Admission Policies and Procedures
Applying for Admission - Degree Seeking
Students seeking admission to the School of Graduate Studies as a degree seeking student must first apply for admission. You may:
- Apply online by using the UW-System electronic appication at apply.wisconsin.edu
- Obtain a paper application form from the School of Graduate Studies, 106 Brigham Hall, by calling 608.342.1389, e-mailing raimer@uwplatt.edu, or writing the School of Graduate Studies, 106 Brigham Hall, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, 1 University Plaza, Platteville, Wisconsin 53818-3099. Submit the completed paper application form to the School of Graduate Studies, 106 Brigham Hall, by mail.
There is an application processing fee of $56.00 ($45.00 for applications prior to September 1, 2008). If you are completing a paper application for admission, please include a check or money order with your application. If you submit an application online the application processing fee may be charged to a credit card. Please note that if the application fee is not paid, the application will not be processed.
You must submit official transcripts from all institutions attended. The official transcripts must be sent directly from the institutions where the course work was completed. Applications will not be processed until all transcripts are on file. Transcripts become the property of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and will remain on file at the university. Those seeking admission must have an earned bachelor's degree from a nationally or regionally accredited institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). International degrees will be evaluated individually. In some cases, a fee may be assessed to have international transcripts evaluated. Some programs may have additional admission requirements.
The faculty in the program area will evaluate each application for admission. Recommendations for admission, including admission status, will be based on a number of factors such as academic background in specific areas, performance in specific areas, test scores, recommendations, and previous graduate work. Admission status will be determined and reported to the applicant by the School of Graduate Studies.
International Students
In addition to filing the standard application for admission international students must file:
- official transcripts translated into English and certified as taken from the original documentation. Official transcripts translated by another agency other than the educational institution where the credits were completed must be traslated by Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) www.ece.org. Altered documentation will be considered a perjury and shall cause us to reject the application.
- a notarized "Financial Responsibility Statements"
- an official report from the testing agency of their Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score. Students from English speaking countries may not need to provide TOEFL scores. Instead they should check with the dean of the School of Graduate Studies to obtain a waiver. A minimum score of 500 (paper based) or 173 (computer based) or 61 (Internet) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for all international students. The students may request a waiver of the TOEFL requirement by submitting an acceptable justification for the waiver to the dean of The School of Graduate Studise.
An I-20 form will not be issued until all required documents have been received, reviewed and approved by the international student advisor.
Admission Status
Upon being admitted, students will be classified in one of the following categories:
- Full Standing - To be eligible for admission in full standing, a student must have an overall undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 or above or 2.90 on the last 60 credits from the degree-granting institution.
- Trial Enrollment - Students who do not qualify for admission in full standing may be admitted on trial enrollment. Trial enrollment admission status is to be used only in extraordinary cases. Admission as a trial enrollee must be justified by the admitting department and approved by the dean of the School of Graduate Studies. Each program determines the number of credits contained in its trial enrollment period, up to nine credits of graduate course work. After a student has completed the minimum (as specified by their program area), the faculty in the program area recommend that the student's status be changed to full standing, probation, or dismissal. The credits earned while on trial enrollment may be counted toward a degree if approved by the faculty in the program area.
Assignment of Advisor
An advisor will be assigned to each new graduate student by the program area upon the student's admission to the School of Graduate Studies. The dean of the School of Graduate Studies will confirm the final approval of advisor assignments. Students may request a change of advisor at any point during graduate study. Students may obtain graduate advisor change forms from the School of Graduate Studies, 106 Brigham Hall, 608.342.1322, e-mail raimer@uwplatt.edu.
Transfer Credits
The following guidelines apply to transfer credits to graduate programs at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville:
- To be accepted for transfer, credits must be approved by more than one faculty member in the relevant program along with the dean of the School of Graduate Studies. Faculty may be 1) the program's committee; or 2) some mix of the student's advisor, program head, and a faculty member with expertise in the field.
- A minimum of 50% of the credits for a degree must be from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville graduate courses.
- Credits may be transferred only from a nationally or regionally accredited institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
- Students must complete their graduate program within seven years of being admitted to the program at University of Wisconsin-Platteville (extensions may be granted). Once credits have been accepted as transfer credits, they become part of the current program of study, and the seven-year limit is based on the date of admission into the program.
- Transfer credits will be officially recorded after the student has successfully completed one graduate course at University of Wisconsin-Platteville and only courses where the student received a grade of B or higher will be accepted.
Applying for Admission - Non-Degree Seeking
Students not seeking a master's degree who have earned a bachelor's degree from a nationally or regionally accredited institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) may register as special students. Application and registration as a special student are handled using the three graduate registration forms:
- Graduate registration form
- Graduate background form
- Graduate residency form
These forms are available:
Special students receive full academic credit for credit courses taken while they are on special student status. The special student may later be considered for admission into a degree program if a 3.00 grade point average has been maintained in all graduate-level work and all other admission requirements are met. With the program area's approval, a special student may transfer up to 12 credits earned at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville into a degree program. All graduate level work will be included in computing the student's academic average.