Graduate Programs

Graduate Programs offers a wide variety of programs that meet the needs of students across multiple disciplines. The knowledge and abilities cultivated in our graduate programs meet compelling needs for work, service and leadership beyond our campus. Western Oregon University empowers its students, employees and alumni to lead meaningful, responsible lives.  

The Graduate Faculty consists of the president and vice president of academic affairs of WOU, the academic deans, the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, and the colleges’ graduate faculty coordinators and members of the faculty who have been named by their divisions and approved by the director of graduate studies.

The WOU IRB is a group of WOU faculty, staff, and community members charged with providing oversight for all human subjects research conducted in association with WOU. The purpose of IRB oversight of research is to assure the protection of the research participants, the researcher, and the university. The research community has a responsibility to ensure that the treatment of human participants in research meets the highest ethical standard.

The WOU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is a group of university and community members, as well as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. This university-level committee acts to oversee and ensure the ethical utilization of vertebrate animals (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) in university research, teaching, and outreach and is under the purview of the Office of Graduate Studies and Research. The primary role of the IACUC is to review, deliberate, approve, amend, and withhold approval of animal use protocols involving university personnel or facilities. The committee’s guiding principle is the weight of harm to animal subjects relative to the relevance of the research, teaching, or outreach to human or animal health, the advancement of knowledge, and the good of society.

PURE’s mission is to support and promote undergraduate research experiences for WOU students in an open, inclusive, and ethical manner. Its goal is to celebrate student achievement through a variety of engaging events, activities, and digital media, highlighted by the annual Academic Excellence Showcase and the journal Pure Insights.

 For over 50 years RRCD have been writing grants to support students in fields such as interpreter training and rehabilitation counseling. Grant awards from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) allow us to provide over $620,000 each year in stipends and tuition remissions for students in our graduate-level ASL/English Interpreting Program and our graduate-level Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program. 

Save the Date for the Next Scholarship Symposium!  This Scholarship Symposium, sponsored by the Office of Graduate Studies and Research, aims to share and highlight scholarly work being done within the Western Oregon University community. October 16, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. This event will highlight the work of Dr. Kimberly Jensen.

The Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) supports the scholarship, research, teaching, and programmatic missions of the University by providing a full range of services to faculty and staff at every stage of the grant process. From initial inquiry, through proposal development, review and submission, to grant and award management, and final closeout, the SPO is here to serve WOU.

The Research Institute (TRI) at Western Oregon University improves the quality of life for individuals by facilitating positive change in education, health, and human services systems.

Western Community Policing Institute (WCPI) was established in 1996 as one of the national networks of Regional Community Policing Institutes (RCPI). WCPI provides innovative nationwide training and technical support on issues vital to community safety.