National Case Competition

The National CLARION Case Competition 2026 registration opening date is Wednesday, October 1, 2025.

Registration will close on Monday, January 19, 2026.

Register Here!

2026 National Case Competition Team Registration Cost: 

• Early-Bird Pricing (Oct 1 - Nov 15): $2,000 per team
• Regular Pricing (Nov 16 - Jan 19): $2,250 per team

The registration fee covers costs for up to four students and one faculty advisor. An additional $250.00 will be applied to the registration fee if more than one faculty advisor chooses to travel with the team. 

Payment Policy:

• The total cost for the competition is $2,000 per team ($2,250 for early-bird pricing). Teams will receive an invoice for the registration fee after registration closes in January.
• Upon completing the CLARION registration form, your team will be formally enrolled in the competition. If your team withdraws at any time after registering, the $500 non-refundable deposit will be charged instead of the registration fee.
• The registration fee covers costs for up to four students and one faculty advisor. An additional $250.00 will be applied to the registration fee for each additional faculty advisor who chooses to travel with the team.

The National CLARION Case Competition 2026 timeline is listed below.

• Information Sessions: Friday, Oct 25 at 11:00 am and Tuesday, Dec 9 at 12:00 pm CST
• Registration Opens: Wednesday, October 1, 2025
• Registration Deadline: Monday, January 19, 2026
• Case and Guidebook Released: Friday, January 23, 2026
• Competition Dates: Friday - Saturday, April 17 - 18, 2026

Register Here!

Registered teams will receive a Case Competition Guidebook, which includes:

• Rules and regulations
• Roles for students and advisors
• Team definitions
• Judging criteria
• Contact information for additional questions
• Technical assistance for team development

CLARION 2026

We are excited to share that CLARION will host the competition in-person again this year, on the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus! We are thrilled to connect with teams face-to-face. This competition will be similar to years past, with an enhanced experience as we incorporate engaging activities with our state-of-the-art Health Sciences Education Center (HSEC), collaborating with campus partners such as MSimulation and the Health Sciences Libraries. 

• 1st place (shared award): $7,500
• 2nd place (shared award): $5,000
• 3rd place  (shared award): $2,500

Grounding

CLARION (CLinician Administrator Relationship Improvement OrganizatioN) was created over 20 years ago by Medical and Healthcare Administration students who wanted to bridge the gap between clinicians and administrators in healthcare. The group’s mission is reflected in our team composition rules today: 

Team Composition

• Each institution participating is only allowed to send one team.
• Four students per team is recommended.
  • A minimum of two and maximum of four students per team is required.
• Each team must represent at least two different health professional programs.
  • There can be no more than two team members representing the same profession.
  • Health professional degrees can include both clinical and non-clinical degrees (for example: MD and MPH).
  • If the remaining team member(s) is enrolled in a program that will not result in a health professional degree/license, their academic program must still contain a healthcare emphasis.
• One faculty advisor. Although not required, we encourage one faculty advisor to travel with their team.
  • The registration fee covers costs for up to four students and one faculty advisor. An additional $250.00 will be applied to the registration fee for each additional faculty advisor who chooses to travel with the team.

Team Composition Examples

Example with health professional programs & programs with a healthcare emphasis:

• MBA with health emphasis
• Medicine
• Pharmacy
• Public Health

Example with only health professional programs:

• Pharmacy
• Public Health
• Healthcare Administration
• Dentistry

Defining Health Professional Programs

At the University of Minnesota, our health professional programs include: 

Audiology, BA/MD, Dental Hygiene, Dental Therapy, Dentistry, Dietetics, Healthcare Administration, Integrative Health & Wellbeing Coaching, Medical Laboratory Science, Medicine, Mortuary Science, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Public Health, Social Work, Speech Language Pathology, and Veterinary Medicine. 

However, we recognize our institution does not support a comprehensive list of all health professional programs. Your institution may contain other programs that are not on the aforementioned list. If you are unsure about your team composition and eligibility, please reach out to [email protected] and we can review your specific scenario.

Additional Rules

• If you have a prior health professional degree, you are able to participate. However, you are only representing the current program you are enrolled in.
  • For example: A nurse completing a Master of Public Health would represent public health, not nursing.
• Participants can be full-time or part-time students at the institution they represent.
  • Please note: Students who are also employed in professional leadership positions are not eligible to compete. Exceptions will be reviewed by the CLARION Executive Board on an individual basis.
• Team members will share the entire prize as listed.

Responsibility

Faculty advisors are responsible for ensuring their team composition meets these requirements. CLARION reserves the right to disqualify team members who do not meet this criteria.

We have welcomed teams from across the country to the National Case Competition! For a sample of past presentations, please see the YouTube links below:

2025 Winners

• CLARION National 2025 - 1st Place: Brigham Young University
• CLARION National 2025 - 2nd Place: UT Health Houston
• CLARION National 2025 - 3rd Place: University of South Carolina

2024 Winners

• CLARION National 2024 - 1st Place: University of South Carolina
• CLARION National 2024 - 2nd Place: Wichita State University & University of Kansas
• CLARION National 2024 - 3rd Place: Tulane University