dental, and PA students. There is an emphasis on interdisciplinary education.

The main focus of the program is to train physician investigators. Each student has a physician advisor and a research advisor. They take a limit of 32 students per class. The curriculum is problem-based and assessment is competency-based using a portfolio. Each student gets a full-tuition scholarship. There are no lectures, grades, or class ranking. In addition to the research emphasis, there is an emphasis on medical humanities.