The Graduate School - Advising Information

This page contains information about the admission process and matriculation. If you need additional information, please the Graduate School at graduate.school@wku.edu. 

Admission

Admission to degree programs at WKU is based on approved admission requirements as listed in the Graduate Catalog. Applicants are required to submit their application online and send in all additional supporting materials to the Graduate School. After the applicant submits the required documents, an admission packet is sent via eSignature to the designated admission coordinator for the program. A report of incomplete admission applicants is provided to graduate admission coordinators. The department makes an admission decision and forwards it to the Graduate School. After the Graduate School receives the admission decision, notification is sent to the applicant via mail and email. Applicant admission status includes Good Standing and Conditional Admission. 

Matriculation

The matriculation forms detailed below are available on our Forms and Documents page.  (For assistance with electronic signatures or digital documents please contact IT at 270-745-7000.)  While the Graduate School will still accept paper copies, we strongly encourage and recommend all documents be completed electronically.  All approved graduate documents are viewable through TopNet.

PROGRAM OF STUDY (submitted prior to completion of 12 hours)
The program of study is developed by the student and advisor assigned at the time of admission.  All coursework required for degree completion is listed and appropriate approval signatures are obtained prior to submission in the Graduate School.  Students and advisors are notified by email of final approval. 

PROGRAM OF STUDY CHANGE FORM (optional)
Any change to the approved program of study must be agreed upon by the student and advisor and submitted to the Graduate School for final approval. 

APPLICATION FOR GRADUATION (submitted semester prior to degree completion)
The application for graduation must be submitted through TopNet the semester prior to degree or certificate completion; additional deadlines are posted on the Registrar's website for inclusion in the commencement booklet. 

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM/CAPSTONE COMPLETION
All students must complete a comprehensive examination, capstone project, or defense of a thesis or dissertation.  Program requirements vary, but all students must submit successful completion of the culminating experience. 

Registration Holds

The holds listed below are the most common holds that are placed on Graduate Students. If you feel that a hold has been applied improperly, please contact us to see about pushing out or removing the hold.

APPLICATION FEE: applied to students who have not paid the application for admission fee; the student must pay this fee before any additional registration is allowed.

DEG COMPLETE READMIT: applied to student after the file has been audited and approved for graduation and are not admitted to any other program; to register for coursework, the student must reapply and gain admission to a program.

ESLI GRAD STUDENT: applied to students who are participating in ESLI and need to reapply and gain admission to a program; the student should complete an online application for the appropriate program.

FORM C – DEGREE PGM: applied to students in a degree program that have not filed a Program of Study for that program after earning 12 hours of coursework as a graduate student.

GRAD CERTIFICATE: applied to students in a graduate certificate program that have not filed a certificate program form for that program; these students will need to complete a certificate program form, and it will need to be submitted to Teacher Certification.

GRADUATE PROBATION: applied to students who are on probation; students should meet with their advisor to discuss a plan to raise the GPA to 3.0; advisors may remove the hold through the "Update Student Hold Flags" link in TopNet. Additional directions can be found in the FAQs.

GRADUATE DISMISSAL: applied to students who have been dismissed for failure to raise their GPA to 3.0 after completing nine hours on probation; contact the Graduate School for further information. 

NO UG DEGREE: applied to students who have been admitted to a program but have not yet submitted final transcripts; the student must submit final transcripts before any additional registration is allowed.

TEACHING CERTIFICATE: applied to students who supplied an outdated teaching certificate; the student should submit a current teaching certificate to the Graduate School.

COMPL CERTIFICATE/RANK PGM: applied to students who successfully complete a certification or Rank program and are not admitted to any other program; to register for coursework, the student should reapply by filling out an online application

Advisee Lists

You can access a list of your advisees through Infoview. The report is "ADV – Students Assigned to a Selected Advisor (dw)" and can be found in Public Folders/WKU Campus Community/Advisors. This report will only show you the students who are registered for the given term and assigned to the selected advisor.