The UW–Madison Graduate School confers the Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Accountancy, Master of Business Administration, Master of Music, Master of Engineering, Master of French Studies, Master of International Public Affairs, Master of Public Affairs, Master of Social Work, Master of Fine Arts, Doctor of Audiology, Doctor of Musical Arts, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and Doctor of Philosophy. Also, several programs that do not award graduate degrees offer Ph.D. minors and certificates.
The master's degree is conferred only upon completion of a coherent and focused program of advanced study. Each department has set its own minimum degree requirements beyond the minimum required by the Graduate School. The master of fine arts degree offers superior students advanced training and opportunities for creativity. The program is for the prospective professional artist and teacher in the fine arts at the college level and emphasizes creative work.
The doctor of philosophy, the doctor of nursing practice, the doctor of audiology, and the doctor of musical arts are the highest degrees conferred at UW–Madison. None are conferred solely as a result of any prescribed period of study, no matter how faithfully pursued. The Ph.D. degree is a research degree and is granted on evidence of general proficiency, distinctive attainment in a special field, and particularly on ability for independent investigation as demonstrated in a dissertation presenting original research or creative scholarship with a high degree of literary skill. The D.M.A. degree is granted on evidence of a high degree of competence in performance, conducting, or composition. The D.N.P. and Au.D. degrees are clinical doctorates granted on evidence of clinical knowledge and expertise in their respective disciplinary areas.
The Ph.D., D.N.P., Au.D., and D.M.A. degree programs must be rationally unified, and all courses must contribute to an organized program of study and research. Courses must be selected from groups embracing one principal subject of concentration called the major (see Degrees), and if required, from one or more related fields called the minor. 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. A major may be permitted to extend beyond the above limits with the prior approval of the Dean of the Graduate School. The minor 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.
Minimum credits and other requirements necessary to earn these degrees are listed in the Graduate School Minimum Degree Requirements section.
Agricultural and Life Sciences, College of Business, Wisconsin School of Education, School of Engineering, College of Graduate School, Interdisciplinary Programs Human Ecology, School of Law School Letters & Science, College of Medicine and Public Health, School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, School of Veterinary Medicine, School of
This is the official list of graduate degrees offered at UW-Madison. Additional information, including all application materials, is available directly from the department or program.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U W Z
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African Languages and Literature—M.A., Ph.D.Afro-American Studies—M.A.Agricultural and Applied Economics—M.A., M.S., Ph.D.Agroecology—M.S.Agronomy—M.S., Ph.D.Animal Sciences—M.S., Ph.D.Anthropology—M.A., M.S., Ph.D.Art—M.A., M.F.A.Art Education—M.A.Art History—M.A., Ph.D.Astronomy—M.S., Ph.D.Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences—M.S., Ph.D.Audiology—Au.D.
Bacteriology—M.S.Biochemistry—M.S., Ph.D.Biological Systems Engineering—M.S., Ph.D.Biomedical Engineering—M.S., M.Engr., Ph.D.Biometry—M.S.Biophysics—M.S., Ph.D.Biotechnology—M.S.Botany—M.S., Ph.D.Business—Ph.D., M.A., M.B.A., M.Acc., M.S.
Cancer Biology—M.S., Ph.D.Cartography and Geographic Information Systems—M.S.Cellular and Molecular Biology—M.S., Ph.D.Cellular and Molecular Pathology—M.S., Ph.D.Chemical Engineering—M.S./M.Engr., Ph.D.Chemistry—M.S., Ph.D.Chinese—M.A., Ph.D.Civil and Environmental Engineering—M.S., M.Engr., Ph.D.Classics—M.A., Ph.D.Clinical Investigation—M.S., Ph.D.Communication Arts—M.A., M.F.A., Ph.D.Communication Sciences and Disorders—M.S., Ph.D.Community and Environmental Sociology—M.S.Comparative Biomedical Sciences—M.S., Ph.D.Comparative Literature—M.A., Ph.D.Computer Sciences—M.S., Ph.D.Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development—M.S.Counseling—M.S.Counseling Psychology—Ph.D.Creative Writing—M.F.A.Curriculum and Instruction—M.S., Ph.D.
Dairy Science—M.S., Ph.D.Development—Ph.D.
