The Graduate Guide provides an overview of UW–Madison programs that offer graduate degrees, doctoral minors, graduate/professional certificates, and capstone certificates.

The Graduate Guide is also the key source for program-specific policies, rules, and regulations as well as Graduate School-level policies regarding admission, coursework, the awarding of degrees and certificates, and the general criteria governing satisfactory progress in a degree program.

Editions and Archives

The information in this Guide is current as of June 1, 2023. The Guide is an official document of record and is reviewed and updated every year.

Archived editions from past years are available in the Guide and Catalog Archive.

Students are responsible for meeting the academic requirements that were in effect at the time that they matriculated, including satisfactory progress and degree requirements. In situations where academic requirements have changed during a student’s time of enrollment, the Graduate School and the academic program, together with the student, may elect to enforce requirements that are in the best interest of the student. University offices can provide current information about possible changes.

The Guide is published only online; printed copies are not available.

Graduate School Degrees Available

The UW–Madison Graduate School confers the Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Accountancy, Master of Business Administration, Master of Music, Master of Engineering, Master of French Studies, Master of International Public Affairs, Master of Music, Master of Public Affairs, Master of Social Work, Master of Fine Arts, Educational Specialist, Doctor of Audiology, Doctor of Musical Arts, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Doctor of Occupational Therapy, and Doctor of Philosophy. Additionally, several programs that do not award graduate degrees may offer doctoral minors, specialist certificates, graduate/professional certificates, or capstone certificates. Some major programs have identified sub-majors, known as “named options.” These official named options are approved by university governance and appear on the transcript when the degree is conferred. Some programs also have unofficial specializations that do not appear on the transcript.

The master's degree is conferred only upon completion of a coherent and focused program of advanced study.

The Master of Fine Arts degree offers superior students advanced training and opportunities for creativity. The program is for the prospective professional artist and teacher in the fine arts at the college level and emphasizes creative work.

The Doctor of Philosophy, the Doctor of Nursing Practice, the Doctor of Audiology, the Doctor of Occupational Therapy, and the Doctor of Musical Arts are the highest degrees conferred at UW–Madison. None are conferred solely as a result of any prescribed period of study, no matter how faithfully pursued. The Ph.D. degree is a research degree and is granted on evidence of general proficiency, distinctive attainment in a special field, and particularly on ability for independent investigation as demonstrated in a dissertation presenting original research or creative scholarship with a high degree of literary skill. The DMA degree is granted on evidence of a high degree of competence in performance, conducting, or composition. The DNP, OTD, and Au.D. degrees are clinical doctorates granted on evidence of clinical knowledge and expertise in their respective disciplinary areas.

The Ph.D., DNP, Au.D., OTD, and DMA degree programs must be rationally unified, with courses that contribute to an organized program of study and research. Courses must be selected from groups embracing one principal subject of concentration called the major (see Degrees), and if required, from one or more related fields called the doctoral minor/breadth requirement. The major field is normally coextensive with the work of a single department or with one of the subjects under which certain programs have been formally arranged. A major may be permitted to extend beyond the above limits with the prior approval of the Dean of the Graduate School. The doctoral minor/breadth requirement is designed to represent a coherent body of work, taken as a graduate student, and should not be simply an after-the-fact ratification of a number of courses taken outside the major department.

Graduate School minimum credits and other requirements necessary to earn these degrees are listed in the Graduate School Minimum Degree Requirements and Satisfactory Progress section; each program may set degree requirements and expectations more rigorous than that which the Graduate School’s policy requires.

Other Central Resources

The Graduate School website offers links to information about admissions, program data profiles, funding resources, diversity, professional development, graduate student life, and other resources.

The Graduate School's Academic Policies and Procedures provides information about Graduate School academic and administrative policies and procedures.

Graduate Assistant Policies and Procedures (GAPP) outlining employment-related practices for graduate student teaching, research, and project assistants are available from the Office of Human Resources.

