The Accelerated MA Program in Philosophy provides an opportunity for students of recognized academic ability and educational maturity to fulfill integrated requirements of undergraduate and master’s degree programs in three years from the beginning of their junior year. Students will be awarded the BA degree as soon as they satisfy the BA requirements, and will be awarded the MA degree when they satisfy the MA requirements. With a carefully designed program, a student can earn both degrees within as few as ten semesters.
Students should apply to the MA Program Director for admission to the Accelerated MA Program in Philosophy the semester they will complete 60 undergraduate credit hours or as soon thereafter as possible. It is also recommended that students complete the foreign language requirement and the junior-level writing requirement before applying. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher and three letters of recommendation from faculty are required for consideration.
In their final semester in undergraduate status, and with the recommendation of the MA Program Director, students apply for admission to the graduate program. Students must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher throughout the Accelerated MA Program.
The combined program requires a minimum of 138 credit hours. Students accepted to the Accelerated MA degree program will be permitted to count up to 12 credit hours at the 4000-level or higher toward both the BA and MA degrees. The remaining 18 credit hours must be at the 5000 level.
In qualifying for the B.A., students must meet all university and college requirements, including all the requirements of the regular undergraduate major in philosophy. In qualifying for the M.A., students must meet all the requirements of the regular M.A. in philosophy except that they can count PHIL 5495 – Thesis Hours towards their distribution requirements.
Students will normally satisfy their History of Philosophy, Junior Level, and Logic requirements (the latter usually by taking PHIL 3360: Formal Logic), along with electives. Any courses still needed to satisfy college foreign language and expository writing requirements would also be taken during this year.
Fall (9 Credits)
Spring (9 Credits)
The student may apply for and receive the bachelor’s degree in the semester when all the undergraduate requirements are completed. In their final semester in undergraduate status, the student must apply and be admitted to the graduate program, to begin the following semester. The student will apply to receive the master’s degree in the semester that the requirements for the graduate degree will be completed.
If the student fails to enroll for more than one year after receiving the bachelor's degree, the student can still earn the master’s degree, but the graduate-level credits earned as an undergraduate cannot be used for the graduate degree.
