Admission Policies for Graduate Programs

Criteria for Full Admission

All graduate applicants receive a holistic application review by the admissions committee in the program for which the application is received. Committees base their decision on the student’s potential for attaining a graduate degree at Western. Applicants are evaluated according to criteria established by the specific graduate program. Evidence to demonstrate eligibility for acceptance may include previous academic achievement, rigor of academic history as shown by undergraduate grade-point average (recommended 3.0 on a 4.0 scale), graduate grade-point average (minimum 3.0 on a 4.0 scale), letters of recommendation, leadership potential, diversity of experience, supporting materials, and the depth of engagement in related professional activities. Details, including application deadlines, are listed on each program’s website. 

Criteria for Provisional Admission

The School of Graduate Studies, upon the recommendation of the program director or admissions committee, may grant provisional admission to applicants who show potential for success but do not yet meet all requirements for full admission. A provisionally admitted student will receive a letter of admission outlining the conditions for achieving full admission, which may include one or more of the following:

  • Submission of an official transcript verifying the conferral of a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university before beginning graduate coursework.
  • Completion of prerequisite coursework, as defined by the program's admission requirements, within the period established by the program or School of Graduate Studies, not exceeding one calendar year.
  • Submission of missing recommendations before beginning graduate coursework.

Each graduate program may establish additional provisional admission requirements, which are listed on the program’s website and in the graduate catalog. Students must meet all conditions within the specified timeframe to be granted full admission status.

Accelerated Provisional Admission

Students enrolled in a Western Colorado University accelerated degree pathway—designed to allow completion of both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree within five years—will apply for provisional admission to the graduate program before beginning their final academic year of undergraduate coursework, once they have met the eligibility requirements defined by the program. These students may be provisionally admitted in advance and begin taking graduate coursework while still holding undergraduate status; however, they will not be fully admitted to the graduate program to pursue a master's degree until their bachelor’s degree is officially conferred and all other conditions of provisional admission are met by the deadline specified in the terms of admission.

Criteria for International Student Admission

All international applicants seeking admission to a graduate program must follow the published admission guidelines for their intended program.

To be considered for admission, applicants must submit official transcripts from their undergraduate and/or graduate studies. If the applicant's bachelor's degree was earned from a U.S. institution, official transcripts must be sent directly from that institution. If the applicant's degree was earned outside the United States, a course-by-course credential evaluation completed by a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) is required. The evaluation must include a detailed list of completed courses, the grades received in each, and an overall assessment of cumulative academic performance. Other supporting documentation may be required depending on the specific graduate program.

International applicants must also demonstrate English language proficiency by submitting official scores from one of the following tests: TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo.

  • TOEFL iBT: Minimum overall score of 80. Minimum required iBT scores are 20 for each of the four subsets: Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing.
  • IELTS: Minimum overall band score of 6.5, with no individual band score below 6.0.
  • Duolingo English Test: Minimum overall score of 105, with no sub-score below 100.

Applicants from countries where English is the sole official language of instruction (e.g., Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada—except Quebec, England, The Gambia, Ghana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, and Wales) are typically not required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo scores.

Additionally, applicants must provide a letter of financial support and a bank affidavit (with English translation) demonstrating sufficient funds in U.S. currency to cover the first year of study.

Deferred Matriculation

A student who is admitted into a graduate program may defer matriculation for a twelve-month period from the start of the academic year of original admission. A student is allowed one such deferral, after which the student will have to reapply to the program. In order to hold a place in a graduate program for which a student has been accepted, the student must pay the non-refundable deposit as required by the specific program, which will be held by Western as a matriculation fee for one year. In the event that the student does not matriculate, this fee will not be refunded. If the student chooses to matriculate within one year of the original application, the original acceptance decision will stand except in extraordinary circumstances, such as criminal activity or academic dishonesty. A deferred student must submit any new transcripted coursework that has been completed within the deferral year before gaining full admittance into the program. Any exceptions to the deferred matriculation policy must be approved by the respective program director and School of Graduate Studies.   

Non-Degree Seeking Students

A qualified student may enroll in 600-level graduate coursework as a non-degree-seeking student without being officially admitted to a credential-granting graduate program. Non-degree-seeking students must hold a conferred bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and apply for non-degree admission before enrolling in any courses.

Enrollment in 600-level courses does not constitute or imply admission into a credential-granting graduate program. To be formally accepted into a graduate program, the candidate must meet the program admission requirements and complete the full admissions process. Non-degree students may take any number of credits, subject to approval by the specific program director. If subsequently admitted to a graduate degree program, a maximum of nine credits earned as a non-degree-seeking student may be applied toward that degree. If admitted to a graduate certificate program, no more than half of the credits required for the certificate may be applied.

