About WRGP

The Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) allows master’s, graduate certificate, and Ph.D. students who are residents of the 15 participating WICHE states to enroll in some 275 high-quality programs at 51 participating institutions outside of their home state and pay resident tuition. The WICHE states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

For a full list of WRGP programs, download this PDF handout.

WRGP is a tuition-reciprocity arrangement similar to the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE). Students can enroll directly in the program through WRGP; they are not dependent upon the approval of their home state to participate because the student’s home state does not provide funding for each individual student. WRGP represents a tremendous opportunity for Western states to share distinctive programs (and the faculty who teach them) and build their workforce in a variety of disciplines, particularly healthcare.

In fall 2011 more than 850 students enrolled through WRGP and saved an estimated $11.5 million dollars in tuition, and each student saved an estimated average of $10,800.
 

For Graduate Students

To be considered for the WRGP resident tuition rate, apply directly to the department or graduate studies department of the institution where you want to enroll, and identify yourself as WICHE WRGP applicant. WGRP students must fulfill all the usual requirements of the department and institution concerned, and meet all admission deadlines. Contact information for each participating program is listed in our WRGP online directory.
 

For Graduate PROGRAMS INTERESTED IN JOINING THE wrgp NETWORK

Institutions can nominate their graduate programs for participation in WRGP every fall. Programs that aren’t related to healthcare must be “distinctive,” meaning they must be offered at no more than four other institutions in the WICHE region (exclusive of California). Healthcare-related programs are not subject to the “distinctiveness” criteria, but must be of high quality. WICHE is also seeking inclusion of new programs in emerging and high-need fields, such as Professional Science Masters (PSMs); microtechnology and nanotechnology; green building and building energy conservation; emerging media and communications; biotechnology and bioinformatics; computer and cyber security; alternative energy technology; and homeland security.