May 17, 2025  
2025-2026 Catalog 
    
2025-2026 Catalog

Graduate Degree Requirements


 

Program Objectives

Graduate students are screened and admitted into the various programs, each of which has admissions standards and designated graduate faculty. Campuswide standards for admissions, selection of faculty, curricular revisions, operating policies and final examinations are established in accordance with recommendations of the Graduate Programs Committee.

The graduate faculty consists of the president and vice president of academic affairs of WOU, the academic deans, Director of Graduate Studies, the colleges’ graduate faculty coordinators and members of the faculty who have been named by their divisions and approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Each graduate student at WOU is expected to meet the following objectives pertinent to their specific graduate program:

  • Demonstrate the advanced competence and skill in the mastery of concepts, principles, systems and practices which are in the context of the student’s specialty.
  • Demonstrate advanced competence and skill in reading, interpreting and applying the research and literature of the professional studies component of the student’s graduate program.
  • Demonstrate awareness and understanding of ethical, philosophical and cultural issues that apply to the professional component of the student’s graduate program.
  • Demonstrate the ability to synthesize and apply program skills and knowledge through the program’s exit requirement.

Master’s Degree Programs

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

  1. A minimum of 45 credits
  2. 50 percent or higher of graduate courses in the 600 level.
  3. No more than 9 credits of blanket-numbered courses, other than thesis, may be applied to the minimum of 45-credit master’s degree.
  4. Completion of 2/3 at Western Oregon University.
  5. A final exit form is required.

Graduate Major

A graduate major is the area of academic specialization in which the student chooses to qualify for a graduate degree. Upon completion of a master’s degree, the degree awarded and the graduate major are listed on the student’s transcript. Find a list of descriptions of graduate program offerings in the catalog.

Graduate Area of Focus

A graduate area of focus is a subdivision of a major in which a strong graduate program is available. Areas of focus are not listed on a student’s transcript.

Doctoral Degrees

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Usually requires three years or more of graduate-level coursework level requiring an original research thesis or project. Professional doctoral degrees with an emphasis on the application of knowledge in the field normally require three or more years of carefully prescribed graduate-level coursework.

  1. A minimum of 81 credits
  2. 50 percent or higher of graduate courses in the 700 level.
  3. Completion of 2/3 at Western Oregon University.
  4. A final exit form is required.

Graduate Certificate Requirements

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The Graduate Certificate Program at Western Oregon University is a structured progression of graduate-level courses that constitute a coherent body of study with a defined focus within a single discipline or a logical combination of disciplines. It is designed for a student who has completed a baccalaureate degree and is in pursuit of advanced-level learning. Graduate certificates reflect the educational mission of the university. Students desiring a graduate certificate must be admitted to the university as a credential-seeking graduate student. There is no formal committee requirement for graduate certificates. Certificate students are subject to all general policies governing the courses for the master’s degree, unless specified within the Graduate Catalog.

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE STUDY PROGRAM

The graduate certificate curriculum consists of a minimum of 12 graduate credits. No final examination or exit project is required.

FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY

Students enrolled in graduate certificate programs with 27 or more credits may qualify for federal loans and work-study financial aid. Students must complete the federal FAFSA form to begin the financial aid application process.