Case Western Reserve University promotes and offers a range of honors, awards, and fellowships, recognizing outstanding achievements and contributions in diverse fields, fostering excellence and distinction within its community.
Honors
Latin commencement honors are awarded to the top 35 percent of the graduating class. These cutoffs are applied to degrees awarded in 2024 (January, May, and August).
- Top 10 percent: summa cum laude = 3.966-4.000
- Next 10 percent: magna cum laude = 3.896-3.965
- Next 15 percent: cum laude = 3.786-3.895
To be eligible for Latin commencement honors, candidates must have:
- Earned a minimum of 54 credit hours for evaluative grades (A, B, C, D) in residence at the university.
- Attained the required percentile ranking on the basis of all work for which grades are averaged at the university, including any grades earned before an academic separation.
The Dean's Honors Lists consist of the names of those undergraduate students who have distinguished themselves by achieving during the previous semester the grade point averages required with a minimum of 12 credit hours earned and who have no Fs or NPs, during the same period. Students with a grade point average of 3.75 or higher will be placed on the Dean's High Honors List. Students with a grade point average of at least 3.5 but less than 3.75 will be placed on the Dean's Honors List. Students whose records include Incompletes become eligible for the Dean's Honors Lists once all Incompletes have been converted to final grades. Having earned a place on the Dean's High Honors List or Dean's Honors List is noted on the transcript.
Some majors offer outstanding students the opportunity to complete an honors program. Students who participate in an honors program in the major and satisfy the requirements for such a distinction, as specified by the major, may qualify to receive the degree "with honors in the major." The academic representative for the major can provide information regarding requirements for graduation with honors in the major.
Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Beta Kappa, a national honor society, recognizes outstanding scholarship in the arts and sciences. The Alpha Chapter of Ohio, established at Western Reserve College in 1847, was one of the first 10 established nationally. Students may qualify for election to membership in the second semester of their senior year. A few outstanding students may be elected to membership as juniors.
Tau Beta Pi
Tau Beta Pi is a national honor society that recognizes full-time engineering students for outstanding scholarship, leadership, and service.
Mortar Board
Mortar Board is a national honor society that recognizes full-time senior students for outstanding scholarship, leadership, and service.
Awards
The Carl F. Wittke Award was established in 1971 in honor of Carl Wittke, a former faculty member, dean and vice president of Western Reserve University. The Wittke Award is presented each year to two Case Western Reserve University faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in undergraduate teaching.
Nominations should be submitted online using this nomination form. The deadline for nominations is January 26, 2024.
About Carl F. Wittke
Carl F. Wittke joined the faculty of Western Reserve University in 1948. He served as a professor of history, department chair, graduate school dean, and university vice president. He retired in 1963 as chairman emeritus.
Raised in Columbus, Ohio, Wittke was the son of a German immigrant. As a student at The Ohio State University, Wittke performed as a troubadour and had a genuine affection for those less fortunate. He often took public stands on controversial issues. Wittke served as an advocate for women's rights and a champion for African Americans during the Civil Rights movement. He also spoke out in favor of unions, and economic and social reforms.
Wittke earned his bachelor's degree from Ohio State in 1913. He went on to attend Harvard, obtaining both a master's degree in 1914 and a doctorate in 1921. Through the course of his career, Wittke published numerous books and articles, including We Who Built America: The Saga of the Immigrant. He also served as a professor of history and dean at Oberlin College. He was appointed to the history faculty at Ohio State and later became a professor and department chairman.
Wittke was considered a "grass roots" historian who touched the lives of many. After his retirement from Western Reserve University, the Carl F. Wittke Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching was established.
The Jackson Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring recognizes the positive impact Case Western Reserve University faculty and staff have on the lives of students. It was established by J. Bruce Jackson, Adelbert '52, in honor of Dean Carl F. Wittke, who served as an advisor, mentor, and friend to Dr. Jackson when he was an undergraduate student at Western Reserve University.
The Jackson Award celebrates faculty and staff who have guided a student in their academic and career paths; fostered the student's long-term personal development; challenged the student to reflect, explore and grow as an individual; and supported and/or facilitated the student's goals and life choices.
