Combined BS/MS Degree Programs
The College of Engineering offers a number of combined BS/MS programs for undergraduate students with outstanding academic records to encourage the best students to pursue advanced degrees. Each program allows well-qualified undergraduates to start graduate study before completing the BS degree. Enrolling in a combined BS/MS program can shorten the total time to get a BS degree plus an MS degree by 1-2 quarters. How? When enrolled in a combined BS/MS program, you are eligible to count up to 15 credit-hours of courses taken as a graduate student toward your BS degree -- even as these credit-hours also count toward your MS degree.
Eligibility
You must meet all requirements imposed by the Graduate School for combined BS/MS programs. Section II of the official OSU Graduate School Handbook contains up-to-date information about these requirements. Currently (Spring 2004), you are eligible to apply for a combined BS/MS program in Engineering if:
- you are an OSU undergraduate student (not necessarily in Engineering); and
- you have at least a 3.5 CPHR in all previous undergraduate work; and
- you will have completed at least 135 undergraduate credit hours toward the BS degree prior to starting graduate study by enrollment in the combined BS/MS program.
Application, Admission, and Enrollment
You first apply to the graduate program from which you want an MS degree, following the normal graduate admission process, and indicate on the application your desire to enter the combined BS/MS program (see the list below). If you are admitted to that graduate program, then you become eligible to enroll in its combined BS/MS program as of a certain quarter.
A simple form is used to keep track of your progress through the combined BS/MS program. During the quarter before you enroll in a combined BS/MS program, and the quarters you graduate with the BS and MS degrees, you must submit this form to Judith McDonald in the College of Engineering. Some programs also may require it earlier, as part of the application process, so be sure to check with your specific graduate program.
Combined BS/MS Degree Information Sheet
Things to Watch Out For
Here are some of the many things to watch out for, and to ask more about:- When you apply to a combined BS/MS program, you get no preferential treatment for graduate admission merely by virtue of being an OSU undergraduate. You apply, and are admitted, to graduate study under the normal graduate admission criteria and processes. This means that the time at which you apply and the quarter during which you actually enroll in the combined BS/MS program (after being admitted) are very important. Make sure to check with the department whose graduate program you are considering as soon as you think you might be interested in a combined BS/MS program.
- Only courses you take while you are enrolled in a combined BS/MS program (i.e., while you are officially a graduate student) may count toward your MS degree or toward both degrees. So you must apply for, be admitted to, and enroll in a combined BS/MS program before you reap these benefits.
- There may be financial implications to enrollment in a graduate program if you are an undergraduate scholarship or loan recipient, depending on the source of funds. Judith McDonald will refer you to someone in the Office of Student Financial Aid to help you on this front.
- Once you are enrolled in a combined BS/MS program, you become a graduate student and are charged graduate tuition and fees. Since these are higher than undergraduate tuition and fees, the result can be a financial burden. Provisions to deal with this vary by program. For example, some programs cover the difference in cost between undergraduate and graduate tuition and fees for some period. You may compete for graduate fellowships granted by OSU and by external funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation, and for graduate assistantships including research, teaching, and administrative associate positions offered by the department in which you are a graduate student; these typically pay stipends as well as tuition and fee waivers. However, there are restrictions on the internal OSU fellowships for which you may be eligible. Check with the Graduate School for details.
- If you hold a graduate fellowship or graduate associate position, then you must meet all graduate-credit-hour and other requirements associated with that position. Again, check with the Graduate School for details.
For More Information
For more information about general program requirements and details about the application process and other issues mentioned above, please contact the College of Engineering's coordinator for combined BS/MS degree programs, Judith McDonald.
Programs
For information about the specific combined BS/MS programs in Engineering, including possible additional
restrictions on undergraduate CPHR, courses that can be double-counted, timetables and procedures for
application, admission, and enrollment, etc., see the department-specific information for these graduate areas:
Biomedical Engineering
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (PDF)
Computer Science and Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Industrial and Systems Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Nuclear Engineering
Welding Engineering