Graduate Admission to Westminster University

Admission Criteria

Westminster's graduate programs welcome applications from prospective students who are committed to active learning, respect for diverse people and perspectives, collaboration and teamwork, personal and social responsibility, university-wide excellence, and high ethical standards. Program faculty and the Graduate Admission Committees carefully consider applications using a holistic approach to its review. When evaluating an application file, factors such as prior academic experience, writing ability, references, interpersonal skills, maturity and professional fitness are considered. Westminster University does not discriminate based on race, color, pregnancy, childbirth, or pregnancy-related conditions, age, religion, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, military status, and genetic information, or other legally protected status. The university's commitment to nondiscrimination applies to students, employees, and applicants for admission and employment. For additional information, see the full Non-Discrimination Statement.

Admission Process

Prospective students who wish to enter a degree, certificate, or endorsement program at Westminster University are required to submit a completed application for admission. Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree earned from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States or the international equivalent.

A candidate for admission must submit the following materials to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

• Completed Westminster Application
• $50 application fee
• A professional statement of intent
• Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended

See further required application materials per graduate program. Each program’s application requirements can be found online.

All materials submitted to the Graduate Admissions Office become the property of the university and cannot be returned to the student or sent to another school. For important application dates and events scheduled for prospective graduate students at Westminster, please contact Graduate Admissions at 801.832.2200 or 800.748.4753. Send e-mail inquiries to gradadmissions@westminsteru.edu

Deferred Admission

Admitted graduate students for many of Westminster University’s graduate programs are eligible to request deferred admission. Deferred admission is offered to students who plan to delay their enrollment to a different semester than the one they were admitted to.

Requests for deferred admission must be submitted prior to deposit deadline for a program and may be requested for up to 3 semesters.

Deferred admission is not intended to allow students to begin or continue their graduate career elsewhere, though students may take a limited number of courses as a part-time student during their deferred admission period. Westminster assumes that any academic work pursued during the deferred admission period will be at an academic level consistent with or above the student's academic performance record with which they gained acceptance to Westminster University. Students must submit all transcripts from university-level coursework completed during the deferred admission period. The university reserves the right to reverse a prior admissions decision based on poor results of academic work completed during the deferred admission period.

Prior to their return, students must confirm their intention to enroll by submitting a second non-refundable tuition deposit. Learn about deferred enrollment.

Non-Degree Seeking Students

Non-degree seeking students are defined as students who are enrolled at the university but have not applied for, or been accepted into, a degree program. Non-degree seeking students, therefore, are those who plan to take courses for “interest only.” Non-degree seeking students are subject to the academic regulations of the university. Credit earned while in non-degree seeking student status is not considered toward a degree unless the student applies for admission to, and is accepted by, the university as a degree-seeking student. A maximum of 21 semester hours of coursework taken as a non-degree-seeking student may be considered for credit earned toward a degree. Non-degree seeking students are not eligible to receive institutional or federal financial aid. Those who wish to pursue a degree must complete the admission process as a degree-seeking student. Non-degree seeking students must be admitted as degree-seeking prior to the first day of classes in the semester in which they wish to be considered degree-seeking.

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Readmission of Former Students

Students who wish to register at the university after an absence of three or more academic semesters (including Summer semester) must apply for readmission through the Office of Graduate Admissions. Re-entering students are subject to the academic requirements in effect at the time of their re-entry. Westminster University makes every effort to honor coursework taken in previous years; however, due to curriculum changes, this cannot be guaranteed. Previous coursework in question must be reviewed by individual academic departments with a final agreement submitted in writing to the Registrar's Office. Students readmitted after three or more semesters will be expected to meet program requirements for the catalog in effect at the time of readmission. This includes program cost of tuition and fees at the time of readmission.

