Definitions of Concentrations and Minors

Emphases, subprograms, submajors, blocks, corollaries, tracks, and options will all be referred to as concentrations. There are two kinds of concentrations:

  1. Student-designed concentrations that are built from existing courses and utilize existing electives in the program. These concentrations are developed through the normal advisement process and do not need university or UW System Administration approval.
  2. Concentrations that are designed and approved by the university. These must meet the following criteria:
  • They are planned and designed by the faculty.
  • There are expressed outcomes or competencies that will be achieved through the concentration.
  • They are specialized studies that grow out of a broader field of study which must be a part of the university's program entitlement.
  • They require campus approval, following the format and process for program approval. Certification programs must also be approved by the Wisconsin State Department of Public Instruction (DPI).


University UNDERGRADUATE MINORS are a sequence of related courses consisting of 15 or more semester hours of credit. Teaching minors are state-approved programs for teacher certification for teaching at the secondary and/or elementary level. Minors must meet the following criteria:

  1. They are planned and designed by the faculty.
  2. There are expressed outcomes or competencies that will be achieved through the program.
  3. They are abbreviated versions of a major but less comprehensive and less intensive.
  4. They can exist without the major or broad field of entitlement existing on the campus.
  5. They require campus approval, following the format and process for program approval. Certification programs must also be approved by the Wisconsin State Department of Public Instruction (DPI).

A GRADUATE MINOR provides a student the opportunity to develop academic strengths in an additional field.  It is a coherent set of 8-12 semester credit hours of coursework taken outside of the student’s major program. The typical curriculum approval process mirrors that for major program approval.  A graduate minor must meet the following criteria:

  1. No fewer than eight and no more than twelve graduate credits will be required.
  2. All coursework will be graduate courses taken at UW-Stout.
  3. There will be no course overlap between the major and minor.
  4. Core coursework will be required; the degree program may contain electives from an approved list.
  5. At least two core courses will be 700 or higher courses; the others can be 600 level courses.
  6. For students completing a Master’s Plan A or an EdS research paper, the minor will be represented on a student’s committee by a faculty member who has taught    within the student’s chosen minor program.

Graduate School Admission Policy:
Actively enrolled graduate students in good standing with a GPA of 3.0 in all coursework are eligible.

Graduate School Admissions & Clearance Processes
The student submits a Minor Program Plan Application and Approval Form signed by the graduate minor program adviser and the graduate major program director to the Graduate School at least one semester prior to graduation.

Advising Process for Graduate Minors

  • A minor program “adviser” or “coordinator” is designated at the time the minor is created.
  • Students in the minor build their minor program plan under the direction of the minor adviser.