Colorado State University participates in the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), a tuition savings initiative administered by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). Through the WRGP, newly admitted students from WICHE member states and territories who enroll in approved degree programs are assessed tuition at the in-state/resident rate – a savings of approximately $15,000 per year. The program is available only to newly admitted students pursuing degree programs.
Participating States and Territories
Residents from these member states and territories may apply for the WRGP:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- California
- The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island (CNMI)
- Guam
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI)
- Republic of Palau
- South Dakota
- Utah
- Washington
- Wyoming
- U.S. Pacific Territories and Freely Associated States
Approved Programs
For a list of approved programs, visit our Graduate Programs webpage and select the “Western Regional Graduate Program” button for a current list of WRGP approved programs. Use the icons to the right of the filtered results to toggle the view between grid and list style.
How to Apply for WRGP Classification
To be considered for WRGP tuition benefits, follow these steps:
- Submit your application using the online application form.
- You must select a WRGP eligible degree program in the application
- You must have a residency zip code outside of the state of Colorado (i.e., answer “No” to the question about Colorado residency unless all of your legal ties are in Colorado and you qualify for in-state classification).
- Shortly after submitting your application, you’ll be invited to submit the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) form through your application status page.
The WRGP form will prompt you to list the legal ties that demonstrate your residency in an eligible member state or territory.
You will not have access to the form if you requested consideration as a Colorado (in-state) resident in your application for admission. - Your department may have additional WRGP eligibility criteria they will assess during their review process. Consult the admissions and/or academic program coordinator for more information.
- If your department approves you for admission to the program and for WRGP, your WRGP form will be reviewed by the Tuition Classification team in the Office of Financial Aid to verify your residency in a WRGP-eligible state or territory.
- You’ll be notified of approval or denial for WRGP after steps 1-4 are complete.
Applications received after your department’s published deadline may not be considered. You are encouraged to complete the WRGP form as soon as possible once prompted (no later than one month prior to your first term of enrollment) because multiple steps are involved in the WRGP approval process.
Eligibility Guidelines
To qualify for the WRGP at Colorado State University, applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements.
Admission and Academic Standing
- You must be non-provisionally admitted to a WRGP-eligible degree program with a minimum GPA of 3.000 and maintain good academic status in order to continue to receive the award.
- You must stay continuously enrolled each fall/spring semester in a WRGP eligible degree program to remain eligible.
Residency Requirement
- You must maintain your residency in an eligible state or territory to retain WRGP.
- You cannot establish or petition for Colorado residency while classified WRGP.
Exclusions and Award Limits
- Credits completed through CSU Online are not eligible for the WRGP tuition rate.
- Graduate Certificate programs are not eligible for WRGP.
- WRGP master’s awards are capped at four semesters and doctoral awards are capped at eight semesters.
WRGP Availability
- CSU supports a maximum of 90 WRGP awards per semester for both new and continuing students. Because of this limit, WRGP awards are granted on a first-come, first-served basis, and the number available each semester depends on the number of existing award recipients.
- While there is limited available, we encourage new applicants to apply for WRGP support at CSU. To date, we have not needed to decline any applications due to availability.