The Seminar Approach to General Education and Scholarship provides a foundation for Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) undergraduates in critical thinking, written and oral communication, the use of information, quantitative reasoning, engagement with ethical issues and diversity, and exposure to experimental and theoretical approaches to understanding human culture and behavior, scientific knowledge, and methods of research.
As of the Fall of 2023, the General Education Requirements at CWRU have changed. These changes only affect students who matriculated during or after the 2023-2024 academic year. Those students should refer to the current Bulletin for descriptions of their GE requirements.
The combination of CWRU’s strong majors programs and the SAGES curriculum offers our students the best of the small college experience alongside opportunities only available at a research university in a major city. As a result, our students are better equipped to move into postgraduate training and the job market, and to become leaders in their fields.
All of the CWRU schools and colleges that grant undergraduate degrees – Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Nursing, and Management – participate in SAGES, and the program extends through the entire undergraduate curriculum.
Cleveland is the perfect place for SAGES. Not only does University Circle contain world-class institutions such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and the Western Reserve Historical Society, but (depending on their seminar), students might visit the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, trails and parks in the Emerald Necklace, historic cemeteries, street art, film festivals, the West Side Market, organic farms, or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
SAGES students develop essential communications skills over the course of several semesters by participating in seminar discussions, giving presentations, and writing intensively. With class sizes limited to 17 or fewer students, SAGES promotes active engagement and discussion, offering a vigorous introduction to academic inquiry. CWRU faculty members teach virtually all SAGES seminars. Students also have opportunities to learn from guest scholars, acknowledged authorities in their field.