Tagged or Professional Master’s Degree

Professional master’s programs contain advanced graduate level coursework, a practice perspective to the learning, and variable levels of scholarly work. Typically more than 30 graduate credit hours are required to earn a professional master’s and these programs are ‘tagged’ with a distinguishing degree name. Tagged master's programs provide preparation for advanced training in practicing programs. Professional master’s degrees are frequently a terminal degree or can serve as training for a professional doctoral degree program. 

Professional master’s can be thesis, non-thesis, capstone or course based. Capstone experiences such as a practicum (a supervised internship) or a culminating project (an independent project to develop skills and competencies) may be included as part of a professional master’s. A capstone experience is a multifaceted assignment that serves as a culminating academic and intellectual experience for students, typically during their final year of an academic program. The Summary of Master’s Degree Graduation Requirements (Section 6.6) pertains to the tagged masters’ programs. Please note that a master’s examination may not be required for the completion of a professional master’s degree. Interested parties should contact a professional master’s program of interest for more information. 

Proposals for tagged or professional graduate degree programs should meet the guidelines specified by the Office of Academic Affairs. These titles, the programs of study, and the determinations of entry and exit (examination) requirements are made according to standards designed for academic degree purposes and must be approved by the Graduate School and undergo similar processes for all program approvals.