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Guidelines for New Graduate Programs

Indiana University Graduate Council Guidelines for Submitting Proposals for New Graduate Programs

Approved April, 1996

  1. All proposals for new Masters, Doctoral, Doctoral Minor, and Graduate Certificate programs should discuss the major topics listed below. Those proposals requiring approval of the Indiana Commission on Higher Education should be organized according to the ICHE Guidelines for Developing Academic Program Proposals. Those not requiring ICHE approval need not necessarily follow this format but must nevertheless address the following issues somewhere in the proposal:
    • Objectives of the Program
    • Unique Features and Strengths of the Program
    • Curriculum
    • Degree to be Awarded
    • Admissions Requirements
    • Clientele to be Served
    • Student Financial Support Available
    • Evidence of Student Demand
    • Employment Possibilities for Graduates
    • Relevant Faculty Expertise
    • Resources Required
    • Impact on Undergraduate and Other Graduate Programs
    • Compatibility with University and Campus Missions
    • Implementation Plan
    • Plan for Administering the Program
    • Comparison with Similar Programs at Other Universities and at Other Campuses of Indiana University
    • Compatibility of proposed curriculum with accreditation established by governmental bodies or by relevant professional organizations
  2. It is strongly suggested that the proposal be sent to departments with similar programs at other campuses of Indiana University. Although the approval of these other departments is not required, such efforts can yield considerable benefit in terms of communication, coordination and program development.
  3. The plan for administering the program should consider who will oversee the program, who will advise students, and how this will affect their workloads. In parallel fashion, the discussion of the program s impact on undergraduate and other graduate programs should give a clear statement of how new courses and administrative work will affect existing curricula and faculty teaching loads, and also identify any benefits that may accrue to these other programs as a result of the new program.
  4. In discussing relevant faculty expertise, the proposers should focus on the relationship between faculty research profiles and the core curriculum of the program.
  5. In discussing resources, the proposers should identity what is already available and what new resources will be needed in terms of faculty, space, library holding, etc. If substantial new resources are required, the proposers should include a clear commitment from campus administrators that these new resources will be forthcoming as the program is put into place.
  6. In comparing the program to others elsewhere, the proposers should identify where such programs exist at other universities, both in the Midwest and nationally. Data on enrollments, graduates, number of faculty and other such dimensions of these programs should also be given. The program s relationship to professional accreditation standards and to accepted and emerging practices in the field should also be discussed.
  7. In discussing employment opportunities for graduates in the program, the proposers should give data either from published reports or their own surveys of regional and national employers as to the demand for people with such degrees.
  8. Those who develop graduate programs should take great care to distinguish them from undergraduate offerings. It is strongly urged that the core curriculum consist of graduate only, rather than dual-listed or concurrent courses. Proposers should bear in mind the differences between an undergraduate major or course and a graduate program or course. At the undergraduate level the purpose is to convey the rudiments of accepted knowledge and critical habits of thought and expression. A graduate program or course should introduce students to reading, understanding, and critiquing the advanced scholarly literature in the field and to doing routine research by widely understood methods, or, in the arts, to making original contributions of a creative nature. An M.A. student, however, would not necessarily be asked to contribute to the professional literature, as would be required of a Ph.D. student by the completion of the doctoral program. Requirements with respect to credit hours, examinations, and written work must be substantially identical to those at existing programs elsewhere at Indiana University. When using graduate courses already approved for Indiana University, it is advisable to seek sample syllabi for those courses from campuses which have already taught them.
  9. Special attention should be given to the compatibility of the proposed curriculum with accreditation criteria established by quasi-governmental bodies or by relevant professional organizations, where those are relevant. In some cases this may include demonstrating the availability of the resources needed to provide the variety and amount of required clinical, or other, practicum experience. Entry-level academic degrees required for certification or licensing vary considerably from one profession to another. It is the responsibility of new programs to consider these issues carefully, if their prospective graduates are to be assured of employment opportunities. In the case of clinical professions such as speech pathology or audiology, questions of national and state populations to be served and of the current and future outlook for either shortages or over-production in those professions should be explicitly considered.
  10. The following terminology has been approved by the Graduate Council to refer to programs in which the student earns two separate degrees: dual refers to two degrees at the master s level, whether two M.A. degrees, an M.A. and an M.S., or an M.A. or M.S. and a professional degree (such as the M.B.A., the M.P.A., or the M.L.S.), while combined refers to two degrees when one is at a higher level than the master s, e.g. M.A. or M.S. and M.D. or D.D.S. 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 core requirements of each degree must be retained. For programs in which students earn only one degree, the term double major is preferred (e.g. Ph.D. with a double major in American Studies and History).

The Graduate School has additional guidelines which may be relevant for certain types of programs. Early in the preparation of your proposal you should contact the Graduate School to see if any of these are relevant to your program.