About
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was federated in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 by the Presbyterian Church, and the Case Institute of Technology, founded in 1880. Case Western Reserve University comprises eight schools that offer more than 100 undergraduate programs and about 160 graduate and professional options across fields in STEM, medicine, arts, and the humanities. In 2024, the university enrolled 12,475 students from all 50 states and 106 countries and employed more than 1,182 full-time faculty members. The university's athletic teams, Case Western Reserve Spartans, play in NCAA Division III as a founding member of the University Athletic Association.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 4.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 206 Title IV programs, 32 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 174 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing32 · 15.5%
- No Data174 · 84.5%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Higher Learning Commission
Programmatic accreditations · 28
Action history · 58
- Nov 2025Renewal of AccreditationLiaison Committee on Medical Education · Medicine (MED) - Programs leading to the M.D. degree
- Aug 2025Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Endodontics
- Aug 2025Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Post Doctoral - Advanced dental education programs (advanced education in general dentistry and general practice residency)
- Aug 2025Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Periodontics
- Aug 2025Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Pediatric Dentistry
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 1,251 students received $7.8M in Pell grants, alongside $120.4M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 1,935 borrowers who entered repayment, 16 (0.8%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Case Western Reserve
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 12
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus60
- Public property31
Includes 10 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
- Clarke Tower1 fireOtherDamage $100-$999
Data quality: 1 report was later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Case Western Reserve vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Case Western Reserve selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectCase Western Reserve University | 87% | — | 12,475 | $38,909 | R1 Research |
| 94% | 11.7% | 15,888 | $31,671 | R1 Research | |
| 91% | 10.6% | 15,175 | $23,911 | R1 Research | |
| 94% | 6.4% | 30,210 | $18,161 | R1 Research | |
| 96% | 4.5% | 18,566 | $18,967 | R1 Research | |
| 85% | 40.1% | 11,946 | $30,248 | R1 Research | |
| 94% | 5.9% | 13,575 | $19,040 | R1 Research | |
| 94% | 12.1% | 16,357 | $22,117 | R1 Research | |
| Peer group median | 94% | 10.6% | 15,532 | $23,014 |
Institutions like Case Western Reserve
Explore the federal data for institutions in Case Western Reserve's comparison group.
- R1 ResearchPennsylvania
Carnegie Mellon University
Grad rate94%Admit rate11.7%Enrollment15,888Net price$31,671View data - R1 ResearchGeorgia
Emory University
Grad rate91%Admit rate10.6%Enrollment15,175Net price$23,911View data - R1 ResearchMaryland
Johns Hopkins University
Grad rate94%Admit rate6.4%Enrollment30,210Net price$18,161View data - R1 ResearchIllinois
University of Chicago
Grad rate96%Admit rate4.5%Enrollment18,566Net price$18,967View data - R1 ResearchNew York
University of Rochester
Grad rate85%Admit rate40.1%Enrollment11,946Net price$30,248View data - R1 ResearchTennessee
Vanderbilt University
Grad rate94%Admit rate5.9%Enrollment13,575Net price$19,040View data - R1 ResearchMissouri
Washington University in St Louis
Grad rate94%Admit rate12.1%Enrollment16,357Net price$22,117View data
Case Western Reserve Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The Institutional Research page at Case Western Reserve University provides contact information, highlights key resources such as the Common Data Set and the Interactive Factbook, and offers links for data requests and surveys. It also lists key links relevant to university facts and surveys.
Visit IR office page- Edward Bolden, PhDDirector of Institutional Research
- Ken Tubbs, MEdInstitutional Research Analyst
Common Data Set
Case Western Reserve's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Reports & documents (2)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
Notable alumni of Case Western Reserve (17)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Craig NewmarkBusiness
- Richard ThalerEconomics
- Don ThomasAstronautics
- Fred GrayLaw
- Herbert Henry DowChemistry
- Ferid MuradMedicine
- Donald A. GlaserPhysics
- Frederick ReinesPhysics
- Albert A. MichelsonPhysics
- Paul BuchheitTechnology
- Donald KnuthComputer Science
- Paul BergChemistry
Frequently asked questions about Case Western Reserve University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Case Western Reserve.
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