Please note, graduate students who are on leave or in a professional program are not eligible for graduate assistantships. This means, graduate students enrolled in "non-traditional" graduate programs cannot be hired into job code 1505 and they are not eligible for tuition remission waivers. If a graduate student enrolled in a professional graduate program would like to work at CIRES, they need to be hired as an hourly student employee and if the funder agrees to pay for tuition, this must be done via a Graduate Awarding Form, which is a scholarship and not tuition remission. 

If a RA Waiver is placed into the CU Tuition Waiver system in Campus Solutions (SIS) for a student in a professional degree program, this waiver will not take and will not show up on the student's bill.

Please note the following sentence on all GRA postings and on future GRA offer letters: "A student enrolled in a Professional Master’s Program (PMP), a JD, or an MBA, is not eligible to hold a Graduate Research Assistantship unless they are enrolled as a dual-degree student with a traditional program."

Make sure before an offer letter is sent out to a student, check the program and plan that the student is enrolled in. To determine if a student is in a professional graduate degree program, in Campus Solutions (SIS), in the Student Services Ctr (AdminVw), click on the Academics tab for the student. First look for Program, which is the overarching school the student is enrolled in. Then, look for the Plan they are enrolled in. The Plan is where you can determine if a student is enrolled in a Professional Degree Program. It does not indicate this as such, but common Professional Degree Plans that students interested in CIRES would be:

• MENV- Masters of the Environment (ARSC)
• MCEN- Mechanical Engineering (ENGR)
• OREC- Outdoor Recreation Economy (ARSC)
• EVEN- Environmental Engineering (ENGR)
• ASEN- Aerospace Engineering Science (ENGR)

You can find the current list of approved degrees via this link: https://www.colorado.edu/oda/file-degrees-current-excel. Sort by Master’s- Professional to see the entire Professional Degree List. There are currently 31 Professional Master’s Programs at CU Boulder (9/10/2021).

You can also determine if someone is enrolled in a Professional Degree Program if you look at their customer account/tuition bill in SIS. If the item type indicates “PMP”, that means this is a Professional Master’s Program student. For example, a Colorado resident enrolled in a Professional Degree Program will read “Tuition Fall PMP GR Res”. The PMP indicates the professional program. You will also notice that the tuition for a professional degree program is significantly greater than the cost of a traditional graduate degree program.

For tuition cost sheets for various programs, please follow these links:

• Graduate Colorado Resident
  https://www.colorado.edu/bursar/costs/fallspring-costs/graduate-colorado-resident
•  Graduate Nonresident & International
  https://www.colorado.edu/bursar/costs/fallspring-costs/graduate-nonresident-international

Additional Information:

How a professional degree differs from a traditional master’s program? A traditional master's degree has set focus areas and many students enter the program immediately after getting their undergraduate degree. With a professional master's:

• Many students already have experience in the industry or have a military background.
• The program is more flexible -- a focus area is not required.
• You can take 100% of classes online.
• You don't have to write a thesis.

Professional degree programs are often interdisciplinary. Classes in one department can often take classes in different departments to obtain their degree. For example, someone taking courses in the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences can take courses in the entire college of engineering that can count towards a degree.