Graduate in four years: guaranteed.
College is a great experience, but trust us—you don’t want to stay in college forever. Graduating within four years can help you save money and get a jump-start on your career. With that in mind, we’ve designed our curriculum so that you can graduate within four years.* In fact, we guarantee it.
Here’s how it works.
To help you graduate in four years, we will:
- Offer all necessary courses for you to complete a major within four years.
- Provide a qualified faculty adviser to assist you in scheduling classes.
- Provide academic support services to assist you in successfully completing all of the courses required for your degree.
In order to graduate in four years, you will need to:
- Enroll in eight consecutive regular semesters as a full-time student at DWU here on our Mitchell, S.D., campus.
- Maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 to remain in good academic standing (some programs require a higher GPA).
- Officially declare the major you intend to graduate with prior to your fourth, consecutive semester of enrollment.**
- Complete an average of 30 credits per year (this is a typical class load).
- Meet at least once per semester with your assigned faculty adviser.
If you meet all of these requirements and you are unable to complete your chosen major in four years, we will assume the tuition cost (during the next two consecutive semesters) of the courses you need to complete a major and minor at DWU.
If you meet all of these requirements and you are unable to complete your chosen major in four years, we will assume the tuition cost (for up to two consecutive semesters) for the coursework you need to complete your declared major and (if applicable) minor at DWU.
* Please note that the guarantee applies only to students who enter DWU as first-time college students and who meet all of the university’s criteria for admission (i.e. who are not admitted on a provisional basis). If the student fulfills all requirements, the student will graduate in four years. It is also possible to graduate in less than four years or to graduate with more than one major or minor. This guarantee covers one major and one minor in one four-year period. However, with strategic academic planning, much more can be achieved.
** Students who plan to major in biochemistry, nursing, athletic training, music education, special education, elementary education and all other secondary education programs must declare that major upon entering Dakota Wesleyan University to be eligible for the four-year guarantee.
*** The Bachelor of Science degree in entrepreneurial leadership at DWU with a residential construction or drafting/commercial construction concentration from Mitchell Technical College may take a student as many as five years to complete and, therefore, this degree does not fall under the university’s four-year guarantee.