Auditing Courses

Students in good academic standing may broaden and deepen their educational experience by auditing courses. Auditing permits the student to attend a course without being required to complete exams and assignments. An audited course is not graded and does not carry academic credit, nor does it satisfy any degree or program requirement. Students auditing a course will receive a “No Credit (NC)” on their transcript. Audited courses are treated as part of a student’s course load for the purposes of determining Western Colorado University course load limits only. Regular tuition and fees apply for audited courses, but audited courses are not eligible for financial aid. A student may audit no more than 6 credit hours per semester.

It is highly recommended that students considering auditing a course discuss this decision with their academic advisor and ensure that it will not disrupt the student’s progress towards a degree or negatively impact their financial aid. Some courses are not conducive to auditing, and auditing a graduate course is on a space-available basis and requires approval from both the course instructor and the graduate program director prior to registration. The decision to audit a course must be made at the time of registration, and students may not change from audit to credit or from credit to audit after a class has begun.

Transfer Credits

Western offers graduate level certificate programs and professional development coursework which may not be transferred into a program resulting in a degree. Courses in these programs are numbered at the 500-level.

A maximum of nine 600-level credits earned at Western as a non-degree seeking student may be applied toward a graduate degree at Western upon approval by the graduate program director and Dean of Graduate Studies. Each course must be completed with a grade of a B or above to apply toward graduate degree requirements.

A maximum of nine 600-level credits taken at Western as part of a master’s degree program may be used to meet the academic requirements for a second master’s degree in a related discipline with the approval of the graduate program director. This limit does not apply to courses completed for a Master of Arts in Creative Writing that are later applied toward the academic requirements for the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

Coursework completed more than five years prior to being admitted into the graduate program shall be evaluated by the graduate program director as to current relevance and applicability to the degree requirements.

Graduate credits earned from other accredited institutions may be transferred to the respective Western graduate program, upon approval from the graduate program director and the School of Graduate Studies. Transfer credits must be listed and approved by the student's academic advisor, approved by the graduate program director, and then submitted to the School of Graduate Studies for processing. Official transcripts showing the successful completion of these credits, each with a minimum GPA of 3.0 or equivalent, must be submitted to Western before the graduate degree will be conferred.

Graduate credits transferred must meet the following criteria:

  • Earned at a regionally-accredited institution;
  • Numbered at the graduate level and accepted as part of a graduate degree program at the sending institution;
  • Earned at a minimum of 3.0 GPA or equivalent, as defined by the sending institution’s official transcript;
  • Earned within the past five years unless a department specifies otherwise;
  • May not exceed nine credits.

General Admission and Recruitment Policy 

Western Colorado treats students ethically, respectfully and professionally in the marketing, recruiting, admissions and financial aid process so that students can make informed enrollment decisions about matters such as enrollment and financial aid without being subjected to high-pressure tactics from the institution or a related contractor, including but not limited to: 

  1. Falsely claiming that enrollment spots are limited or taking advantage of students’ lack of understanding to pressure students to enroll; 

  2. Pressuring students to make an immediate financial aid decision; 

  3. Engaging in repeated unsolicited contact. 

Western Colorado University promptly honors any request from a student to remove that student’s name from phone, email or other contact lists. Student information collected through any aspect of the institution’s enrollment processes is maintained and protected as outlined in the institution’s data privacy policy, which must be prominently posted on the institution’s website. 

Western Colorado University shall not induce or pressure a student to enroll by a specific deadline outside of the regular process of scholarship monies, institutional discounting, fee waivers, financial aid, other assistance or institution-branded gifts of nominal value. 

In addition to a policy related to return of Title IV funds, the institution has a refund policy to assure that students receive a refund where appropriate if they withdraw from an academic term or from an institution according to policies set forth by the institution. 

Western Colorado University does not otherwise engage in aggressive or deceptive recruitment tactics or conduct, such as may be defined and prohibited by federal regulations. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the following institutional acts or omissions: 

  1. Obtaining students’ contact information through websites that falsely claim to provide assistance with finding employment or obtaining government benefits; 

  2. Discouraging students from consulting with parties unrelated to the institution prior to finalizing their decisions or commitments; 

  3. Failing to timely respond in a timely way to students’ requests for additional substantive information related to enrollment or loan obligations. 

Western Colorado University will not use threatening, abusive, or manipulative language to influence a student’s decision. 

Service Member Recruitment Policy 

Western Colorado University will refrain from using high-pressure recruitment tactics such as making multiple unsolicited contacts (3 or more), including contacts by phone, email, or in-person, and engaging in same-day recruitment and registration for the purposes of securing Service member enrollments. Western will not reach out to Service members with non-essential communications more frequently than once a week. Western Colorado University prohibits high-pressure or aggressive recruitment of service members.