Graduate Student Professional Development

The Graduate School Office of Professional Development (OPD) coordinates, develops, and promotes learning opportunities to foster the academic, professional, and life skills of graduate students.

Professional development topics include Individual Development Plans, communication, mentoring, grant writing, dissertation writing, career exploration, job search strategies, and more. OPD provides a wealth of resources and events tailored to the needs of UW–Madison graduate students.

OPD developed and maintains DiscoverPD, an innovative tool for UW–Madison graduate students to advance their academic and professional goals. DiscoverPD introduces eight areas (or "facets") of professional development, includes a self-assessment, and provides a customized report of areas of strength and weakness. The report comes with recommendations to help graduate students strengthen their ability within each area.

More information on campus resources for student professional development is available at Graduate Student Professional Development. Students may keep up-to-date by reading GradConnections, the weekly newsletter for graduate students, bookmarking the Events Calendar to keep tabs on upcoming workshops of interest, and following the Graduate School’s TwitterFacebookYouTube, or Instagram accounts.

Equal Opportunity, Equal Access, and Non-Discrimination

The University of Wisconsin – Madison is committed to providing equal opportunity and equal access in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations and University of Wisconsin System and university non-discrimination policies and procedures.

Policies & Procedures

The Office of Compliance promotes ethical conduct and compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and UW–Madison policies. UW–Madison’s non-discrimination statement, contact information for the university’s Equal Opportunity Investigations Administrator, Title IX Coordinator, ADA Coordinator as well as information regarding UW–Madison’s Equal Opportunity Complaint process is available on the Office of Compliance’s website.

Disability Resources

The McBurney Disability Resource Center is an office within the Division of Student Affairs that views disability as an important aspect of the diversity of UW–Madison. We are committed to creating an accessible and inclusive educational experience for students. We do this by partnering with students, faculty, and staff to design accessible environments and to provide academic accommodations so that students can engage, explore and participate in the Wisconsin Idea.

We work with UW–Madison students with physical, learning, hearing, vision, psychological, health and other disabilities substantially affecting a major life activity (e.g., walking, communicating, learning, seeing, breathing, reading, etc.). Many students have non-apparent disabilities such as depression, anxiety, autism spectrum, learning disabilities, AD/HD and health conditions such as Crohn’s disease or fibromyalgia.

Common accommodations include extended time and/or small group environment for exams, notetaking support, sign language interpreting, real time and media captioning, and conversion of printed materials to accessible formats. McBurney Center staff members also collaborate with students and faculty to determine reasonable flexibility with regard to attendance, participation, and deadlines for conditions that fluctuate in severity over the course of enrollment. The Center makes referrals to other campus offices or community resources for non-classroom accommodations related to housing, transportation, personal care needs, and so on. Students should contact the Center upon admission to begin the eligibility for services process. Early notice is essential in order to have accommodations in place prior to the start of the semester. For detailed information, see How to apply for accommodations.

McBurney Disability Resource Center
702 West Johnson Street, Suite 2104
Madison, WI 53706
608-263-2741 (voice)
608-225-7956 (text)
608-265-2998 (fax)
mcburney@studentlife.wisc.edu
www.mcburney.wisc.edu

Accreditation

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is accredited by the:

Higher Learning Commission
230 South Lasalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL 60604
telephone 1-800-621-7440
www.hlcommission.org

UW–Madison, which was first accredited in 1913, was last accredited in 2019, and will go through a reaccreditation process again in 2028–29.

See Mark of Affiliation.

Registration with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education: The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public institution registered as a "Private Institution" with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education pursuant to sections 136A.61 to 136A.71. Registration is not an endorsement of the institution. Credits earned at the institution may not transfer to all other institutions.

The information, policies, and rules contained herein are subject to change.

Filter Graduate Degrees
Explore Graduate School Program Data

Distance or Flexible Programs

The university offers several degree and capstone certificate programs that are fully or partially available at a distance or that are flexible to working schedules with evening and/or weekend courses. To learn more about the graduate-level degrees and certificates offered in flexible and online formats, visit the Wisconsin Professional Degrees & Certificates portal.

