How to Apply to Case Western Reserve University for a Biology Degree: B.A. and B.S. in Biology, B.S. in Neuroscience and B.S. in Systems Biology, B.S. Requires Two Semesters of Research, Test-Optional, AP Biology 4 or 5 Earns BIOL 114 or 214 Credit; Admission and Prerequisites for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Students

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is in Cleveland, Ohio. Its biology degrees are offered by the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. This guide follows the department website, the College’s majors page and the admissions office, and covers U.S. domestic, international and Chinese applicants, then transfer students. The university’s General Bulletin should be consulted on the university website; the course lists, chemistry and math requirements and the conditions for declaring each major are not in the pages read, so please check with the university. The biology pages show no update date. Medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine and public health are outside this guide; see the university website.

1. Biology degrees and tracks

The department says it offers four majors and a minor:

• B.A. in Biology: provides a general background in biology and has “the most flexible scheduling” of the three biology degrees (B.A., B.S., Neuroscience); the department especially recommends it for pre-professional students, those with multiple majors, those who intend to study abroad or do an internship, and those with significant extracurricular commitments (for example varsity athletics or student government). It does not formally require research, so students interested in graduate research careers should plan at least one semester of undergraduate research as a senior-year elective.
• B.S. in Biology: a core of foundation courses with options for specialization, intended to prepare students for work as traditional bench or field research scientists. In addition to the same general background, it requires two semesters of undergraduate research, plus courses in quantitative methods (programming, statistics, data analysis) and physical chemistry. Research may be done at the university or at an affiliated institution; the department does not place students in labs. The department warns the extra coursework may make scheduling hard for students who want multiple majors, study abroad, internships or heavy extracurriculars, so early planning with the major advisor is essential.
• B.S. in Neuroscience: a collaborative major of the Department of Biology and the School of Medicine’s Department of Neurosciences, covering the nervous system at molecular, cellular and systems levels and how it controls cognition, emotions and behavior, drawing on biology, biophysics, chemistry, cognitive science, computer science, engineering, physiology and psychology. Two semesters of independent research are required.
• B.S. in Systems Biology: at the interface of mathematics, computer science and the biological sciences. It adds two core courses (modeling and analysis of biological systems) beyond the three core lecture courses of the Biology B.A. and B.S., plus foundation courses in computer science and advanced mathematics; the traditional core biology laboratory courses are not required but may be taken as electives. Undergraduate research is strongly recommended but not formally required.
• Minor in Biology: for students who study biology mainly in support of another major or to meet pre-health requirements.
• Neighboring degrees: the College’s majors page also lists Biochemistry (B.A./B.S.), Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism, and the B.A. in Chemical Biology offered by the chemistry department; they are not covered here and their requirements are not in the pages read, so see the university website.

2. Admission: you apply to the university; declaring biology is not published

• At application: students apply through the Common Application or Coalition with Scoir. The admissions pages read do not say whether you must name a major or whether biology has its own admission standard; not published there, so ask admissions.
• Review: holistic, with no minimum GPA or test score.
• Declaring biology after enrolling: the department says students who wish to declare a major in the Department of Biology should schedule an appointment with the undergraduate services coordinator. Timing and conditions (prerequisite grades, GPA, limited places) are not published on the pages read.
• Internal transfer: not published.

3. Prerequisites and course planning

• High school courses: admissions requires at least 4 years of English, 3 of math, 3 of science (2 of them laboratory science), 3 of social studies and 2 of a foreign language, and recommends an additional year of math and laboratory science for engineering or the sciences. Neither the department nor admissions says that high school biology or chemistry is required for the biology major; not published.
• AP Biology: the admissions page (applying to students entering in 2025-26; departments review credit annually and it may change) says a score of 4 earns 3 credit hours as BIOL 114, and a score of 5 earns 3 credit hours as BIOL 214 (the page adds that this credit satisfies the BIOL 114 requirement for the nursing major).
• IB Biology: HL 5, 6 or 7 earns 3 credit hours as BIOL 200-TR. IB Standard Level and A-Level biology are not listed on the pages read; not published.
• AP / IB chemistry: biology majors need chemistry; the admissions page says AP Chemistry 4 or 5 and IB Chemistry HL 5, 6 or 7 earn 4 credit hours as CHEM 111. Which chemistry and math courses each biology degree requires is not given on the pages read; see the Bulletin.
• First-year courses and labs: the department says the Biology B.A. and B.S. share three core lecture courses, with Systems Biology adding two; the pages read do not list a first-year course plan. The traditional core laboratory courses are not required for Systems Biology (see above).
• Competitions: the admissions and biology pages read do not say how biology olympiads or similar competitions are viewed in admission.