Economics—M.S., Ph.D.Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis—M.S.,Ph.D.Educational Policy Studies—M.A., Ph.D.Educational Psychology—M.S., Ph.D.Electrical Engineering—M.S., M.Engr., Ph.D.Endocrinology-Reproductive Physiology—M.S., Ph.D.Engineering—M.Engr.Engineering Mechanics—M.S./M.Engr., Ph.D.English—M.A., Ph.D.Entomology—M.S., Ph.D.Environment and Resources—M.S., Ph.D.Environmental Chemistry and Technology—M.S., Ph.D.Epidemiology—M.S., Ph.D.
Food Science—M.S., Ph.D.Forestry—M.S., Ph.D.French—M.A., Ph.D.French Studies—M.F.S.
Gender and Women's Studies—M.A.Genetics—M.S., Ph.D.Geography—M.S., Ph.D.Geological Engineering—M.S., M.Engr., Ph.D.Geoscience—M.S., Ph.D.German—M.A., Ph.D.Greek—M.A.
Hebrew and Semitic Studies—M.A., Ph.D.History—M.A., Ph.D.History of Science, Medicine and Technology—M.A., Ph.D.Horticulture—M.S., Ph.D.Human Ecology—M.F.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Industrial Engineering—M.S., M.Engr., Ph.D.International Public Affairs—M.I.P.A.Italian—M.A., Ph.D.
Japanese—M.A., Ph.D.Journalism and Mass Communication—M.A.
Kinesiology—M.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Landscape Architecture—M.A., M.S.Languages and Cultures of Asia—M.A., Ph.D.Latin—M.A.Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies—M.A.Library and Information Studies—M.A., Ph.D.Life Sciences Communication—M.S.Limnology and Marine Science—M.S., Ph.D.Linguistics—M.A., Ph.D.
Manufacturing Systems Engineering—M.S., M.Engr.Mass Communications–Journalism and Mass Communication—Ph.D.Mass Communications–Life Sciences Communication—Ph.D.Materials Engineering—M.S., M.Engr., Ph.D.Materials Science—M.S., M.Engr., Ph.D.Mathematics—M.A., Ph.D.Mechanical Engineering—M.S., M.Engr., Ph.D.Medical Genetics—M.S.Medical Microbiology and Immunology—M.S.Medical Physics—M.S., Ph.D.Microbiology—Ph.D.Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology—M.S., Ph.D.Molecular and Environmental Toxicology—M.S., Ph.D.Music—M.M., M.A., D.M.A., Ph.D.
Neuroscience—M.S., Ph.D.Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics—M.S., M.Engr., Ph.D.Nursing—M.S., D.N.P., Ph.D.Nutritional Sciences—M.S., Ph.D.
Occupational Therapy—M.S.
Pharmaceutical Sciences—M.S., Ph.D.Pharmacy—M.S.Philosophy—M.A., Ph.D.Physics—M.A., M.S., Ph.D.Physiology—M.S., Ph.D.Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics—M.S., Ph.D.Plant Pathology—M.S., Ph.D.Political Science—M.A., Ph.D.Population Health—M.S., Ph.D.Portuguese—M.A., Ph.D.Psychology—M.A., M.S., Ph.D.Public Affairs—M.P.A.
Rehabilitation Psychology—M.S., Ph.D.Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies—M.A.
Scandinavian Studies—M.A., Ph.D.Second Language Acquisition—Ph.D.Slavic Languages and Literatures—M.A., Ph.D.Social and Administrative Sciences in Pharmacy—M.S., Ph.D.Social Welfare—Ph.D.Social Work—M.S.W.Sociology—M.S., Ph.D.Soil Science—M.S., Ph.D.Southeast Asian Studies—M.A.Spanish—M.A., Ph.D.Special Education—M.S., Ph.D.Special Graduate Committee—M.A., M.F.A., M.S., Ph.D.Statistics—M.S., Ph.D.
Theatre and Drama—M.A., M.F.A., Ph.D.
Urban and Regional Planning—M.S., Ph.D.
Water Resources Management—M.S.Wildlife Ecology—M.S., Ph.D.
Zoology—M.A., M.S., Ph.D.
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. For general information about these types of programs, refer to the degree and capstone certificate sections.
