Combined Bachelor's/Master's Degree Programs

Persons with outstanding undergraduate records or exemplary professional credentials may be eligible for one of the following enrollments in a combined baccalaureate and master’s program:

I.  A Combined Baccalaureate/Master’s for Degree Students Early In Their Undergraduate Studies
   Students who have achieved a GPA of one of the following
      • 3.50 after 60 semester hours
      • 3.40 after 75 semester hours
      • 3.30 after 90 semester hours
      • 3.20 after 105 semester hours
   may apply for early admission to a master’s degree program by successfully accomplishing the following:

A. Completing the Application for Admission.

B. Completing the Combined Baccalaureate and Master’s Program form, which includes:
   1.  Listing the courses at the undergraduate level that need to be taken for the baccalaureate degree.
   
   2. The beginning date for graduate study.
   
   3.  Listing of graduate courses to be utilized in satisfying the undergraduate degree. (In participating   
       departments/schools, students may apply up to 12 of their accumulated graduate hours toward the 
       completion of their undergraduate degree requirements as well. The students’ undergraduate department
       will determine the undergraduate coursework for which graduate credits may be substituted.) In some
      departments graduate coursework may be substituted only for elective undergraduate coursework and
      cannot be used as substitution within the major. (Please check with the graduate coordinator in your
      individual department.) The selection of the graduate coursework and the number of credits to be applied
      toward an undergraduate degree requires the approval of the graduate chair in the students’ academic
      department and the appropriate undergraduate and graduate deans.

C. Providing three letters of recommendation from the instructors who are familiar with the students’  
     achievements and intended academic goals.

D. Submitting any needed test scores from standardized examinations.

II. Combined Baccalaureate/Master’s Program for Specified Professional Programs

A. Combined Baccalaureate/Master’s Degree Program in Speech Pathology and Audiology Leading to Clinical
    Certification

    Students who have earned 90 semester hours and achieved a minimum GPA of 3.00 may, with approval of
    the School of Speech Pathology and Audiology, apply for admission to the combined program. Admission
    will be based upon satisfactory GRE scores, three letters of recommendation and completion of the
    Application for Admission and Combined Baccalaureate and Master’s Program forms.

B. Combined Baccalaureate/Master’s Program in the College of Business Administration and Graduate School
    of Management
    Students must have earned 90 semester hours to apply for the Combined Baccalaureate/Master’s Program
    in the College of Business Administration. In addition, they must meet the GPA requirements outlined under 
    Item I.

C. Combined Baccalaureate/Master’s Program in the Center for International and Comparative Programs and
     the Graduate School of Management Leading to the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration 
      Degrees
     Students must be international relations majors and complete their undergraduate coursework in the first
     three years of study. In addition, students must pass a language proficiency exam, have a cumulative GPA
     of 3.30 and earn a minimum GMAT score of 525 before being admitted to the M.B.A. program. In the fourth
     year of this combined program, students take graduate business courses that are applicable to the
     undergraduate degree as electives and to the M.B.A. degree as foundation coursework. During the final
     year, students take advanced graduate business coursework leading to the M.B.A. degree.

D. Combined Baccalaureate in Fashion Merchandising/Master of Business Administration in the College of  
     Business and Graduate School of Management

     Fashion merchandising majors who qualify may enroll in the combined Bachelor of Science in Fashion
     Merchandising/Master’s of Business Administration program and complete both degrees within five years.
     Careful planning and advising are needed in order to successfully complete the programs in a timely way.
     Students intending to follow this plan should work closely with their faculty advisor. In the freshman year, the
     math choice should be MATH 11012 or MATH 12002. When the student has achieved 90 hours or more in
     the merchandising program (beginning of the junior year) and has a GPA of 3.30 or higher, he or she
     should apply for conditional admission to the M.B.A program. This application must occur no later than April
    1 of the junior year. The GMAT exam must be completed with an appropriately high score at the time
     application is made.

E. The Combined Bachelor of Science/Master of Arts in Visual Communication Design
    This is a five-year degree program with optional concentrations in 2-D graphic design, 3-D graphic design 
    and illustration. Students who pass the junior portfolio review, complete a minimum of 90 semester hours,
    demonstrate excellence in formal organization, conceptual problem-solving abilities and technical skills and
    maintain a minimum 3.00 overall GPA and a 3.25 in the major will be invited or may petition to enter this
    program. An overall GPA of 3.00 and a major GPA of 3.00 in both the bachelor’s and master’s programs will
    be required for graduation.

F. The Combined Bachelor of Science/Master of Science in Nursing Program
    An accelerated combined degree program for undergraduate KSU nursing students who have completed 60
   semester hours and meet the GPA requirements delineated in Combined Baccalaureate/Master’s for Degree
   Students Early In Their Undergraduate Studies. Qualified students may apply by completing an application
   for admission to the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program of choice and gaining approval from the
   appropriate graduate faculty program director. A plan of substituting selected master’s core courses for
   selected undergraduate courses should be carefully worked out with the faculty advisor. Following graduation
   and passing the state licensing examination (NCLEX-RN), students’ MSN application may be activated for
   admission into the selected master’s program.

III. A Nontraditional Master’s Degree Student
    In rare instances, persons who have not completed a baccalaureate degree will be considered for admission
    to the appropriate graduate unit due to unusual and exemplary experiential learning. Such applicants may
    apply for admission by presenting for departmental consideration a curricular plan encompassing
    undergraduate and graduate coursework to  achieve a liberal educational background and professional
    graduate degree and three letters of recommendation attesting to their potential for graduate study. Upon
    departmental recommendation and the approval of the dean of the appropriate graduate unit, the applicants
    will be admitted to undertake graduate work. Upon successful completion of the curricular plan and the
    particular master’s degree requirements, the students will be awarded the master’s degree.


 

 
 

This page was last modified on August 20, 2009