Policy 1.4: The Stacked Graduate Degree - UW Graduate School Skip to content
Graduate School News

Policy 1.4: The Stacked Graduate Degree

[See also: Additional Information on Policy 1.4 & Stacked Degree FAQ and Proposing a New Program]

A “stacked degree” is a master’s or practice doctorate program that requires students to complete one or more graduate certificates along with additional requirements to earn the degree, distinguishing it from degree programs in which any certificate completion is optional. Stacked degrees and the graduate certificates they are comprised of will appear as credentials on the student transcript.

1.4.1   Stacked Graduate Degree Program Requirements

1.4.1.1 Alignment with degree and certificate requirements

  • The combination of graduate certificates and additional requirements that comprise the stacked degree must ensure that students meet coursework/credit requirements (e.g., course levels, minimum credits, minimum graded credit, culminating experience) described in Policy 1.1 for each degree type.
  • All graduate certificates must follow the policies outlined in Policy 1.2.
  • Graduate certificates that are part of a stacked degree may be earned independently or combined to apply towards degree requirements

1.4.1.2 Curricular coherence

  • The title of a stacked graduate degree must clearly reflect the academic focus of the degree program.
  • A stacked degree with a stated goal of integrating curriculum across disciplines (such as those including “interdisciplinary” or “multidisciplinary” in their degree title) must establish an interdisciplinary curriculum oversight committee that includes at least one representative from the administrative home of each certificate that can count towards the degree.
  • Stacked degree programs that allow students to complete different combinations of graduate certificates to earn the same credential must ensure consistent learning outcomes and/or competencies for all students in the degree program and result in a coherent body of study.
  • For degree programs that involve certificates in different colleges or schools (cross-college stacked degrees), courses listed for one credential may not appear in the curriculum of any other credential within the stacked master’s degree.
  • [NOTE: The graduate certificates that can apply toward a stacked degree must be established in the program proposal. The addition of graduate certificate options to stacked degree program requires a program change proposal.]

1.4.1.3 Coursework that may be applied towards stacked degree requirements

  • 6 credits of previous graduate work, including transfer and graduate non-mariculated (GNM) credit, may be applied toward each certificate per Policy 1.2.  The total number of such credits applied toward the stacked degree are limited to 12, per Policy 1.1.

1.4.2 Continuous enrollment and time to completion

  • The Graduate School does not mandate continuous enrollment for stacked credentials. Re-entry policy is described in SGP 102.7.F
  • Time to stacked degree completion requirements will be made at the program level and described in the program proposal and student handbook. In the absence of program level policy, the time period to complete the stacked degree will align with those described in Policy 1.1 for each degree type. 
  • Program guidelines and/or student handbooks must address:
    • Program expectations regarding performance and progress requirements.
    • Key academic milestones and expected timelines, as defined by the program.
    • Time limits for specific coursework or graduate certificates to apply towards stacked degree requirements, considering that some content may become outdated if time to completion requirements are especially long.

1.4.3 Admissions

  • Students must be admitted to the relevant graduate certificate program before, or at the same time as, their admission to the stacked degree program for which the certificates are required.
  • Admission into each certificate program must be based on the certificate’s stated admissions criteria; an application to a stacked degree program may not be used as a primary factor in certificate admissions decisions. Certificate programs that consider a student’s stated plans to pursue a stacked degree must disclose this in their published admissions materials.

Policy 1.4 created: July 2022; revised: December 2022; April 2024; January 2025; March 2025; March 2026