B.A./M.A. Fast-Track Program
The fast-track degree is designed to allow you to complete up to 15 credit hours of graduate study, while still an undergraduate, and to earn both degrees in as little as five years. This is achieved by allowing you to take as many as five courses in your junior and senior years for dual credit. You'll take the course for credit toward your B.A. degree, but also complete a graduate component of the same course that is banked toward your M.A. degree.
Admission Requirements
You must complete HIST 1301, 1302, 3321, 3322 and 3390* before the beginning of your junior year, with no grade lower than a B.
*In exceptional cases, you may take HIST 3390 concurrently with your first dual-credit course, but no later than the first semester junior year.
Admission Process
Apply for admission at least four weeks prior to the start of your junior year. Initial admission is determined on the basis of GPA (minimum 3.6 in the major), a substantial sample of academic writing and two letters of recommendation. Approval of the department graduate committee is required. If interested, you should contact department chair Dr. Rebecca Boone or graduate advisor Dr. Jeff Forret.
How It Works
You will register for the undergraduate versions of 4000/5000 cross-listed courses, complete all the work expected and simultaneously earn undergraduate and graduate credit.
After your first two dual-credit courses, your professors will meet with the graduate advisor to review your progress and determine your continued eligibility. They must agree unanimously that your work merits continuance. If not, you'll be dropped, but will maintain any graduate credits, up to six, that you've earned with a grade of B or better. After graduation, if you successfully applied to the M.A. program, you will still get credit for the accumulated hours.
You may complete as many as five courses for graduate credit during your junior and senior years: one each in the first semester and second semester and one in the summer in between.
You must successfully complete the GRE during your junior year, with minimum scores of 153 on the verbal portion and a 3 on the analytical.
You will complete HIST 4391, the undergraduate capstone, in your final semester. If you're on the thesis track, the paper you produce is encouraged to become the foundation for an M.A. thesis. However, the capstone is not eligible for dual credit. You should plan on taking another upper-level history course in your final semester to earn dual credit.
Upon completing the B.A. component, you must choose either the 30-credit hour thesis option or 36-credit hour non-thesis option for the M.A. degree and complete all requirements for that degree.
After graduating with the B.A., you have the option of going full-time or part-time to complete the M.A.
Restrictions
- You can only take one course for dual credit per semester, including the summer.
- You must earn no grade lower than a B in your graduate coursework. Any grade lower than a B shall be dropped and placed in the department’s traditional B.A. degree plans. You may still apply the work completed for the undergraduate degree if the grade earned was a C or better.
- If you graduated with the B.A. and later applied for the M.A. after being dropped, you may transfer in as many as six credits of graduate coursework completed. Only grades of B or better may be transferred in.