Graduate Education at The University of Tulsa

Graduate education at The University of Tulsa is based upon the principles that no objective lies deeper in a university’s tradition than the nurture of scholarship, and that graduate education represents the highest reaches of university endeavor.

The Board of Trustees authorized graduate study leading to the master’s degree in 1933. The first master’s degree was granted in 1935. The Board of Trustees approved a curriculum leading to the Doctor of Education degree in 1951, which has since been discontinued. The first Doctor of Philosophy program was authorized by the Board of Trustees in 1963; Ph.D. curricula in several areas were inaugurated and given preliminary accreditation by North Central Association in 1966, with full accreditation in 1972. Additional subject specialties have been available since that time towards a Ph.D. Currently The University of Tulsa has 9 actively matriculating Ph.D. programs. The Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) program was authorized by the Board of Trustees in 2016, with 4 specialty tracks available as of Fall 2020.

The Graduate School supervises all graduate work offered by the University except that of the College of Law (College of Law information is published in a separate bulletin). The Graduate School sets standards for admission to graduate standing and recommends to the Board of Trustees for degrees those students who have completed work required for graduation.

The general policies and regulations of the Graduate School are set and enforced by the Graduate Council and the Dean of the Graduate School, subject to approval by the University administration. The Dean is chair of the Council, which consists of graduate faculty members elected from each college, the deans of the colleges offering graduate work, and the president of the Graduate Student Association. Council faculty members must hold at least the academic rank of associate professor.

Functions of the Graduate Council include:

Development of policies for the Graduate School and the recommendation of these policies to the administration.
Establishment of regulations for the administration of policies.
Examination and approval, or rejection, of new programs and curricula proposed for the Graduate School.
Development of criteria for membership in the graduate faculty.
General concern for the Graduate School’s welfare and the quality of work offered.
Recommendation to the Dean of the Graduate School concerning the disposition of cases filed by a student or faculty involving charges of academic misconduct involving graduate students, or perceived academic impropriety arising from an action taken by faculty. (See The Committee for Petitions of the Graduate Council in Academic Policies for details.)
Hearing of graduate student petitions that request departure from established Graduate School policies and a resultant recommendation to the Dean of the Graduate School. (See The Committee for Petitions of the Graduate Council in Academic Policies for details.)