Nominations should be submitted online using this nomination form. The deadline for nominations is January 26, 2024.
About J. Bruce Jackson, MD
"Advisor," "mentor," and "friend" are often the words used to describe the late Carl F. Wittke, who, from 1948 to 1963, was a professor of history, chair of that department, dean of the School of Graduate Studies, and a vice-president of Western Reserve University.
And retired physician J. Bruce Jackson (ADL '52) believes those words truly befit Prof. Wittke, so much so that he has established the J. Bruce Jackson, MD, Award in Undergraduate Mentoring. The award will honor outstanding advising and mentoring of undergraduate students at Case Western Reserve University by a current employee or emeriti faculty member.
"He was a major influence in my life, not only because of what he thought I could do. He also was my mentor and friend and was largely responsible for my going to medical school."
When the freshman from New Philadelphia, Ohio, came to what was then Western Reserve University to study chemistry, he says, he "got lost in the hustle-bustle of the big city. I came up at a time when I had just enough money for tuition. I needed a job, so I went to student employment and they assigned me to Dean Wittke."
A young Jackson began doing yardwork on weekends for Prof. Wittke and continued the assignment through the end of his junior year. "We developed a good relationship, more than just the teacher-student. He motivated me to think about my future and to consider medical school."
Although he had toyed with the idea of going to medical school, Dr. Jackson admits his grades "were not that good. But he convinced me to take premed courses. I did very well—much better than the other classes I was taking." Encouraged, he applied to medical school. "But I knew my grades were not good enough to get into Western Reserve. Dean Wittke had a friend, a dean, at Ohio State, and he told him he thought I could do well there if given the chance."
"He was a major influence in my life, not only because of what he thought I could do. He also was my mentor and friend and was largely responsible for my going to medical school."
After earning a bachelor of science in chemistry from Adelbert College, he went to Ohio State University, earning his MD in 1956.
The two remained in touch over the years as Dr. Jackson developed his career in general surgery and medicine. He eventually specialized in cardiovascular medicine. Dr. Jackson served in the air force, and worked at Akron City Hospital and at Mansfield (Ohio) General Hospital, before beginning a private practice. He retired in 1996 and volunteered for five years with the City-County Health Commission. He fully retired in 2001.
Dr. Jackson, who settled in Mansfield, married the former Nancy Beagle and together they raised four children.
The J. Bruce Jackson, MD, Award in Undergraduate Mentoring is designed to honor recipients who have guided a student toward the discovery of academic and career paths, fostered the student's long-term personal development, challenged students to reflect, explore, and grow as an individual, and supported and or facilitated the student's goals and life choices.
These criteria speak to what mentoring is all about, and Dr. Jackson is poised to encourage more of that at CWRU. "Any instructor or teacher who can develop a student—who can see much more than a GPA—will do much more for the student. I can tell you, there is more to education than a GPA, and a good mentor will find those things in a student."
"There is already an honor named for him for distinguished teaching," says Dr. Jackson. "This award is a tribute to the things he did for me."
- Marsha Lynn Bragg
At academic awards assemblies at the end of each spring semester, the University recognizes the outstanding achievement of individual students. Departmental awards are based on achievement in specific academic disciplines. Some departmental and collegiate awards are based on a combination of leadership, scholarship, and service. The collegiate awards for students with the best academic records take into account credit load and grades. Students who opt for the Pass/No Pass grading option in a course will not be eligible for best academic record awards unless the original grades submitted by the instructor to the Registrar's Office would qualify them.
For a complete list of awards, visit the Departmental and Collegiate Awards page.
Fellowships and Scholarships
Interested in applying for a fellowship or scholarship? Please review the links below and then contact us to make an advising appointment.
For a complete list of national fellowships and scholarships, please visit the National Fellowships and Scholarships page.
For a complete list of fellowship and scholarship opportunities for CWRU and Ohio students please visit the CWRU and Ohio Fellowships and Scholarships page.
For searchable databases with a wide array of targeted scholarships and fellowships (including opportunities for graduate students), visit:
For information about internationally focused scholarships, visit the Office of Education Abroad's website.
For information about research positions and research funding, please visit the SOURCE website.