Other Professional Degrees

UW–Madison offers a number of post-baccalaureate professional degrees that are not administered by the Graduate School, but instead are solely supported by their home school.

Doctor of Juridical Science—SJD
Doctor of Law—J.D.
Doctor of Medicine—M.D.
Doctor of Physical Therapy—DPT
Doctor of Pharmacy—Pharm.D.
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine—DVM
Master of Genetic Counseling—MGC
Master of Laws—LLM
Master of Laws–Legal Institutions—LLM
Master of Physician Assistant Studies—P.A.
Master of Public Health—MPH

Breadth is a required component of doctoral training at UW–Madison. A student’s doctoral major program determines how breadth is achieved: students either complete an additional program of a doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate, or breadth is built into the doctoral major program curriculum. Most major programs instruct students to use a doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate to meet the breadth requirement. If a doctoral minor is not required by the student’s doctoral major program, this is noted on the Requirements tab of the Guide degree or named option page. See Minors in the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures for minimum course requirements for the minor. 

Graduate/professional certificates are available to all degree-seeking graduate and professional students (Graduate, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine careers) and meet the Graduate School breadth requirement. Graduate/professional certificate programs coordinate teaching and research among scholars active in interrelated disciplines.

The Specialist Certificate represents work beyond the master's level. For more information, contact the program.

Capstone certificates allow individuals with a bachelor’s degree to obtain additional professional skills and certification. Capstones do not lead to the conferral of a degree, but do appear on a student’s UW–Madison transcript.

Capstone certificate students are admitted as University Special students through Adult Career and Special Student Services (ACSSS). ACSSS as the academic dean is responsible for issues related to student enrollment and the student's official record.

An ACSSS student services coordinator works with each department's capstone certificate coordinator on advising, admissions, enrollment eligibility, and program completion. Capstone certificates typically follow rules of the Graduate School for tuition, credit limits, and grading. 

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has offered graduate study for more than a century. Its advanced instruction actively involves graduate students in research. The faculty of more than 2,000 distinguished scholars and teachers, supported by an academic staff exceeding 6,000 confers graduate degrees in more than 160 fields of study.

As one of the nation's major research institutions, the university maintains extensive research facilities. More than 40 campus libraries, three museums, and numerous research centers support nearly 7,500 active local, national, and international research projects.

Keep in mind:

  • Deadlines for applications, fellowships and other types of funding vary among programs.
  • Requirements for admissions also vary; therefore, it is important to check program websites and the program page in Guide before applying.
  • All transcripts are sent directly to the program. If applying to more than one program, transcripts should be sent to each program. All transcripts become part of the university files and will not be returned.
  • The application fee is set by the legislature and is nonrefundable.

Council of Graduate Schools Policy Resolution

Acceptance of an offer of financial support* (such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year by a prospective or enrolled graduate student completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor. In that context, the conditions affecting such offers and their acceptance must be defined carefully and understood by all parties.

Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution. In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15 and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. There has been a change in our process for students who want to withdraw from an offer of acceptance of financial support, starting with Fall 2020 admissions.  In this case, the applicant must first inform the program that they are withdrawing or resigning from the offer of financial support that they previously had accepted.  Starting in Fall 2020, applicants are no longer required to obtain a formal release from the program whose offer they accepted, either before or after the April 15 deadline. Once they have informed the program that they are withdrawing their acceptance of the offer, they then can accept any other offers. It is further agreed by the institutions and organizations subscribing to the above Resolution that a copy of this Resolution or a link to the URL should accompany every scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, and assistantship offer.

*Please Note: This Resolution applies to offers of financial support only, not offers of admission.

The Graduate School sets minimum standards that must be met by all graduate students in the university. Continuation in the Graduate School is at the discretion of the major program, the Graduate School, and the major professor.

