Graduate Students

Graduate Programs

For a complete list of all graduate majors, please see the Degrees Offered page in this catalog.

Academic Opportunities

Graduate (Post-Baccalaureate) Certificates and Post-Master’s Certificates represent courses of study that constitute less than a full graduate degree and provide specialized knowledge and skills for the professional. Admission decisions and advising are provided by the departments that supervise these options. Course prerequisites may be waived if the student can present evidence of advanced career experience. Proficiency examination, transfer, and Prior Learning Assessment may not be used because of the limited number of courses required and the need for course content to logically integrate. Grade requirements that must be met for the graduate certificate to be awarded are specified by each department and are detailed in the information listed.

Graduate Admission Philosophy

The University of Illinois Springfield is committed to providing access to high-quality graduate education through a clear, consistent, and standards-based admission process. Graduate admission is grounded in academic readiness, alignment with program requirements, and potential for success in advanced study.

Core Principles

  1. Standards-Based Evaluation: Admission decisions are based on established criteria, including a conferred bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, minimum GPA requirements (typically 2.50 or higher), and completion of any required prerequisites or criteria.
  2. Program-Specific Requirements: Each graduate program sets its own admission standards, above the standard-based evaluation, to ensure applicants are adequately prepared for the rigor and expectations of the discipline.
  3. Conditional Admission: While programs aim to fully admit applicants whenever possible, applicants who do not fully meet program standards may be considered for conditional admission, with clearly defined steps to achieve full admission status. Conditional admission may negatively impact a student’s ability to receive financial aid.

Goals of Graduate Admission

  1. Enroll students who meet defined academic and programmatic standards.
  2. Ensure graduate students are prepared to succeed in advanced academic work.
  3. Offer clear admission pathways that support the needs of students and program advancement. 
  4. Facilitate UIS’s mission of excellence in teaching, public service, and lifelong learning.

This philosophy reflects UIS’s values of integrity, access, accountability, and student-centered education, while ensuring UIS’s graduate programs remain rigorous, relevant, and responsive to both student and societal needs.

Joint Graduate Degree Policy

A joint degree allows students to pursue two graduate degrees simultaneously while allowing some shared course hours to be applied to both degrees. As a result, students may earn two degrees in fewer hours than if they pursued the degrees separately. The degree programs should be complementary, and the joint degree is expected to reflect the intellectual intersectionality between them. Otherwise, reducing the number of hours required for the two degrees could diminish the quality of each.

Requirements:

  1. Separate Admission: Candidates must be admitted to each program independently.
  2. Prerequisite Compliance: Candidates must fulfill all prerequisite requirements for each program and formally notify each program in writing of their intention to pursue the joint degree before initiating any closure processes.
  3. Course and Closure Completion: Candidates must successfully complete the courses specified in the joint degree articulation agreement and meet the closure requirements of each degree program or the joint closure requirement as defined by the programs.

Upon successful completion of the joint degree program, students will be awarded two separate diplomas, one for each degree.