Hillary Fouts, Dean of Graduate Studies and Research
graduate.wou.edu
503-838-8597
All persons wishing to enroll at WOU at the graduate level must be admitted to the university by the Graduate Programs Office.
To apply for admission to WOU’s graduate programs, students must complete the following steps:
- Submit a completed Graduate Student Application (available online).
- Pay the non-refundable, non-transferable $60 Graduate Application fee.
- Provide evidence of completed bachelor’s degree.*
- Provide unofficial transcripts and/or academic records from each degree granting institution.*
- Provide official scores for the MAT or GRE if minimum academic requirements are not met (see below).
*Official transcripts from non-WOU institutions in which degrees were conferred will be required after admission is offered. Enrollment in courses is contingent upon the receipt and verification of these official documents. WOU reserves the right to require official transcripts at any time during the admission process and to rescind any offer of admission made if discrepancies between the unofficial and official transcript(s) are found, if it is discovered that the educational history was incomplete, or if upon final GPA and degree verification it is discovered that the minimum admissions requirements were not met.
The Graduate Programs Office admits and classifies eligible students on the basis of their undergraduate cumulative grade-point average and declaration of intent in the application for admission.
Qualified students seeking a degree are classified either as fully admitted or conditionally admitted graduate students. Conditionally admitted students must meet the conditions of their admission, as stated in the official admission letter, to continue in their graduate program. Students who meet the conditions of their admission will be classified as fully admitted.
Conditional status will not be extended. A student who does not meet the conditions of their admission will be removed from the program. A student may reapply to the university after conditions are met.
Completing undergraduate degree: a student who is completing an undergraduate degree can be conditionally admitted to a graduate program with the following caveats:
- Student must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on completed coursework or have a passing score on the MAT or GRE.
- Student must have met requirements of the specific graduate program to which he/she is applying.
- Student will not be able to receive financial aid until the Graduate and Financial Aid Offices have received proof of completion of the undergraduate degree and a program plan is on file.
- Student must provide proof of completion of the undergraduate degree during the first term of enrollment as a graduate student. WOU graduates must show proof prior to starting graduate courses.
All students who are admitted on a conditional basis, because we are waiting for completion of undergraduate degree will have a registration hold placed on their account. The student will not be able to register for classes beyond the first term of graduate enrollment until the Graduate Office has received proof of completion of the undergraduate degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, or a GPA of 3.0 on the last 90 quarter credits or 60 semester credits of coursework.
GPA requirement: A student who has an undergraduate GPA of 2.50 to 2.99 can be conditionally admitted for the first 9 credit hours. Conditionally admitted students are not eligible to receive financial aid until they become fully admitted students and a program plan is on file.
To be fully admitted:
- Student must achieve a 3.0 GPA in the first nine (9) credits of their graduate program*.
Student can petition for conditional admission via the Petition for Conditional Admission located on the Graduate Programs website.
The above are university level minimum criteria for admission; individual academic programs may set higher criteria.
*If the total graduate credits exceed nine (9), in the term that the student completes their first nine (9) graduate credits, then all earned graduate credits.
Students wishing to apply for Graduate Assistantships must apply via the Graduate Assistant Application directly to the Graduate Programs Office by the posted deadline. The Graduate Programs Office processes applications, posts recruitment announcements, and handles all employment procedures for Graduate Assistantships across the university.
Graduate Assistant positions are a form of student employment, earning a compensation package which includes both a salary and tuition remission for the performance of research or teaching services to the university as part of the student’s academic and professional training and development. Graduate Assistantships provide fee remission for the instructional fee portion of tuition (up to 12 credits) and a monthly stipend for the service provided each term of the appointment. You must be a full-time graduate student, fully admitted to a graduate degree program, and in good academic standing to begin an assistantship.
Graduate students are required to register and remain enrolled in a minimum of eight/nine credits of graduate coursework to receive graduate tuition remission. Graduate students in their last term of study may take less than the required 8 credits to finish their degree. Any courses taken beyond 12 credits are the financial responsibility of the student.
- If a student falls below this course load, they will not be awarded subsequent tuition remission.
- Students must notify the Graduate Programs Office, via email within 24 hours, documentation of any course substitutions or additions to the original Graduate Assistant Approval Request.
- If within the first week of courses a student adds additional courses, the remission difference (not to exceed 12 credits) will be applied by payroll, providing that student notifies the Graduate Programs Office via email.
- If a student drops any combination of courses so that their credits are reduced from the amount covered by fee remission for the term (e.g., 12 to 9, 12 to 10, etc.), that amount will be deducted from their fee remission the following term.
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If a student withdraws from all courses, the refund will be returned to the fee remission account.
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Students will not be invited back to their position if they do not honor their signed contract.
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During the last term of enrollment, Graduate Assistants will be billed back 50% of remission for that term if they fail to successfully complete their program.
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Conditions of employment include maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
All non-native English speaking students must also provide proof of proficiency in the English language by submitting an official copy of an English testing score report. Paper-based TOEFL: minimum score 550. Internet-based TOEFL: minimum score 79. IELTS Test: minimum score 6.0. Duolingo: 100.
A student seeking a master’s degree, graduate license program, graduate certificate or graduate specialization must apply both to the university and to the program in which they are interested. Applications to each specific program are available from each program.
The graduate website at graduate.wou.edu and the catalog have current admission information.
Admitted students must submit a health history report. The report form is mailed to students who are accepted for admission and must be completed and returned to WOU’s Student Health and Counseling Center.
All documents become the property of the university and will not be returned. The university reserves the right to deny credit for coursework completed before a student is officially admitted for graduate study.
A one-time matriculation fee is assessed on all new graduate students when they enroll. (See WOU Tuition and Fee Book.)
*Evidence of completion of a four-year baccalaureate degree (or international equivalent) from regionally accredited institution as defined by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars, with a cumulative B average (equivalent 3.00 on a U.S. 4.00 grading scale) on the most recent baccalaureate degree.
If the applicant’s cumulative GPA is below 3.00, but a calculation using the last 90 quarter credits (60 semester credits) of graded course work is 3.0 or higher, the latter will be used as the basis for admission.
Applicants who hold a master’s degree will have the 3.0 GPA requirement waived.
Applicants not meeting the minimum GPA requirement may be considered with a passing score on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Minimum required score for the MAT: 395. Minimum required score for the GRE Verbal Reasoning: 148, Quantitative Reasoning: 147, Analytical Writing: 3.5
Most graduate programs have additional admission requirements. These requirements must be met prior to enrollment in the program.
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