Combined Bachelor's/Master's Degree Program

The combined Bachelor’s/Master’s degree programs allow acceleration toward graduate study and are intended for highly motivated candidates who wish to pursue an advanced degree. These programs permit undergraduate students to study for their master's degree while also studying for their bachelor's degree. Please see our list of Degree Programs to view which programs offer combined degree options. Additional information will be forthcoming.

For additional information relating to degree requirements and eligibility, please refer to the Combined Graduate and Professional Programs page maintained by the Undergraduate Advising Support Office.

Applications should be submitted once a student has accumulated at least 60 credit hours towards the bachelor's degree. Generally, this means that a student will submit the application during their sixth semester of undergraduate course enrollment and will have no fewer than one semester of remaining undergraduate requirements to complete. Students must meet the ordinary admissions criteria for the master’s program, though the requirements of the GRE, GMAT and/or MCAT are sometimes waived at the program’s discretion.

Up to 9 credit hours of graduate level coursework appropriate to the master’s program taken as an undergraduate may be double counted (via internal transfer to the graduate transcript) to count toward both degrees. In addition, any graduate level courses taken while enrolled as an undergraduate that are in excess of undergraduate degree requirements, including the total number of credit hours required for the undergraduate degree, may also be internally transferred to the graduate transcript.

Students will be charged tuition at the undergraduate level until the undergraduate degree is awarded. After being awarded the undergraduate degree, a student enrolls at the graduate level, pays the tuition associated with that program to complete any remaining requirements for the master’s degree, and no longer has access to any remaining undergraduate scholarship.

It no longer matters what a student’s undergraduate degree is in. If a student is getting a BA, they can now apply to MS programs and BS students can now apply to MA programs.

The current IGS program, which allows more than 9 hours to double count, has been discontinued. However, students who are currently in the program will be able to continue.  Undergraduate students who matriculated prior to summer 2022 can still apply to the program and follow the old rules.  All other students will follow the new Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s Program policy. Unlike the IGS program, students no longer need to have at least 90 hours and 3/4 of their undergraduate major and SAGES requirements, etc. completed to be eligible.

The new program is very similar to the old BS/MS program, but a student no longer needs to be admitted to the master’s program before they are able to double count a class.
 

Application Process

Applicants should contact the Undergraduate Advising Support Office for more information regarding filling out their Planned Program of Study (PPOS) form. 

Application Process:

  1. Applicants should apply via the . (Note that your $50 application fee is automatically waived.)
  2. Download the Planned Program of Study (PPOS) Form (PPOS Form) and complete with your advisor. 
  3. Upload the PPOS form onto the online application; this form is considered unofficial at this point and will be used in the review process by your department. Submit the online application. 
  4. If you are accepted by the department, you MUST have the PPOS form reviewed and signed by the Undergraduate Advising Support Office. The Undergraduate Advising Support Office will give the form to Graduate Studies for final review. *In order to get a head start, you should send the PPOS form to the Undergraduate Advising Support Office for review as soon as you submit your application. 
  5. Once the form has been signed off by all parties, you will be issued your official offer letter from Graduate Studies.
  6. You will need to accept our offer of admission in order to matriculate with a graduate record in SIS.

Upon admission to the program, combined bachelor’s/master’s degree students will continue to register with the Undergraduate Advising Support Office and are subject to the policies, rules, and regulations of the Undergraduate Advising Support Office. Students in the combined bachelor’s/master’s degree program will pay undergraduate tuition rates until they receive the bachelor's degree. Once the bachelor's degree has been awarded, they will begin paying graduate tuition rates.