Readmission of Service Members or Veterans

In accordance with the Higher Education Reauthorization Act, Westminster University will readmit military service members at the same academic status in which they left the institution for service activation or deployments, provided the student notifies the university in advance of their deployments and are not absent from the institution for more than five years, cumulatively. Those students who fail to provide advance notice may re-enroll after providing proof of service.

To readmit a service member with the same academic status means that the institution readmits the service member:

• To the same program, unless the service member requests or agrees to admission to another program (if the service member’s program is no longer offered, the institution must admit the service member to the program that is the most similar);
• With the same number of credit hours or clock hours completed, unless the service member is admitted to a different program and the hours are not transferable.
• With same academic standing (for example, satisfactory academic progress status).
• For the first academic year, with the same tuition and fee charges as when the service member left, unless military benefits will pay the increase, but never more than the institution is charging other students.
• For subsequent academic years or for a different program, by assessing tuition and fee charges that are no more than the institution is charging other students.

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International Students

The university accepts and enrolls students who are citizens of countries other than the United States. Full-time international students are issued Forms I– 20 to enable them to apply for student visas.

Admission Requirements

To be considered for graduate enrollment at the university, international students must hold the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor's degree and meet all admissions requirements for the graduate program of study. International students must submit the following materials to the Office of Admissions:

1. Complete Westminster University Graduate Admissions Application and $50 application fee
2. Official transcripts, academic records, diplomas, national examination results, certificates or degrees received from accredited post-secondary institution, university and/or professional schools and any necessary translations. International college or university transcripts must be submitted to a NACES member organization external evaluation service company for a course-by-course evaluation, for example, World Education Services or Spantran for course-by-course evaluation services. Students who attend English speaking universities or colleges in Canada do not need to complete a NACES evaluation.
3. Evidence of adequate financial support to cover the total cost of attendance for two semesters. This most commonly comes in the form of a certified bank statement or bank letter as well as a Statement of Financial Responsibility as issued by Westminster University.
4. Any other requirements including exams, recommendations, and additional supporting documents required by the individual graduate programs.

Once all required documentation has been received and the student has been accepted for admission, a Form I–20 will be sent to the student. All materials submitted to the Graduate Admissions Office become the property of the university and cannot be returned to the student or sent to another school. If the student's school or ministry of education issues only one copy of post-secondary school grades or examination scores, the Office of Graduate Admissions will make a certified copy and return the original to the student; however, in all cases copies must be made from originals. Duplicated copies will not be accepted.

English Proficiency Policy

All applicants, regardless of citizenship status, must demonstrate proficiency in English to obtain admission to Westminster University graduate program. To fulfill this requirement, applicants must satisfy one of the following criteria:

A. Earn a high school diploma, Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited U.S. high school, college or university.

B. Complete the equivalent of U.S. bachelor's degree in one of the following countries:

C. Take an English proficiency test and meet one of the following score requirements:

English Proficiency Exam Results

Test	Score
TOEFL IBT	80 (reading and writing 20)
IELTS	6.5
PTE	60
CEFR	B2
DUOLINGO	105

* Westminster University will consider scores from the IELTS Indicator and the TOEFL iBT Home Edition. The university will accept TOEFL iBT superscores for the purpose of meeting TOEFL iBT requirements.

D. Complete Level 8 at the University of Utah English Language Institute (ELI) with a "B+" average or higher (only applies to applicants in the following programs: Master of Arts in Teaching, and Master of Arts in Community Leadership, Master of Education, Master of Public Health).

Westminster University reserves the right to require demonstration of English proficiency, even if a candidate demonstrates eligibility for a proficiency waiver.

Westminster's graduate application can be found online.

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Application Requirements by Program

Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business

• Graduate Business Certificates
• Master of Accountancy
• Master of Business Administration programs

Education

• Master of Arts in Community and Organizational Leadership
• Master of Arts in Teaching
• Master of Education

Nursing

• Master of Public Health and Certificate in Public Health
• Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
• Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner
• Doctor of Nursing Practice
• Doctor of Nursing Practice, Nurse Anesthesia