School of Medicine

Program Requirements

CRSP is a Master's "Plan A" program that requires total of 36 credit hours. The curriculum includes courses and seminars specially tailored to meet the expected clinical and scholarly backgrounds of health care professionals, in addition to existing courses offered throughout Case Western Reserve University. Scholars are required to satisfactorily complete a research thesis before the award of the M.S. in Clinical Investigation. With the guidance of his/her CRSP and research mentors, the Scholar identifies a thesis committee to help shape and approve the thesis research and oversee its completion, which includes both an oral and written defense. Scholars are required to take 9 credit hours of thesis research. The CRSP program consists of three parts: formal coursework; a year-long seminar series, and an intensive mentored experience centered on a specific clinical research problem. It is based on the premise that carrying out excellent clinical research requires that the Scholar not only be firmly grounded in the professional knowledge of the discipline to be examined, but also know how to design and perform research, and to apply it to clinical practice. He/she also needs to understand how advances in areas or fields other than his/her own can be effectively incorporated. The Scholar's research mentor will provide detailed knowledge of the discipline to be examined as well as the necessary technical skills required to perform the research projects. The CRSP faculty will provide the conceptual information regarding the tools common to all forms of clinical investigation.

Core Curriculum

The curriculum of the CRSP Master's Program (CRSP MS) offers both focus and flexibility. Focus is provided through a core curriculum highlighting clinical research methods, the ethical conduct of research, and a seminar series that introduces the skills necessary for scholarly success. The core curriculum comprises only 13 of the 36 credit hours required to complete the Master's Degree; the remaining credit hours are dedicated to focused electives and mentored research.

Areas of Concentration

Scholars typically have special interests in a particular area of clinical research, both clinically and methodologically, at the time of their matriculation into the CRSP program. CRSP facilitates pursuit of different methodological interests guided by seasoned Case research faculty and addressed partly with choice of appropriate electives.