The requirements of most programs exceed the Graduate School minimum criteria. These additional requirements are described in each major program entry in the Guide on the Requirements tab. Students are responsible for reviewing Guide and obtaining specific degree requirements from the program. Many programs publish a graduate student handbook, which provides more details about graduate study and other policies and processes.

Graduate School Minimum Degree Requirements and Satisfactory Progress

Schools/colleges, departments and programs may set more rigorous expectations and requirements than the Graduate School.

Master's Degrees

M.A., M.S., M.Acc., MBA, M.M., M.Eng., MFS, MIPA, MPA, MSW

Minimum Graduate Degree Credit Requirement

30 credits

Minimum Graduate Residence Credit Requirement

16 credits

Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement

At least 50% of credits applied toward the graduate degree credit requirement must be in graduate-level coursework. Details can be found in the Graduate School’s Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) policy (https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1244).

Prior Coursework Requirements: Graduate Work from Other Institutions

For well-prepared advanced students, a student’s program may decide to accept prior graduate coursework from other institutions. This coursework does not appear on a UW–Madison transcript nor count toward graduate career GPA. The Graduate School’s minimum graduate residence requirement can be satisfied only with courses taken as a graduate student at UW–Madison. The only exception is graduate-level coursework taken as a CIC Traveling Scholar.

Prior Coursework Requirements: UW–Madison Undergraduate

For well-prepared advanced students, a student’s program may decide to accept up to 7 credits numbered 300 or above of required or elective courses from the undergraduate work completed at UW–Madison toward fulfillment of minimum degree and minor credit requirements. However, this work would not be allowed to count toward the 50% graduate coursework minimum unless taken at the 700 level or above. This work will not appear on the graduate career portion of UW–Madison transcript nor count toward the graduate career GPA.

The Graduate School’s minimum graduate residence credit requirement can be satisfied only with courses taken as a graduate student at UW–Madison.

Prior Coursework Requirements: UW–Madison University Special

After admission to a graduate program, the student’s program may decide to accept up to fifteen University Special student credits as fulfillment of the minimum graduate residence, graduate degree, or minor credit requirements on occasion as an exception (on a case-by-case basis).  UW–Madison coursework taken as a University Special student would not be allowed to count toward the 50% graduate coursework minimum unless taken at the 700 level or above. This work will not appear on the graduate career portion of UW–Madison transcript nor count toward the graduate career GPA.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Credits per Term Allowed

Up to 15 credits

Overall Graduate GPA Requirement

3.00

Other Grade Requirements

The Graduate School requires that students maintain a graduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) for all graduate courses (excluding research) to receive a degree. Many programs impose higher standards. Students should check with their program. Grades of Incomplete are considered to be unsatisfactory if they are not removed during the next enrolled semester.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Probation Policy

The Graduate School regularly reviews the record of any student who earned grades of BC, C, D, F, or Incomplete in a graduate course (300 or above), or grade of U in research credits. This review could result in academic probation with a hold on future enrollment or in being suspended from the Graduate School.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Advisor / Committee

Every graduate student is required to have an advisor. To ensure that students are making satisfactory progress toward a degree, the Graduate School expects them to meet with their advisor on a regular basis.

An advisor generally serves as the thesis advisor. In many cases, an advisor is assigned to incoming students. Students can be suspended from the Graduate School if they do not have an advisor. An advisor is a faculty member, or sometimes a committee, from the major department responsible for providing advice regarding graduate studies.

A committee often accomplishes advising for the students in the early stages of their studies.
For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Assessment and Examinations

Requirements determined by the program.

Time Constraints

Master’s degree students who have been absent for five or more consecutive years lose all credits that they have earned before their absence. Individual programs may count the coursework students completed prior to their absence for meeting program requirements; that coursework may not count toward Graduate School credit requirements.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Language Requirements

Each program sets its own language requirements. Some programs require competence in one or more languages before students can take preliminary examinations.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Master of Fine Arts Degree, Educational Specialist Degree, or Specialist Certificate

MFA, Ed.S., Specialist Certificate

Minimum Graduate Degree Credit Requirement

42 credits

Minimum Graduate Residence Credit Requirement

24 credits

Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement

At least 50% of credits applied toward the graduate degree credit requirement must be in graduate-level coursework. Details can be found in the Graduate School’s Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) policy (https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1244).

