Proposing a New Program

The approval process for new graduate certificate programs includes submission to the Office of Academic Affairs of two documents: the Planning Notice of Intent (PNOI) and the Full Program Proposal, including cover sheet.

New graduate certificate programs require Graduate School review, including evaluation by external reviewers, followed by consideration and sanction by the Graduate School Council. UW Bothell and UW Tacoma require additional approval. Final approval is granted by the UW Board of Regents.

The Graduate Schools’ Office of Academic Affairs coordinates the review of new graduate certificate program proposals. The review process is outlined in the graduate certificate proposal flowcharts for UW Seattle, UW Bothell, and UW Tacoma, linked below.

• UW Seattle >
• UW Bothell >
• UW Tacoma >

Planning Notice of Intent (PNOI)

The first stage of new graduate certificate program development is contacting the Office of Academic Affairs (progprop@uw.edu) for guidance and feedback on PNOI. Units must submit a draft PNOI (Word document) for review and comment. A staff liaison will be assigned once the draft document has been submitted. Submission of the final, signed PNOI is by email to the assigned staff liaison.

Once final, the PNOI will be distributed to UW stakeholders for a 14-day comment period. The outcome of the PNOI process is permission to develop a full program proposal.

Guidelines for the PNOI are available in the following document:

• Certificate Planning Notice of Intent guidelines >

Full Program Proposal

After receiving the notice of “permission to develop” from the Office of Academic Affairs, academic units develop a full proposal, taking into account any observations that stakeholders have submitted during the comment period.  Units must submit a draft full proposal (Word document) to Academic Affairs for review and comment. Submission of the final, signed proposal is by email to the assigned staff liaison.

Guidelines for Graduate Certificate Program Proposals are available in the following document:

• Cover Sheet for Graduate Certificate Program Proposals >
• Guidelines for Graduate Certificate Program Proposals >

Implementation

Approval of a new graduate certificate program by the Board of Regents leads to the following sequence of events:

1. the Provost distributes a memo to the dean/chancellor confirming Board of Regents approval;
2. the Office of Academic Affairs forwards the approval memo to the University Registrar for creation of new degree code(s).
3. the academic unit can now propose new courses for the approved program.

The approval process for new stacked graduate degree proposals includes submission to the Office of Academic Affairs of two documents for the graduate degree plus the two documents for any component graduate certificates: the Planning Notice of Intent (PNOI) and the Full Program Proposal, including cover sheet.

Program structure must align with Policy 1.4. In addition, any new graduate certificates must follow the regular graduate certificate proposal process and policies outlined in Policy 1.2.

If one or more graduate certificates are being created with the intent of including them as part of a stacked degree, we recommend simultaneous submission, if possible. This allows campus stakeholders (for the PNOI comment period) and external reviewers (for the full degree proposal) to view the full context of the programs.

If the graduate certificates are not proposed at the same time as the stacked degree, a full description of the graduate certificates must be included in the stacked degree proposal (as opposed to only including the course content).

Stacked degree proposals are currently being accepted for programs where the program and its component graduate certificate programs are under the oversight of one dean (for Seattle campus) or chancellor (Bothell and Tacoma campuses). For stacked graduate degrees featuring graduate certificates from multiple units under one dean, the degree program code and official oversight will be housed at the school/college/campus level rather than in one unit.

The approval process for new degree option proposals includes submission to the Office of Academic Affairs of the Full Degree Option Proposal, including cover sheet.”

The review process is outlined in the degree option proposal flowchart for all campuses:

• New Graduate Degree Program Option flowchart >

New graduate degree options require review and approval by the Office of Academic Affairs based on information provided in the full New Degree Option Proposal.

New Degree Option Proposal

The first stage of new degree option development is contacting the Office of Academic Affairs (progprop@uw.edu) for guidance and feedback. Units must submit a draft new degree option proposal (Word document) for review and comment. A staff liaison will be assigned once the draft document has been submitted. Submission of the final, signed degree option proposal is by email to the assigned staff liaison.

Guidelines for New Graduate Degree Option Proposals are available in the following document:

• Cover Sheet for New Degree Option Proposals >
• Guidelines for New Degree Option Proposals >

The approval process for new combined undergraduate/graduate (CUG) program proposals includes submission to the Office of Academic Affairs of the Full CUG Proposal.

Graduate programs may create a sequential combined undergraduate/graduate (CUG) degree program according to the guidelines outlined in Graduate School Policy 1.6.

The Graduate School’s Office of Academic Affairs coordinates the review of CUG proposals. The approval process includes review and approval by the Office of Academic Affairs based on information in the full CUG Proposal.

Full CUG Proposal

The first stage of new CUG development is contacting the Office of Academic Affairs (progprop@uw.edu) for guidance and feedback early in the development process. Units must submit a draft CUG proposal (Word document) for review and comment. A staff liaison will be assigned once the draft document has been submitted. Submission of the final, signed proposal is by email to the assigned staff liaison.

Guidelines for New CUG Program Proposals are available in the following document:

• Guidelines for New Combined Undergraduate-Graduate Program Proposals >

The approval process for new formal concurrent degree  includes submission to the Office of Academic Affairs of a proposal that addresses each of the items indicated below.

Guidance for Concurrent Degree Programs

Graduate School Policy 1.5, allows concurrent degree programs to share credits between the two degree programs, thus allowing students to earn two degrees with fewer credits than if the degrees were pursued consecutively. For questions, contact the Office of Academic Affairs at progprop@uw.edu.

Because informal concurrent degrees are those initiated by a student and coordinated by the participating academic programs, no proposal or Graduate School approval is required.

Formal concurrent degree programs, consist of a coordinated curriculum proposed by the academic unit(s) and approved by the Graduate School. See the following guidances below:

1. Describe the rationale and need for the program.
2. Outline the curriculum for each program, including a detailed description of any credit sharing.
3. Describe how the sharing of resources, faculty involvement, support of students, and assessment of student learning is distributed between the participating programs. This includes a consideration of course requirements, the degree to which course material in either program articulates with those in the other program, and the number and distribution of thesis credits between the two programs.
4. For each program, explicitly articulate the impact on students’ time to degree for completion of both programs.
5. Describe administrative oversight and support for the program. This includes the resources required to oversee the program, advise students on the program and course offerings, and assure students’ access to required courses.
6. Define what constitutes minimal progress toward, and achievement of the standards for conferral of, both degrees.
7. Describe expectations and standards for admission into, and completion of, the concurrent master’s degree program. These expectations should also be published in a student handbook or other readily accessible resource.
8. If a shared thesis is part of the concurrent degree program structure, outline how one faculty member from each unit shall co-chair the thesis committee for each student. Describe how intellectual components from both degree programs are present in the shared thesis, and the thesis credits should be distributed between the two programs as articulated in the memorandum of agreement. The shared thesis option, if available, should be broadly communicated to students.
9. Include an outline of the arrangements between academic units that are contained in a formal memorandum of agreement.
10. Note that the concurrent program will be explicitly considered in each unit’s academic program review.