As research advances and academic inquiry evolves, graduate faculty members may wish to propose new graduate programs. This procress is necessary to maintain relevant, cutting-edge graduate programs.
Guidelines
If you wish to propose a new graduate program, first review the Academic Approval Process maintained by the Office of the Executive Vice President for University Academic Affairs, including the Required Documentation for Degree Proposals, and the Academic Approval Matrix for the approval steps and timetable. This process governs the review and approval of:
- New Graduate Certificates
- New Graduate Degrees
- New Dual Degree Arrangements
- New Majors, Tracks, Concentrations, and Specializations
- New Graduate Minors
- Offering existing programs online
- Name changes to existing programs
- Program Discontinuation
- Other items as outlined by the Academic Approval Matrix
To begin the program proposal process, contact Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Jeff Rutherford at jruther@iu.edu or 812-855-4010.
All Graduate programs must meet the requirements of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
Writing Your Proposal
Check the Academic Approval Matrix to determine whether your proposed program requires Indiana Commission for Higher Education approval.
If so, your proposal must be organized according to the criteria outlined by the ICHE academic review process. Get the guidelines »
Whether it requires ICHE approval or not, your proposal should address the following elements of the proposed program:
- Objectives
- Features and strengths
- Curriculum
- Degree to be awarded
- Admissions requirements
- Who will be served
- Student financial support available
- Evidence of student demand
- Employment possibilities for graduates—data from published reports or surveys of regional and national employers as to the demand for graduates with such degrees
- Relevant faculty experience—relationship between faculty research profiles and the core curriculum of the program
- Resources required—what resources are readily available and what new resources will be needed; if new resources are required, the proposal should include a clear commitment from campus administrators that these new resources will be obtained if the program is implemented
- Impact on undergraduate and other graduate programs—how new courses and administrative work will affect existing curricula and faculty teaching loads and how these other programs may benefit as a result of the new program
- Compatibility with university and campus missions
- Implementation plan
- Plan for administering the program—who will oversee the program, who will advise students, and how this will affect their workloads
- Comparison with similar programs at other universities and at other IU campuses—where such programs exist at other universities in the Midwest and nationally; data on enrollment, graduates, number of faculty; and the program’s relationship to professional accreditation standards and accepted and emerging practices
- Compatibility of proposed curriculum with accreditation established by governmental bodies or by relevant professional organizations
Letters of support from departments with related programs will strengthen the proposal. We suggest you send your proposal to departments with similar programs at other IU campuses. This is not required, but it can greatly improve your proposal and program.
Depending on the program proposed, additional materials may be required or recommended. For assistance with starting the proposal process or for helpful proposal documentation examples, contact Assistant Dean Rutherford.
Planning Your Program
As you plan your new graduate program, keep in mind the differences between an undergraduate major and a graduate program. Graduate programs should be distinguished from undergraduate offerings—the purpose of undergraduate programs is to convey the fundamentals of accepted knowledge and critical thinking skills, while a graduate program should introduce students to reading, understanding, and critiquing advanced scholarly literature and doing routine research or making original contributions to the arts. We strongly encourage you to develop a core curriculum of graduate-level courses only, rather than dual-listed or concurrent courses.
Degree Requirements and Curriculum
Look to existing programs at IU to develop requirements regarding credit hours, examinations, and written work. They should be consistent across programs.
If you’re using graduate courses that are already approved for IU, reference sample syllabi from courses that have been taught at other campuses.
Contact the University Graduate School early in your proposal process to ask for guidelines that may be relevant for certain types of programs.
Dual and Combined Degrees
Some graduate programs involve the conferral of two separate degrees.
A dual degree is the combination of two degrees at the master’s level, whether two M.A.s, an M.A. and an M.S., or an M.A. or M.S. and a professional degree (such as an M.B.A.). Dual degrees must require at least 50 hours of credit and at least 21 hours from each department (of which no more than 3 hours can be derived from a thesis). The student must meet the core requirements of each degree.
A combined degree is the combination of a master’s-level degree and a degree at a higher level than the master’s; for example, an M.A. or M.S. and a D.D.S.
Students earning only one degree may still earn a double major, such as a Ph.D. with a double major in American studies and history.