Prior Coursework Requirements: Graduate Work from Other Institutions

For well-prepared advanced students, a student’s program may decide to accept prior graduate coursework from other institutions. This coursework does not appear on a UW–Madison transcript nor count toward graduate career GPA. The Graduate School’s minimum graduate residence requirement can be satisfied only with courses taken as a graduate student at UW–Madison. The only exception is graduate-level coursework take as a CIC Traveling Scholar.

Prior Coursework Requirements: UW–Madison Undergraduate

For well-prepared advanced students, a student’s program may decide to accept up to 7 credits numbered 300 or above of required or elective courses from the undergraduate work completed at UW–Madison toward fulfillment of minimum degree and minor credit requirements. However, this work would not be allowed to count toward the 50% graduate coursework minimum unless taken at the 700 level or above. This work will not appear on the graduate career portion of UW–Madison transcript nor count toward the graduate career GPA.

The Graduate School’s minimum graduate residence credit requirement can be satisfied only with courses taken as a graduate student at UW–Madison.

Prior Coursework Requirements: UW–Madison University Special

After admission to a graduate program, the student’s program may decide to accept up to fifteen University Special student credits as fulfillment of the minimum graduate residence, graduate degree, or minor credit requirements on occasion as an exception (on a case-by-case basis). UW–Madison coursework taken as a University Special student would not be allowed to count toward the 50% graduate coursework minimum unless taken at the 700 level or above. This work will not appear on the graduate career portion of UW–Madison transcript nor count toward the graduate career GPA.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Credits per Term Allowed

Up to 15 credits

Overall Graduate GPA Requirement

3.00

Other Grade Requirements

The Graduate School requires that students maintain a graduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) for all graduate courses (excluding research) to receive a degree. Many programs impose higher standards. Students should check with their program. Grades of Incomplete are considered to be unsatisfactory if they are not removed during the next enrolled semester.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Probation Policy

The Graduate School regularly reviews the record of any student who earned grades of BC, C, D, F, or Incomplete in a graduate course (300 or above), or grade of U in research credits. This review could result in academic probation with a hold on future enrollment or in being suspended from the Graduate School.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Advisor

Every graduate student is required to have an advisor. An advisor is a faculty member, or sometimes a committee, from the major department responsible for providing advice regarding graduate studies. An advisor generally serves as the thesis advisor. In many cases, an advisor is assigned to incoming students. Students can be suspended from the Graduate School if they do not have an advisor

To ensure that students are making satisfactory progress toward a degree, the Graduate School expects them to meet with their advisor on a regular basis.

A committee often accomplishes advising for the students in the early stages of their studies.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Assessment and Examinations

Requirements determined by the program.

Time Constraints

Master’s degree students who have been absent for five or more consecutive years lose all credits that they have earned before their absence. Individual programs may count the coursework students completed prior to their absence for meeting program requirements; that coursework may not count toward Graduate School credit requirements.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Language Requirements

Each program sets its own language requirements. Some programs require competence in one or more languages before students can take preliminary examinations.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Doctoral Degrees

Au.D., DMA, DNP, OTD, Ph.D.

Minimum Graduate Degree Credit Requirement

51 credits

Minimum Graduate Residence Credit Requirement

32 credits

Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement

At least 50% of credits applied toward the graduate degree credit requirement must be in graduate-level coursework. Details can be found in the Graduate School’s Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) policy (https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1244).

Prior Coursework Requirements: Graduate Work from Other Institutions

For well-prepared advanced students, a student’s program may decide to accept prior graduate coursework from other institutions. This coursework does not appear on a UW–Madison transcript nor count toward graduate career GPA. The Graduate School’s minimum graduate residence requirement can be satisfied only with courses taken as a graduate student at UW–Madison. The only exception is graduate-level coursework take as a CIC Traveling Scholar.

