Phone: 216.368.5296
Anthony Saar, MEd, Director, PRIME Program
prime@case.edu
Credential: Post-Baccalaureate Certificate
Field of Study: Readiness Instruction for Biomedical Education
Program Overview
PRIME is a post-baccalaureate certificate (non-degree) program for students who need additional preparation to have a competitive application for MD or DO programs.
This program is designed for two types of students:
- Career changers - students who have not yet completed all their pre-med requirements.
- Academic enhancers - students who need to improve their undergraduate GPA and their foundation in key pre-med content.
Key features of this program include:
- A highly flexible and individually tailored program of study providing each student the preparation that they need to be competitive applicants
- A dedicated program director who has experience advising for medical school admissions and who meets regularly with students one-on-one
- Problem-based Clinical Inquiry (IQ) coursework designed to give students exposure to medical terminology and clinical reasoning and develop professional growth via self-reflection
- Specialized Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) preparatory course designed to comprehensively review all MCAT content areas, as well as testing methods.
- Diverse opportunities for shadowing, volunteering, and research in affiliation with 4 world-class health systems (The Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, VA Medical Center, and MetroHealth Medical Center)
- Opportunity to interview with the CWRU School of Medicine for select students
Graduate Policies
For graduate policies and procedures, please review the School of Graduate Studies section of the General Bulletin.
Program Requirements
The PRIME program is highly flexible. To earn the certificate, students must complete at least 24 credit hours. A program of study must be approved by the program director. Each student will work closely with the program director to tailor the program to their needs. Based on previous coursework taken, some students may need to take more than 24 credit hours to complete the prerequisite courses for medical school and earn the PRIME certificate. This program can be completed in 1-2 years, depending on a student's individual needs.
Required Program Coursework:
Course List | Code | Title | Credit Hours |
| MGRD 310 | Introduction to Clinical Inquiry (IQ) | 3 |
| MGRD 311 | Introduction to Clinical Inquiry (IQ) II | 3 |
Required Medical School Coursework:
Course List | Code | Title | Credit Hours |
| BIOC 307 | Introduction to Biochemistry: From Molecules To Medical Science | 4 |
| BIOL 214 | Genes, Evolution and Ecology | 3 |
| BIOL 214L | Genes, Evolution and Ecology Lab | 1 |
| BIOL 215 | Cells and Proteins | 3 |
| BIOL 215L | Cells and Proteins Laboratory | 1 |
| or BIOL 216 | Development and Physiology |
| BIOL 216L | Development and Physiology Lab | 1 |
| CHEM 105 | Principles of Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 106 | Principles of Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 113 | Principles of Chemistry Laboratory | 2 |
| CHEM 223 | Introductory Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 224 | Introductory Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 233 | Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | 2 |
| CHEM 234 | Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory II | 2 |
| MATH 125 | Math and Calculus Applications for Life, Managerial, and Social Sci I | 4 |
| MATH 126 | Math and Calculus Applications for Life, Managerial, and Social Sci II | 4 |
| or STAT 201 | Basic Statistics for Social and Life Sciences |
| PHYS 115 | Introductory Physics I | 4 |
| PHYS 116 | Introductory Physics II | 4 |
| PSCL 101 | General Psychology I | 3 |
| SOCI 101 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
Students may have completed some of these required courses prior to the start of this program and thus the students would be eligible for exemption from taking these courses for the certificate. Depending on course grades, students, with approval of the program director, may waive the required courses. Students may also elect to retake these courses for reference and/or to improve their undergraduate GPA.
Elective Coursework
In consultation with the program director, students will develop the best program of study for their needs. Typically, if a student has already taken the medical school prerequisites, but needs to improve their overall undergraduate GPA, taking upper-level undergraduate courses would show more rigor compared to retaking lower-level courses. With successful grades, a student’s undergraduate GPA will also improve.
Students may take additional elective coursework across the university with program director and instructor approval. Although science and math classes will be the primary focus for most students, some students may also seek to take graduate coursework to demonstrate academic rigor. Further, some students may also elect to take other courses based on interests or a desire to improve technical skills (such as writing or language skills).
