Cleveland State University is the newest partner in the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM) B.S./M.D. program. The new agreement opens the door to students to take premedical course work and earn their bachelor of science degree at an accelerated pace of two or three years at CSU, then move directly into NEOUCOM’s doctor of medicine program. The partnership is the result of House Bill 562 being signed into law by Governor Ted Strickland, Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut and the Ohio General Assembly.

"Our new partnership with NEOUCOM is very exciting. What it will mean to our students is an opportunity to participate in an accelerated Bachelor of Science program at CSU that will lead to a seamless transition into the MD program at NEOUCOM," said Michael Schwartz, CSU President.

"The community will also benefit substantially from the greater number of general practice physicians being prepared to enter medical practice, with many of those new doctors likely to remain in Northeast Ohio to help stem the region’s growing shortage of physicians.

“Adding CSU to the partnership with the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy is tangible evidence of the serious attention Governor Strickland and Chancellor Fingerhut are placing on the science, technology and health care initiatives that promise to provide the shortest and quickest means toward the goal of a competitive Ohio with an increasingly educated population," added Schwartz.

Strickland endorsed the addition of CSU into the NEOUCOM program which allows students to apply during their senior year of high school, and, upon admission, have a reserved seat in medical school when they begin their college program. The students earn a combined bachelor of science and doctor of medicine degree in six or seven years. CSU joins Kent State University, the University of Akron and Youngstown State University as current partners in the NEOUCOM B.S./M.D program.

"With our current successful relationship with Cleveland State University as a partner in our College of Pharmacy and the Consortium of Eastern Ohio Master of Public Health programs, this addition is a natural part of NEOUCOM's growth," said NEOUCOM president Dr. Lois Nora. "Now, even more Northeast Ohio students can take premedical course work at an accelerated pace of two or three years at one of four universities in the NEOUCOM educational partnership."

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