The Graduate College
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is committed to providing a quality graduate education for students that includes knowledge of the literature of the discipline and ongoing engagement in research and/or appropriate professional practice and training experiences.
The Graduate College provides centralized coordination of and administrative leadership for all graduate programs. It oversees all processes related to graduate students including marketing to prospective students, extending offers of admission to the university, enrolling students, maintaining permanent student records and certifying graduate degrees. The responsibilities of the Graduate College are to review policies related to graduate education; oversee application of current and subsequent graduate policy; assure implementation of graduate policy; assist in the development of new graduate programs; serve as a consultant for changes in graduate programs; approve thesis and dissertation formats as prescribed by the program; publish theses and dissertations; assure establishment of graduate assistantship guidelines; facilitate a system of graduate advisement; maintain records of graduate faculty; propose matters of policy to the Graduate Education Committee; work with the Graduate Education Committee and function as a liaison between the Committee and the provost; and develop and review the Graduate Catalog.
Philosophy
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is an equal opportunity educational institution. Under this philosophy, students are admitted to the university without regard to race, creed, color, sex, ethnic origin, religion, age, veteran status or disability.
General Information
Admission requirements for graduate programs are designed for students who have a high probability of success in graduate-level work at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The university establishes minimum standards for admission to any graduate program. Each graduate program may establish higher minimum admission standards with the approval of the Graduate Education Committee. The application to all graduate programs can be found at www.utrgv.edu/gradapply
Graduate degree programs are housed in academic departments. Each department establishes its requirements for admission in consultation with the Graduate Education Committee. Graduate program requirements are in addition to the minimum requirements established for admission by the Graduate College at the university.
Normally, all undergraduate work must be satisfactorily completed prior to taking graduate courses or at least be completed during the first semester of enrollment in graduate courses. Any student who would like to enroll in a graduate-level course (courses numbered 5000-9000) must apply and be accepted for graduate study at UTRGV. Students accepted for graduate study are also eligible to enroll in undergraduate courses.
Admission procedures and criteria specific to the master’s and doctoral programs are located in the relevant sections of this catalog.