The Graduate Catalog
The University of Central Missouri Graduate Catalog contains a wealth of information for students, staff, and faculty members. Students should examine it carefully.
This catalog is a reliable guide for entering the university, reviewing available programs of study, selecting courses, and meeting graduation requirements. To the extent possible, the university will accept the degree/certificate requirements in it for an eight-year period.
Since the policies and programs of the university are constantly changing, no catalog can be completely up-to-date, even when it is published. Therefore, students should review their programs periodically with their faculty advisor and graduate coordinator to allow for necessary changes.
Individual schools and degree programs may have policies and requirements that are more stringent than the general university policies.
Graduate students are subject to current administrative policies, procedures, and regulations of the university. The general policies and regulations listed in the 2023-2024 Graduate Catalog become effective fall 2023. Consult the UCM Student Handbook for other university policies.
The University
The University of Central Missouri is a comprehensive, public university dedicated to providing personalized higher education experiences for a diverse body of students. Through its commitment to service and excellence, UCM seeks to meet the educational needs of the region, with extended responsibility to meet state, national, and international needs through selected programs. The University of Central Missouri is located in Warrensburg, a west central Missouri community of 16,350, located 50 miles southeast of Kansas City at the junction of Highways 50 and 13. The campus is easily reached by automobile or AMTRAK.
Central Missouri has provided more than a century of service, having been founded in 1871 as the State Normal School for the Second Normal District of Missouri. Formal accreditation and continued growth led the campus to be recognized as Central Missouri State Teachers College in 1919, Central Missouri State College in 1946, Central Missouri State University in 1972 and the University of Central Missouri in 2006. UCM is an affirmative action EEO/ADA institution.
Including an airport and other special facilities, the university occupies more than 1,000 acres. The university offers over 150 graduate and undergraduate programs for over 10,000 students. UCM’s facilities are exceptional - not only its modern classrooms, laboratories, technical developments, and residence halls, but also its airport, Pertle Springs Park, and recreational and sports areas.
With a university motto of “Education for Service,” it is not surprising that the university’s faculty members have earned a reputation for teaching excellence, on and off campus. They have also distinguished themselves as scholars, achieving recognition in academic and professional organizations, in addressing learned societies, in performing in music and the arts, and in writing many books and journal articles.
From its establishment in 1871, and until 1947, UCM offered only undergraduate studies. Changing needs prompted continual improvement and development of the curriculum. In 1945, the State General Assembly, responsive to the needs of the state and to requests from teachers, authorized a change in name as well as an extension of mission. This legislation provided the legal basis for the establishment of graduate studies. Graduate work leading to the Master of Science in Education degree was offered for the first time in 1947.
The guiding principles of graduate education at UCM have remained constant since inception. Graduate work demands independent, critical, and creative thinking, the ability to collect, organize, and develop data, and the ability to formulate, interpret, and defend conclusions.
Programs leading to the Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Arts in Teaching, the Education Specialist, and Cooperative Doctoral degrees have been added since 1947, and are a direct response to the needs of the citizens of the state of Missouri. In 1996, a statewide mission in academic technology for the University of Central Missouri was approved to “acquire, disseminate and utilize technology to enhance the university’s comprehensive educational mission and to enrich the lives of all Missourians.”
Mission Statement
The University of Central Missouri (UCM) disseminates knowledge that transforms students into leaders who possess the aptitudes, skills and confidence to succeed.
Approved by the UCM Board of Governors, April 2019
The UCM Community Creed
Choosing to become a citizen of the University of Central Missouri implies an acceptance of and willingness to contribute to the common goals and purposes of the community. The UCM Community Creed outlines the principles which guide the creation and maintenance of the desired community at UCM. The creed also provides a framework for individual behaviors which help build our vision.
As a member of the UCM community, I will join in building …
a learning community by striving for academic and personal excellence and by promoting the value of education and lifelong learning;
an open community by creating and maintaining effective channels of communication and by accepting and respecting individuals whose values, ideas, beliefs, and life experiences may be different from my own;
a caring community by seeking opportunities to serve and by supporting and affirming the well-being of others;
a just community by behaving in ways which are ethical, honest, equitable, trustworthy, civil and respectful;
a disciplined community by seeking to understand and fulfill personal responsibilities, by upholding university guidelines and by working toward self and community betterment;
a celebrative community by observing and honoring existing traditions and by seeking and creating opportunities to enrich and define UCM;
a purposeful community by helping to shape and achieve the common goals of UCM.
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