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 the key source for program-specific policies regarding admission, degree requirements, funding, prior coursework, and more.

On This Page

Editions and Archives

The information in this Guide is current for the academic year, including the summer, fall, and spring terms. The Guide is an official document of record and is reviewed and updated every year.

The Guide is published only online; printed copies are not available. Archived editions from past years are available in the Archive.

Students are responsible for meeting the academic requirements that were in effect at the time they matriculated, including satisfactory progress and degree requirements. In situations when academic requirements change 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.

Graduate School Degrees

The UW–Madison Graduate School confers:

  • Master of Arts (MA)
  • Master of Science (MS)
  • Master of Accountancy (MAcc)
  • Master of Business Administration (MBA)
  • Master of Engineering (ME)
  • Master of International Public Affairs (MIPA)
  • Master of Music (MM)
  • Master of Public Affairs (MPA)
  • Master of Social Work (MSW)
  • Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
  • Educational Specialist (EdS)
  • Doctor of Audiology (AuD)
  • Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
  • Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
  • Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The Graduate School oversees the administration of those degrees, doctoral minors, graduate/professional certificates, and capstone certificates. Some major programs have identified sub-majors, known as “named options”. Official named options are approved by university governance and appear on the transcript when the degree is conferred. Some programs also have unofficial pathways that do not appear on the transcript.

Degree programs must be rationally unified, with courses that contribute to an organized program of study and/or research. Courses must be selected from groups embracing one principal subject of concentration called the major (see Degrees). 

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.  The Graduate School requires all doctoral programs to incorporate a breadth requirement. The 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 degrees are listed in the Graduate School Minimum Degree Policies and Requirements section; each program may set degree requirements and expectations more stringent than Graduate School policy.

Graduate Student Resources

The Graduate School 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 Glossary provides information about Graduate School academic and administrative policies, procedures and definitions of commonly used terms in graduate education. Note some policies redirect to entries in the official UW–Madison Policy Library. This glossary reflects current policies and procedures of the Graduate School, the Office of the Registrar, the Office of the Bursar, the International Students Services (ISS), and other university units.

Graduate Assistant Policies and Procedures (GAPP) outlines employment-related practices for graduate student teaching, research, and project assistantships.

Graduate Student Professional Development and Communications

The Graduate School Office of Professional Development and Communications (OPDC) 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. The office provides a wealth of resources and events tailored to the needs of UW–Madison graduate students.

The Office of Professional Development and Communications 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 Professional Development. Students may keep up-to-date by reading GradConnections, the newsletter for graduate students, bookmarking the Events Calendar to keep tabs on upcoming workshops of interest, and following the Graduate School’s X, Facebook, YouTube, 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 Universities of Wisconsin 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. The Center is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive educational experience for students, 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.

The Center works 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, note taking 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 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.

Degrees/Majors

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.

Doctoral Minors

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 advise students to enroll in a doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate to meet the breadth requirement. If a doctoral minor or graduate/professional/capstone certificate is not required by the student’s doctoral major program, it is noted on the Requirements tab of the Guide degree or named option page. See Doctoral Minors on the Graduate School webpage for minimum course requirements for the minor. 

Graduate/Professional Certificates

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’s breadth requirement. Graduate/professional certificate programs coordinate teaching and research among scholars active in interrelated disciplines.

Capstone Certificates

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.

Graduate students are not eligible to enroll in capstone certificates.

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

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

International Students

The availability of a capstone certificate program to an international student varies as follows:

Capstones

Admissions

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has offered graduate study for more than a century. The faculty of more than 2,000 distinguished scholars and teachers, supported by an academic staff exceeding 10,000 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.

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.
  • 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. If an applicant accepts an offer before April 15 and then decides to withdraw that acceptance, they may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. Applicants must inform 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.

*Note that this Resolution applies to offers of financial support only, not offers of admission.

Policies and Requirements

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 and the Graduate School.

Program requirements can exceed the Graduate School minimum criteria. Additional requirements are described in each program’s Requirements tab on its Guide page. Students are responsible for reviewing Guide and obtaining specific program 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 Policies and Requirements

Schools/colleges, departments and programs may set more stringent requirements than the Graduate School. The table below includes Graduate School policies and other information that is featured on each program page.

Policies

Graduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1216
Undergraduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions or UW-Madison Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1216
Credits Earned as a Professional Student at UW-Madison (Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary careers) Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1216
Credits Earned as a University Special Student at UW-Madison Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1216
Probation Refer to the Graduate School: Probation policy. https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1217
Advisor / Committee Refer to the Graduate School: Advisor (https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1232) and Graduate School: Committees (Doctoral/Master’s/MFA) (https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1201) policies.
Credits Per Term Allowed 15 credit maximum. Refer to the Graduate School: Maximum Credit Loads and Overload Requests policy. https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1228
Time Limits Refer to the Graduate School: Time Limits policy. https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1221
Grievances and Appeals Refer to School/College and program policy.
Other Each program may have unique policies. Refer to individual program Guide pages.

Requirements

Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement policy. https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1244
Overall Graduate GPA Requirement 3.00 GPA required. Refer to the Graduate School: Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement policy. https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1203
Other Grade Requirements Programs may have additional and/or more stringent policies. Refer to individual program Guide pages.
Assessments and Examinations Each program may have unique policies. Refer to individual program Guide pages.
Language Requirements Each program may have unique policies. Refer to individual program Guide pages.

Master's Degrees

MA, MS, MAcc, MBA, MM, MEng, MIPA, MPA, MSW

Minimum Graduate Degree Credit Requirement

30 credits

Minimum Graduate Residence Credit Requirement

16 credits

Master of Fine Arts Degree or Educational Specialist Degree

MFA, EdS

Minimum Graduate Degree Credit Requirement

42 credits

Minimum Graduate Residence Credit Requirement

24 credits

Doctoral Degrees

AuD, DMA, DNP, OTD, PhD

Minimum Graduate Degree Credit Requirement

51 credits

Minimum Graduate Residence Credit Requirement

32 credits

Graduate School Breadth Requirement

All doctoral students are required to complete a doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate. Refer to the Graduate School: Breadth Requirement in Doctoral Training policy. 

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

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.