History | Case School of Engineering

We started a long time ago.

Alignment

None

140 years, in fact. It’s part of our legacy of innovation. We have a history of deep and rigorous academic training and a robust research portfolio. We’re proud to boast some of the world’s oldest engineering departments, including 100 years of chemical engineering, 50 years of macromolecular science and 45 years of biomedical engineering innovations. We help found these fields and continue to carve out the gold standards of their education and research.

We continue to push education to its fullest. Hands-on learning. Industry experience. Coupled with our tradition of core academic excellence. It’s a formula that works.

Our lineage

Our history runs deep. The Case School of Engineering is part of Case Western Reserve University, which traces its roots to the founding of Western Reserve College in 1826. Our predecessor institution, the Case School of Applied Science, was established in 1880. It became the Case Institute of Technology in 1947 and then the Case School of Engineering in 1992.

Today’s Case Western Reserve University emerged from the federation of the Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University in 1967, bringing excellence in engineering, the natural sciences and math, medicine, management, law, dentistry nursing and social work together under the same institutional banner and celebrating collaborative education and research initiatives across these diverse disciplines.

Our legacy of innovation

1963: We launched the nation's first macromolecular science/polymer academic degree
1970: We were one of the first nodes on ARPANET—the precursor to the internet
1971: We offered the country's first accredited computer engineering degree
1972: We rolled out one of the nation's first biomedical engineering degrees
2011: We launched the country's first academic program in wireless health
2014: We offered one of the nation's first undergraduate degree programs in data analytics

Telling the Case School of Engineering story

The Kelvin Smith Library is compiling a history of the Case School of Engineering, stretching back to 1880 and the Case homestead on Public Square. Alumni are invited to view the online presentation and to make comments and suggestions.