The following programs are fully or partially available at a distance. They represent programs where a student could earn the credential by taking 50 percent or more of the work associated with the program at a distance. For more information, contact the programs. Consumer Health Advocacy-Capstone Certificate Educational Psychology—M.S. (named option: Professional Educator) (MSPE) Electrical Engineering—M.S. (named option: Power Engineering) Engineering—M.Engr. (named options: Engine Systems; Professional Practice; Sustainable Systems Engineering; Technical Japanese) Library and Information Studies—M.A. (named option: Distance Delivered Program) Mechanical Engineering—M.Engr. (named option: Polymer Science) Mechanical Engineering—M.S. (named option: Controls)
The following programs are flexible to working schedules with evening and/or weekend courses. For more information, contact the program.
Biotechnology—M.S. Business: General Management—M.B.A. (named options: Executive MBA; Evening MBA) Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis—Specialist Certificate Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis—M.S. Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis—M.S. (named options: Cooperative Program with UW-Whitewater; Global Higher Education) Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis—Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis—Ph.D. (named option: Wisconsin Idea Executive Ph.D. Cohort) Post Graduate Psychiatric Nursing—Capstone Certificate Social Work—M.S.W. (named options: Part Time MSW, Eau Claire; Part Time MSW, Madison) For a list of other distance and flexible programs on campus, please visit the Division of Continuing Studies
Breadth is an important component of doctoral training. Given that there are multiple paths to breadth, the Graduate School leaves the choice of whether students achieve breadth through a minor or other means up to the specific graduate program.
Minor options are:
Almost all available graduate programs offer an equivalent option A minor. See the official list of graduate degrees, above, to review individual catalog entries to confirm counterpart doctoral minor offerings within existing graduate programs. The following is a list of additional doctoral minors distinct from the existing list of graduate programs:
African StudiesAir Resources ManagementBusiness, Environment and Social ResponsibilityChicano/a and Latino/a StudiesCulture, History and EnvironmentEast Asian StudiesEnglish LinguisticsFolkloreGlobal StudiesHistory of MedicineHuman Development and Family StudiesHumans and the Global EnvironmentInternational EducationLawPrevention and Intervention SciencePrint Culture HistoryQualitative Research Methodology in EducationReligious StudiesRussianScience and Technology StudiesTransdisciplinary Study of Visual Cultures
The university offers several programs of study that may not grant graduate degrees but coordinate teaching and research among scholars active in interrelated disciplines. Students enrolled in graduate certificate programs must be enrolled simultaneously in a UW-Madison graduate degree program. There is no formal admission to graduate certificate programs. Students typically request the certificate after all course work has been completed. Programs offering the following certificates monitor all course and satisfactory progress requirements.
African StudiesBioinformaticsBusiness, Environment and Social ResponsibilityConsumer Health AdvocacyCulture, History and EnvironmentEnergy Analysis and PolicyEntrepreneurshipEuropean StudiesFundamentals of Clinical ResearchGender and Women's StudiesGerontologyGlobal HealthHumans and the Global EnvironmentMaterial Culture StudiesMedieval StudiesPatient SafetyPrevention and Intervention ScienceRussian, East European and Central Asian StudiesSoutheast Asian StudiesStrategic Innovation: Technology, Organizations, and SocietyTeaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)Technical CommunicationTransdisciplinary Study of Visual CulturesTransportation Management and PolicyType 2 Translational Research
The Specialist Certificate repreents work beyond the master's level. For more information, contact the program.
Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (Specialist) Library and Information Studies (Specialist)
The university offers certificates for new students not currently enrolled in a UW–Madison degree program. Applicants must have completed a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent; seek a certificate to "cap off" their undergraduate training; or are professionals returning to school for specialized training in the area of the certificate. Capstone programs do not lead to the conferral of a graduate degree.
Programs offering capstone certificates monitor all academic and satisfactory progress requirements. Applicants are admitted as Special students through the Division of Continuing Studies. For more information see Capstone Certificates.
UW–Madison offers the following capstone certificate programs:
Actuarial Science Bioinformatics Communication Sciences and Disorders Consumer Health Advocacy French Studies Fundamentals of Clinical Research Geographic Information Systems Global Health Master Administrator Nursing Care of Children with Chronic Conditions in Schools Post-Graduate Psychiatric Nursing Type 2 Translational Research
This page was updated 6/25/12, 7/2/12, 7/17/12; 7/19/12; 10/26/12; 3/25/13; 4/29/13.