Prior Coursework Requirements: UW–Madison Undergraduate

For well-prepared advanced students, a student’s program may decide to accept up to 7 credits numbered 300 or above of required or elective courses from the undergraduate work completed at UW–Madison toward fulfillment of minimum degree and minor credit requirements. However, this work would not be allowed to count toward the 50% graduate coursework minimum unless taken at the 700 level or above. This work will not appear on the graduate career portion of UW–Madison transcript nor count toward the graduate career GPA. The Graduate School’s minimum graduate residence credit requirement can be satisfied only with courses taken as a graduate student at UW–Madison.

Prior Coursework Requirements: UW–Madison University Special

After admission to a graduate program, the student’s program may decide to accept up to fifteen University Special student credits as fulfillment of the minimum graduate residence, graduate degree, or minor credit requirements on occasion as an exception (on a case-by-case basis). UW–Madison coursework taken as a University Special student would not be allowed to count toward the 50% graduate coursework minimum unless taken at the 700 level or above. This work will not appear on the graduate career portion of UW–Madison transcript nor count toward the graduate career GPA.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Credits per Term Allowed

Up to 15 credits

Doctoral Minor/Breadth Requirements

The Graduate School requires doctoral programs to have a doctoral minor requirement to achieve breadth. Only those doctoral programs which have an accepted minor opt-out request on file may excuse their students from the doctoral minor requirement with alternate paths to breadth.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Overall Graduate GPA Requirement

3.00

Other Grade Requirements

The Graduate School requires that students maintain a graduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) for all graduate courses (excluding research) to receive a degree. Many programs impose higher standards. Students should check with their program. Grades of Incomplete are considered to be unsatisfactory if they are not removed during the next enrolled semester.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Probation Policy

The Graduate School regularly reviews the record of any student who earned grades of BC, C, D, F, or Incomplete in a graduate course (300 or above), or grade of U in research credits. This review could result in academic probation with a hold on future enrollment or in being suspended from the Graduate School.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Advisor

Every graduate student is required to have an advisor. An advisor is a faculty member, or sometimes a committee, from the major department responsible for providing advice regarding graduate studies. An advisor generally serves as the thesis advisor. In many cases, an advisor is assigned to incoming students. Students can be suspended from the Graduate School if they do not have an advisor.

To ensure that students are making satisfactory progress toward a degree, the Graduate School expects them to meet with their advisor on a regular basis.

A committee often accomplishes advising for the students in the early stages of their studies.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Assessment and Examinations

Doctoral students are required to take a comprehensive preliminary/oral examination after they have cleared their record of all Incomplete and Progress grades (other than research and thesis). Deposit of the doctoral dissertation in the Graduate School is required. Additional requirements are determined by the program.1

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Time Constraints

Doctoral degree students who have been absent for ten or more consecutive years lose all credits that they have earned before their absence. Individual programs may count the coursework students completed prior to their absence for meeting program requirements; that coursework may not count toward Graduate School credit requirements.

A candidate for a doctoral degree who fails to take the final oral examination and deposit the dissertation within five years after passing the preliminary examination may by require to take another preliminary examination and to be admitted to candidacy a second time.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

Language Requirements

Each program sets its own language requirements. Some programs require competence in one or more languages before students can take preliminary examinations.

For more information, please consult the Graduate School Academic Policies and Procedures.

1

References to preliminary/oral examinations and dissertations to not apply to clinical doctorate degrees (such as Au.D., DNP). Consult the program for specific requirements.

Academic Calendar

Establishment of the academic calendar for the University of Wisconsin–Madison falls within the authority of the faculty as set forth in Faculty Policies and Procedures. Construction of the academic calendar is subject to various rules and guidelines prescribed by the Board of Regents, the Faculty Senate and State of Wisconsin legislation. The Faculty Senate approves an academic calendar which spans a future five-year period.