4. Timeline and materials (first-year applicants)

• Deadlines: the deadlines page prints no year, so check that it applies to fall 2027 entry. Early Action 1 November (aid documents 15 November, decision about 19 December, reply by 1 May); Early Decision I 1 November (decision about 5 December, reply by 12 December); Early Decision II 15 January (decision about 6 February, reply within a week of admission); Regular Decision 15 January (aid documents 1 February, decision about 20 March, reply by 1 May); spring entry 15 November. The Pre-Professional Scholars Program (conditional admission to the School of Medicine or School of Dental Medicine) is 1 December. Early Decision is binding: if admitted you withdraw other applications and enroll, and the agreement is signed by the student, counselor and a parent or guardian.
• How and fee: through the Common Application or Coalition with Scoir; the application fee is $75, with fee waivers available.
• Materials: official high school transcript, School Report, counselor recommendation, two teacher recommendations and the application essay. Admissions does not say the recommenders must be science teachers; not published. The Arts Supplement is required only for music and a few arts scholarships and is not relevant here.
• Review: holistic, with “no minimum GPA or test score”; the emphasis is how you have challenged yourself and prepared for success.
• Testing: optional: CWRU is test optional; you choose at application whether to send scores and may change your mind until two weeks before decision release. Admissions says no testing is required for any undergraduate program, the Pre-Professional Scholars Program, or scholarship and aid programs. Scores can be self-reported on the application or the applicant portal, or sent officially (enrolling students confirm with official reports). Codes: SAT 1105, ACT 3244.
• Financial aid: for need-based aid, U.S. citizens and permanent residents submit the FAFSA plus the CSS Profile; non-U.S. residents submit only the CSS Profile (CSS code 1105, FAFSA code 003137). The application is not complete until aid documents are in.

5. U.S. domestic applicants

• Costs: the admissions cost page (2026-27, US dollars): tuition $71,410; housing $11,688 (commuter $3,824); meal plan $8,600 (commuter $1,124); fees $696; matriculation fee $760; books $1,200; personal expenses $1,350; transportation varies. The page totals $95,704 for residential and $80,364 for commuter students, and adds a transportation allowance of up to $2,000 depending on home state. It does not distinguish in-state from out-of-state tuition. Costs for 2027-28 are not published.
• Aid: admissions says most students do not pay the full published cost; the university “meets 100% of demonstrated financial need” of admitted students with a combination of scholarships, grants, work-study and loans.
• Automatic scholarships (U.S. citizens and permanent residents): the University Scholarship; the Michelson-Morley STEM Scholarship (for exceptional students who plan to major in science, technology, engineering or mathematics); the Austin E. Knowlton scholarship (supports talented students from Ohio); and others. Separate scholarship competitions need a complete application by 15 February, with winners notified by 1 April: the A.W. Smith Innovation Scholarship (two tuition awards for first-year applicants in engineering, the physical sciences and mathematics with a successful hands-on project); the Andrew and Eleanor Squire Scholarship (tuition, for the arts, humanities, management, accountancy and the natural, social and behavioral sciences); the FIRST Scholarship (FIRST Robotics or FIRST Tech Challenge participants); and others.
• Local programs: Cleveland Scholars (graduates of Cleveland Metropolitan School District, partner charters or East Cleveland schools; covers the full cost of attendance with a paid, mentored research or internship experience; FAFSA required); the Joan C. Edwards Scholarship for Cleveland students interested in becoming physicians.

6. International applicants

• How to apply: admissions says international applicants follow the same deadlines and process as domestic students, as first-year, transfer or 3/2 Engineering applicants; academic records and recommendations not in English need English translations. About 20% of undergraduates are citizens of other countries.
• English proficiency: students whose first language is not English send a score through the testing agency or self-report it on the applicant portal (enrolling students confirm with official reports). Minimums: Duolingo English Test 115; IELTS 7; PTE Academic 61; TOEFL iBT (including Home Edition and Paper Edition) 4.5 for exams taken on or after 21 January 2026 (as printed on the page), and for exams taken on or before 20 January 2026 90 (internet-based) or 577 (paper-based). Automatic waiver if you attended a school with English as the language of instruction for two years by graduation, score 630 or higher on SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, or 26 or higher on ACT English.
• Proof of funds and visa: not covered on the admissions pages read; not published there, so contact admissions.
• Aid and scholarships: the international page says undergraduates are automatically evaluated for several scholarships, that scholarship competitions (including full-tuition awards) require an essay, and that financial aid is available to international students; it adds that CWRU awarded $213 million in institutional aid last year. The scholarships page says the automatic awards are for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and that international students can enter the scholarship competitions unless otherwise noted. The two pages differ slightly, so confirm with admissions.

