This policy defines the major types of graduate degrees overseen by the Graduate School and describes the distinguishing purposes, academic orientations, and expectations associated with each degree type.
In accordance with Executive Order VII, the Graduate School is responsible for supervising the content and academic level of programs leading to all master’s degrees and all doctoral degrees except the MD, JD, PharmD, and DDS.
In fulfilling this responsibility, the Graduate School adheres to the standards for graduate education established by the University of Washington’s accrediting body, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).
Graduate degree programs may prepare students for scholarship that contributes to new knowledge, or they may be practice-oriented programs that prepare students to apply new or existing knowledge toward specific professional or personal goals.
1.7.1 Master’s Degrees
Master’s degrees vary widely in content and outcomes but emphasize advanced disciplinary training and the acquisition of specialized knowledge or high-level skills beyond the bachelor’s degree. These programs support a wide range of educational, professional, and personal goals. Depending on the field, master’s programs may be applied, practice-oriented, research-oriented, or combine multiple approaches.
1.7.2 Educational Specialist Degrees
Educational specialist degrees are advanced, practice-oriented degrees designed for educators. These programs provide specialized education beyond the master’s level.
1.7.3 Practice Doctorates
Practice doctorates prepare students for professional practice at the frontiers of existing knowledge. These degrees emphasize the practical application of knowledge in a specific field and equip students with advanced skills for professional practice. They are distinguished from research doctorates in that they do not focus on the creation of new knowledge and do not require a dissertation. The culminating experience in a practice doctorate focuses on meeting the demands of highly technical professional or clinical environments.
Graduates of practice doctorate programs—such as the Doctor of Nursing Practice, Doctor of Physical Therapy, and Doctor of Global Health Leadership and Practice—are prepared for leadership roles within their professional fields.
1.7.4 Research Doctorates
Research doctorates are advanced, research-oriented degrees awarded to individuals who have demonstrated the highest level of mastery of the intellectual principles in a specific field of study and who have made a significant contribution to new knowledge in that field. These degrees include the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) as well as other doctoral degrees that prepare graduates for professional practice or artistic endeavor at the frontiers of existing knowledge while also requiring an original scholarly contribution in the form of a dissertation.
For all research doctorates, the dissertation consists of original research conducted under the guidance of an appropriate faculty advisor and other university faculty in the field. Prior to receiving the degree, the doctoral candidate (defined in SGP 114.7. A) must complete this original research and successfully defend it during the dissertation defense (final examination).
Research doctorates are distinguished from doctoral programs designed primarily for professional training or applied research related to professional practice, such as practice doctorates, as well as from doctoral degrees not overseen by the Graduate School (MD, JD, DDS, and PharmD). Graduates of research doctoral programs are prepared for careers in which they lead innovative research initiatives and mentor future scholars and practitioners.
[Note: See Graduate School Policy 1.1 for degree requirements.]
Policy 1.7 revised: February, 1985; June 2010; December 2022; March 2024; May 2026