Students during an undergraduate research class in the new Department of Biology teaching labs. | Photo by Matt Shiffler
In 2015, the College of Arts and Sciences was the academic home to nearly 1,400 undergraduates. By 2024, that number had soared 59%. Today, the most popular major is biology, followed by neuroscience—an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree offered as a collaboration with CWRU’s School of Medicine that launched in fall 2020. And on the Case Quad, the university’s $300 million Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building is framed out at five-stories high and will open in fall 2026, beginning a new chapter in our research endeavors.
Continue reading to learn more about how the college is growing and flourishing.
| Spring 2020 | Spring 2025 | Increase | |
| Biology: | 277 | 372 | 34.3% |
| Neuroscience: | 19* | 300 | 1,400% |
| Psychology: | 182 | 297 | 63.2% |
| Biochemistry: | 160 | 270 | 68.8% |
| Chemistry: | 74 | 120 | 62.2% |
*This is from fall 2020, when the program was first offered
Shelves in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Crawford Hall showcase faculty books.
**From January 2024 through mid-May 2025
$12 million received in fiscal year 2024—mostly in federal grants—in fields from biology to psychological sciences; from music to religious studies. The largest share of grants awarded were provided to faculty in the following departments:
College Grants to Support and Broaden Research and TeachingIn fall 2020, Joy K. Ward, then the college’s dean and now CWRU’s executive vice president and provost, launched the Expanding Horizons Initiative to fuel interdisciplinary research, creative collaborations and teaching innovations, increase external funding and to create more opportunities for students to work with faculty.
Since then, the initiative has amassed $7.5 million, largely thanks to alumni donations. The impact has been both broad and deep: