How does it work?

Qualified undergraduate students can earn up to 12 credit hours of graduate-level classes while still an undergraduate through the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Graduate Study Plan. Here's how it works:

• Classes must be 500-level and above
• Classes must be taken for graduate credit through the application process described below
• Classes can be applied to your baccalaureate program and, with graduate program admission and approval, applied to your graduate program of study

The use of dual credit can reduce the total time to earn both the undergraduate and graduate degrees. You can also use your undergraduate financial aid to pay for the dual credit courses.

What graduate programs are available?

While our five-year bachelor’s/master’s programs of study are popular, all of our graduate certificates, master’s degrees and Ph.D. programs are eligible for inclusion in an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Graduate Study Plan. For specifics on our offerings, visit our Graduate Programs page.

Who is eligible?

You will need to have earned at least 90 hours of undergraduate coursework and have a minimum GPA of 3.4 to formally apply for this program. However, we encourage engineering and computing students to start planning, with your advisor’s help, before your junior year.

Note that you don’t need to be pursuing an undergraduate degree from the College of Engineering and Computing to start in one of our accelerated graduate programs. Of course, classes taken for dual credit must be degree-applicable for both your undergraduate degree and your intended graduate program of study. When both are in the same or similar discipline, it is easy to earn up to 12 hours of dual credit. 

We want you to be able to earn as much dual credit as possible, so please discuss the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Graduate Study Plan with your advisor prior to taking your engineering, computing and technical electives and other 500-level classes that may be available for dual credit. You need to initially register for such classes for graduate credit for them to count, as graduate credit cannot be awarded retroactively.

How do I apply?

You will need to submit an initial application before registering for your first class in this program, and then again prior to each semester that you want to earn dual credit for a class. It is not complicated. Just follow the instructions on the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Graduate Study Plan (G-ABGSP) form in the Graduate School’s Forms Library.

How is this different than Senior Privilege?

Senior Privilege permits undergraduate seniors in their final semester (who need less than a normal course load to complete their baccalaureate requirements) to take up to six hours of graduate classes. Senior privilege classes are added to the undergraduate transcript but do not carry graduate credit. Students cannot participate in both Senior Privilege and the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Graduate Study Plan. For additional information, see the Senior Privilege (GS-19) form in the Graduate School’s Forms Library.