UMKC currently offers more than 50 graduate degrees at the master's, educational specialist and doctoral levels, plus a number of graduate certificates. Graduate students represent about 26 percent of the total campus enrollment. The graduate student population is diverse in ethnicity, gender and racial background. As an urban university, our programs strive to accommodate adult working students. Nearly two-thirds of all graduate students are enrolled part time and the average age is 35.

The Graduate Council, representing a cross section of campus graduate faculty, sets policy, establishes minimum graduate education standards and monitors the quality of graduate education at UMKC. The graduate faculty in the various graduate degree programs may set standards more stringent than the minimums outlined in this catalog section, and in such cases, the program standards take precedence over the campuswide minimum regulations. The School of Graduate Studies is responsible for monitoring compliance to the campuswide minimum graduate academic regulations; providing leadership and coordination of all graduate programs; and serves as the academic home for students admitted to the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program. Information on the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program may be found in the School of Graduate Studies section of this catalog.