What is offered
Porter's graduate catalog runs to a few dozen programs concentrated in the university's strengths: manufacturing and engineering management, data science, cybersecurity, counseling and school counseling, career and technical education, education leadership (including a doctorate), and applied programs in the other colleges. Some are on campus, several are fully online, and many are designed for working professionals in the evening.
Applied at the graduate level too
A Porter master's keeps the polytechnic posture: a thesis, a field project, a practicum, or a capstone tied to a real problem, often for an employer. Coursework leans toward methods you use rather than surveys of a literature. If you want a purely theoretical research degree, look carefully at whether the fit is right.
Part-time and working
A large share of graduate students work full-time and study part-time — two courses a term, evening or online, finishing in three years instead of two. Employer tuition assistance is common; the graduate school and financial aid help you use it. Assistantships (below) are mostly for full-time students.
Cost and funding
Graduate tuition is per credit at a resident or non-resident rate, with a Minnesota reciprocity rate. Funding sources: assistantships with a stipend and tuition remission, graduate scholarships, employer assistance, and federal graduate loans (there is no undergraduate-style grant aid at the graduate level). Compare programs on net cost and on what the credential returns in your field.
Certificates and stacking
Graduate certificates — 9 to 15 credits in a focused area — can be a credential on their own or can stack into a master's if you continue, with the certificate courses counting toward the degree. They are a low-commitment way to test a program or to add a specific skill set mid-career.
Who to talk to
The Graduate School office handles admission, funding overview, and policy; the individual program handles curriculum, advising, and the thesis or capstone. Start with a conversation with the program director about fit, format, and what graduates of that program go on to do.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Every office, person, building, phone number and statistic on this page is invented; nothing here describes a real institution or a service you can actually contact.