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the pages read do not mention the Gaokao or say how it is used; not published there, so contact admissions.
• Transcripts and Huikao materials: the international page has no China-specific entry; the general rule is English translations of non-English academic records and recommendations. How the Huikao is handled is not published.
• English scores: see section 6. Testing: SAT and ACT are optional.
• AP / IB / A-Level: for students taking these courses, see the prerequisites section for how credit maps.

8. Costs, scholarships, research and study abroad

• Costs: see section 5. The pages read do not mention a biology-department undergraduate scholarship; not published.
• Independent research: the department encourages laboratory research (BIOL 388, 388S, 390) and library research (BIOL 389, 389S); students may work with biology faculty, and those choosing a faculty member in another department need a biology faculty member as Biology Sponsor. For neuroscience, the page points to the Department of Neurosciences’ undergraduate research page. It also points to the university’s SOURCE website for lists of opportunities and a video workshop on finding research for biology and neuroscience majors.
• Honors: the Undergraduate Honors Program in Biology recognizes students who show excellence in a research project, a written thesis and its defense; the research must be done under the Department of Biology with a biology faculty member or other approved investigator. Neuroscience has its own honors page. The application form is downloaded from the department site.
• Study abroad course: BIOL 309/409 Biology Field Studies (3 credits) takes faculty and students to a domestic or international field site, typically over winter or spring break; instructor consent is required and the undergraduate prerequisite is BIOL 216. It fulfills a laboratory requirement of the biology B.A. and an additional laboratory requirement of the B.S. The department page mentions Belize, Costa Rica and Namibia; the location varies by offering.
• Outcomes: the department says the programs “provide excellent preparation for graduate or professional school programs and for careers in industry and governmental agencies”; no outcome figures are printed on the pages read.

9. Transfer students

• Who counts: admissions says anyone who has graduated from high school (or equivalent) and enrolled in college courses, whether or not credit was earned, can be considered for transfer admission; at its discretion admissions may consider a transfer applicant as a first-year applicant. You can apply for spring or fall; first-year transfers are admitted in the spring semester.
• Deadlines (no year is printed, so check): Fall Early Plan 15 March (aid documents 1 April, reply by 1 June); Fall 3/2 Engineering 15 February; Fall Regular Plan 1 July; Spring 15 November (later applications are considered on a space-available basis).
• Materials: Common App or Coalition application; the official high school transcript (waived for students who will have graduated two years before the entry term and have an associate degree, or have completed 45 credit hours by application); official transcripts from every college attended; SAT/ACT optional; a recommendation from a college instructor; the $75 fee; and a transfer college report showing you are in good standing and eligible to return to the college you most recently attended.
• Credit: evaluated after admission and receipt of the final transcript; courses completed with a C or better at an accredited institution can earn credit. The detailed transfer-credit policy is not published on the pages read; check CWRU’s website.
• 3/2 Engineering: partnerships with more than 50 liberal arts colleges (three years there, two at CWRU in engineering); it is not a major covered here.
• Aid: transfer students applying for need-based aid are fully considered; merit scholarships are automatic, including the Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship for active members admitted as transfers ($25,000 per year).
• Transferring into biology: the biology pages read set out no special GPA, prerequisite or credit-conversion rule for transfer students; not published. To declare a major, make an appointment with the department’s undergraduate services coordinator.

Checklist

US domestic applicants:

• Apply by 1 November (EA or ED I) or 15 January (ED II or RD); counselor recommendation, two teacher recommendations and an essay; testing optional; $75 fee
• AP Biology 4 earns BIOL 114 and 5 earns BIOL 214; after enrolling, make an appointment with the biology undergraduate services coordinator; for the B.S. plan two semesters of research early

International applicants (including China):

• Prepare TOEFL (4.5 under the new rule), IELTS 7 or Duolingo 115, or check the waiver conditions; translate non-English records; ask admissions how the Gaokao is used
• Submit the CSS Profile if you need aid; scholarship competitions are due 15 February (confirm international eligibility)

Transfer students:

• Fall Early Plan 15 March or Regular Plan 1 July; a college instructor recommendation and a transfer college report; requirements for transferring into biology are not published

Sources: Case Western Reserve University, Biology: undergraduate programs; Biology: independent research; Biology: honors; Biology: study abroad course; Admission: deadlines and requirements; First-year applicants; Test policy; International applicants; Transfer applicants; AP, IB and college credit; Tuition and costs; Scholarships; College of Arts and Sciences: majors and minors. The biology department pages show no update date, and the admissions pages show no year, so check that the deadlines apply to fall 2027 entry; the AP/IB credit table applies to students entering in 2025-26; costs are for 2026-27. See CWRU’s website for the latest.