Admission to the School of Graduate Studies

Applying for Admission - Degree Seeking

Students seeking admission to the School of Graduate Studies as an on-campus degree seeking student must first apply for admission. You may:

• Apply online by using the UW-System electronic application at https://apply.wisconsin.edu


• Obtain a paper application form from the School of Graduate Studies, 106 Brigham Hall, by calling 608.342.1322, e-mailing gradstudies@uwplatt.edu, or writing
  
  
  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. 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. There is also the option during the application online process to print off a form and submit the $56 processing fee to the School of Graduate Studies Office by mail. Please note that if the application fee is not paid, the application will not be processed.

Applicants must submit an official transcript from the institution awarding their undergraduate degree. If the applicant has previouslytaken graduate courses and would like to have them considered for transfer to a University of Wisconsin-Platteville graduate degree program, the applicant must also provide official transcript(s) from the institution(s) where the graduate credits were earned. The official transcripts must be sent directly from the institution where the course work was completed. 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 evaluated by Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) www.ece.org. Altered documentation will be considered a misrepresentation and shall cause us to reject the application.


• A certified "Financial Verification Form/Graduate Student". This form is available through web page www.uwplatt.edu/ gradstudies/admission_oncampus.html.


• Copy of passport.


• An official report from the testing agency of their Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score, or their score on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Students from English speaking countries may not need to provide TOEFL or IELTS 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 61 (Internet) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for all international students. Students taking the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) must achieve a minimum score of 6.0. The students may request a waiver of the TOEFL or IELTS requirement by submitting an acceptable justification for the waiver to the dean of The School of Graduate Studies.


• For students of the Program in ESL at UW-Madison, WESLI or MESLS:
  
  
  • Program in ESL at UW-Madison Students: When students who enroll at Program in English as a Second Language at UW-Madison (http://www.english.wisc.edu/ esl/) in Madison, Wisconsin completes their coursework at the Program in ESL at UW-Madison, the Program in ESL's will provide UW-Platteville with a letter of recommendation of English language proficiency, a copy of the current I-20 and a completed transfer verification form.
  • WESLI Students: When students who enroll at Wisconsin English as a Second Language Institute (http:// www.wesli.com/) in Madison, Wisconsin complete their coursework at WESLI, WESLI will provide UW-Platteville with the following: a letter of recommendation of English language proficiency, completion of the 700 level coursework and/or at least a 75 on the Michigan test; a copy of the current visa; and a completed transfer verification form.
  • MESLS Students: When students who enroll at Madison English as a Second Language School (www.mesls.org/) in Madison, Wisconsin complete their coursework at MESLS, MESLS will provide UW-Platteville with the following: a letter of recommendation of English language proficiency, completion of the 302 or Advanced level coursework and/or at least a 75 on the Michigan test; a copy of the current I-20; and a completed UWPlatteville Transfer Clearance Form.

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 degree-seeking 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.

Transfer Credits

The following guidelines apply to transfer credits (both internal and external) 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 maximum of 12 credits for a degree may be transferred.
• 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:

• Online through webpage www.uwplatt.edu/gradstudies/registration. html.
• By contacting the School of Graduate Studies by e-mailing gradstudies@uwplatt.edu, calling 608.342.1322, or faxing 608.342.1389.

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.