1. University Requirements

General university requirements and descriptions for the student’s Program of Study are described in Chapter 6.G. In consultation with the advisory committee members, the student's advisory committee chair should aid the student in developing their proposed Program of Study, which is then submitted to the chair or program director for approval. The chair or director is responsible for ensuring that the program meets the minimum requirements of the respective program and Graduate School. The chair, graduate program director, or graduate program coordinator will submit the Program of Study through the GRM to the Graduate School for approval and to ensure it meets minimum requirements.

The Program of Study for a master’s candidate should be submitted to the Graduate School as soon as possible and no later than the beginning of the semester preceding the anticipated semester of graduation (e.g., for anticipated graduation in spring, the Program of Study is due no later than the beginning of the preceding fall semester).

For professionally oriented programs only, the Program of Study may include predetermined coursework for their student cohorts as required by their professional curriculum if approved in advance by the Faculty Senate and Graduate School. As noted above, they may also have a predetermined master advisory committee. In this case, each student has no individual Program of Study, and the program director should submit a completed Program of Study: Professionally Oriented Cohort form. The chair or director (of the graduate program, department, or school) is responsible for ensuring that the Program of Study meets the minimum requirements of the respective professional graduate program and the Graduate School.

The following master’s program requirements represent the minimum Graduate School requirements for the respective master’s Program of Study; individual graduate programs may have additional requirements. All coursework a graduate student takes need not appear on their Program of Study. A complete description of the program requirements for each degree should be provided in the individual graduate program’s Graduate Student Handbook.

a. Program of Study for Thesis Master’s Degree

    • 30 hours minimum of total credits
    • 21 hours minimum of graded (A-F) coursework, which may include up to 6 hours of undergraduate 300-400 level graded coursework.
    • 4 hours minimum of 700-level credit in the major, 2 of which must be taken in the semester of the final exam or thesis completion
    • Courses taken for audit or courses graded Pass/Fail may not be used to meet the Graded (A-F) requirements in the Program of Study.

b. Program of Study for Non-thesis Master’s Degree

    • 30 hours minimum of total credits.
    • 26 hours minimum of graded (A-F) coursework, which may include up to 9 hours of undergraduate 300-400 level graded coursework.
    • 4 hours minimum of 702-level credit in the major, 2 of which must be taken in the semester of the final exam/project completion.
    • Courses taken for audit or courses graded Pass/Fail may not be used to meet the Graded (A-F) requirements in the Program of Study.

c. Program of Study for Professionally Oriented Master’s Degree

    • 30 hours minimum of total credits.
    • 27 hours minimum of graded (A-F) coursework, which may include up to 9 hours of undergraduate 300-400 level graded coursework.
    • 3 hours minimum of 701-level credit in the major, 2 of which must be taken in the semester of the final exam/project completion.
      • Graded coursework at the 500-level as a capstone course may be used in place of the 701 credits provided it is officially approved via the Faculty Senate process. A ballot meeting is still required in the final semester of the capstone course to determine if the student has successfully met all the program requirements.
    • Courses taken for audit or courses graded Pass/Fail may not be used to meet the Graded (A-F) requirements in the Program of Study.

Seminars approved for graduate credit numbered 500 or above that are graded other than P/F or S/F may be a part of the master’s program. Any course listed on the student’s Program of Study in which a grade of “C-” or below is earned must be repeated for graded credit and cannot be removed from the Program of Study. For more information on general requirements and transfer credit, see Chapter 6.G.2.

2. Filing the Program of Study

After the graduate student completes the proposed Program of Study, it must be signed by each advisory committee member and submitted to the chair or director of the graduate program, department, or school, who ensures that it meets the program and Graduate School requirements. The chair, director, or the graduate program coordinator will submit the Program of Study to the Graduate School via the GRM module in myWSU for approval to ensure that it meets the Graduate School's minimum requirements. For professionally oriented master’s programs only, if using the cohort Program of Study, students do not sign the document. The chair/director will submit the completed form to the Graduate School via email to gradschool@wsu.edu.

Once approved, the Program of Study becomes the basis of the requirements for the master’s degree.

3. Changing the Program of Study

Changes made to the Program of Study must be documented on a Program Change form with approval by the chair of the master’s advisory committee and the chair or director of the program and submitted to the Graduate School via the GRM. If program changes are made, the Program Change form must be completed, signed, and submitted to the Graduate School before a student may submit an Application for Degree.

4. Fulfilling the Program of Study

Once approved, the master’s Program of Study becomes the basis for the degree requirements. It is a contract between the student, the advisory committee, and the Graduate School. Completed courses cannot be removed from the Program to avoid repeating courses with a C or to change the degree completion deadline.

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