Joint Degree Programs
The University offers a number of joint degrees to students in the College. Interested students should meet with their advisers to discuss these programs.
Joint Bachelor's/Master's Programs
Professional Option Program
International Relations
The Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS) (B.A./M.A. Option)
Joint Bachelor's/Master's Programs. Joint B.A.-M.A./M.S. programs permit qualified students to enter upon a course of graduate study while also completing their work in the College. Any department may decide to offer a joint program to those students accepted by the faculty. Departments and majors offering joint degrees include this information in the descriptions of undergraduate programs. Students in joint programs complete at least forty-eight courses instead of the forty-two courses required for a B.A. degree. Applicants must have completed a significant portion of their undergraduate program before they can apply to master's level programs. Generally this means that students are admitted to candidacy for the master's degree during their fourth year in the College. During this year of graduate work, students will be billed for tuition at the graduate rate. Students should consult their College advisers, as well as the appropriate program chairman or program coordinator, for detailed information about these options.
Professional Option Program. The Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies offers a program to undergraduate students interested in early completion of an advanced professional degree. Students apply for admission to the program in autumn quarter of their third year in the College. To be eligible to apply, students must have completed thirty-three credits (of the forty-two required for a degree in the College) by the end of their third year. Completed credit must include fifteen general education courses (for students in the current curriculum), one-half of the requirements for a College major, and one-half of the required number of electives. At the end of their fourth year, having completed the first-year program of at least nine courses in the professional school, the student is awarded a B.A. in Professional Option-Public Policy Studies. Students who wish to apply to this professional option program should obtain more detailed information from their adviser early in their second year so that all College requirements can be met. Further information is available from the Office of the Dean of Students in the Harris School.