The Accelerated Bachelor’s / Master’s Degree Program offers Honors students and other outstanding Auburn students the opportunity to earn both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in less time and at less cost than usual. It does so by allowing these exceptional students to count up to nine hours (in a thirty to thirty-five-hour master’s program) or twelve hours (in a thirty-six hour or greater master’s program) to count towards both degrees.
In addition to saving students’ time and money, the program enhances the marketability of students in fields in which the master’s degree is fast becoming a requirement, even for entry-level positions. In other fields, where there is a shortage of workers, students benefit by earning their degrees at a faster rate than in conventional degree programs. Honors students and others who participate also have the opportunity to explore the prospects of graduate study, engage with graduate faculty, and deepen their understanding of their own academic disciplines.
The benefits of the accelerated degree program also accrue to Auburn University. The program encourages exceptional students to apply not only to the Honors College but also to Auburn’s graduate programs, and it fosters the kind of integration and interaction between undergraduate and graduate programs that is characteristic of the best research institutions.
Even though many colleges and universities already offer accelerated degree programs, the Auburn program is distinctive. Unlike other accelerated degree programs, the Auburn model offers students in the Honors College the option of taking graduate courses. The program thus encourages highly motivated students to graduate with Honors while, at the same time, earning credit towards a master’s degree at Auburn University.
Participation in the Accelerated Bachelor’s / Master’s Degree Program is completely voluntary. In programs in which an accelerated degree program is appropriate, academic deans, department heads/chairs, and program officers are encouraged to develop application proposals by working with the appropriate undergraduate coordinator/director, the college curriculum committee, the Honors College, and the Graduate School. The application for an accelerated degree program requires the approval of the department, the college, the Graduate Council, and the University Curriculum Committee. To be considered, each application proposal should include the following:
Individual graduate programs may set higher standards or require additional criteria for admission to the accelerated degree program, subject to approval by the normal curriculum review process.
Individual graduate programs may set higher standards or require additional criteria for continuation and graduation, subject to approval by the normal curriculum review process.
Last modified: May 17, 2023