Combined and Dual Programs

In January 1990, the Board of Regents delegated authority for the establishment of guidelines for combined programs to the individual institution . These guidelines follow:

Each institution may establish guidelines for the development and implementation of combined bachelor's/master's programs. These plans may be of two types: (1) plans which permit the development by an individual student of a program specific to that student's career interests and goals, and (2) structured plans within or among departmental or program units or institutions which provide integrated programs attractive to larger groups of students. The program should be available only to students whose academic performance is exceptional and who are admissible to the graduate program. Institutional policy shall set the maximum number of credits applicable to both degrees, normally no more than nine. No more than one master's degree may be earned through a combined bachelor's/master's degree program.

The following campus guidelines for combined bachelor's/masters programs were approved by the Graduate Council on February 28, 2001, by the University Senate on April 9, 2001, and by the President on May 10, 2001.

In a combined bachelor's/master's program, some graduate level courses initially taken for undergraduate credit may also be applied towards the graduate credit requirements for a master's degree program at the University of Maryland. A bachelor's/master's program may be developed for an individual student, or it may be a structured program. 

A program may be developed by an individual student in consultation with his/her academic advisor. Such a program is available only to students whose academic performance is exceptional. It is to be developed according to the individual career interests and goals of the student and should be an integrated learning experience rather than merely the completion of a certain number of graduate and undergraduate credits. The proposed program requires the approval of the directors of both the undergraduate and the graduate programs involved and of the Dean for Undergraduate Studies and the Dean of the Graduate School. Normally no more than nine credits of graduate courses applied to the bachelor's degree may be counted also for graduate credit in an individual student program. Courses to be double-counted must be at the 600 level or above and must be passed with at least a "B" grade. Individual study courses, internships, or courses given credit by examination are not eligible. The credits to be double-counted will be designated as applicable to the graduate program after the student receives the bachelor's degree and matriculates in the Graduate School. This designation will be canceled if the student withdraws from the graduate program before completing the master's degree.

A structured bachelor's/master's program is an articulated curriculum combining an existing undergraduate program and an existing master's program at the University of Maryland, offered by the same or by different departments. Such a program is to be designed for students whose academic performance is exceptional and should be an integrated learning experience rather than merely the completion of a certain number of graduate and undergraduate credits. A proposal for such a program should be submitted by the college(s) housing the academic programs concerned and requires the approval of the Graduate Council, the Graduate Dean, the Senate PCC Committee, and the Provost. Necessary features of a structured bachelor's/master's program include the following:

• There must be specific requirements for admission to the combined program that speak to the exceptional performance of the students to be admitted. At a minimum, students accepted for the program must be clearly admissible to the graduate program portion.
• The program should be designed so as not to unduly delay the students' receipt of their bachelor's degrees. Taking graduate credits should not unduly limit the breadth of the student's experience through premature specialization.
• All requirements of the bachelor's program and of the master's program must be completed to receive the two degrees. Where appropriate, graduate courses taken while an undergraduate may substitute for courses required in the undergraduate major program.
• The students may be offered deferred admission to the graduate school at the end of the Junior year program, subject to completion of the senior year program in a timely fashion and with a specified level of achievement. Formal admission to the graduate school will require completion of all requirements for the bachelor's degree.
• The credits to be double-counted will be designated as applicable to the graduate program after the student receives the bachelor's degree and matriculates in the Graduate School. This designation will be canceled if the student withdraws from the graduate program before completing the master's degree.

A structured bachelor's/master's program may normally include up to nine credits of graduate level courses (600 level and above) that are counted both for the bachelor's program and the master's program. More than nine double-counted credits may be allowed if both of the following conditions are satisfied:

• The additional graduate credits applied to the undergraduate program do not unduly limit the breadth of the student's experience through premature specialization. This condition may be satisfied, for example, if the graduate credits substitute for courses required in the undergraduate program that would have been taken in any case, but at a less advanced level.
• The master's program requires substantially more than thirty credits. This condition will be deemed to be satisfied if the combined program, with double-counting, still requires 150 or more credit hours to complete.

Graduate School policy allows students to matriculate in only one master's degree program at a time unless the student enrolls in a formal dual master's degree program that has been approved by the university. This policy allows students in one master's program to pursue concurrently a master degree in another field. The dual degree path is recommended only for the most academically gifted students who can handle the demands of two concurrent degree programs.

The following guidelines govern this dual-degree policy:

• The student must be admitted to both master's programs.
• The two programs must agree, in advance, on a joint course of study for the student.
• The student's GPA will be calculated as the combined GPA for both programs. Separate GPAs cannot be provided.
• No fewer than 30 unique credits should be completed in each degree. Programs proposing structured dual master’s degrees with fewer than 30 unique credits should articulate a compelling rationale for the exception (e.g., dedicated capstone or other courses for the dual-degree program that satisfy the learning objectives for both degrees).
• No more than one-quarter of the total credit hours of both programs can double-count for the dual- degree program. Programs proposing to double-count more than one-quarter of the total credits should articulate a compelling rationale for the exception (e.g., substantial overlap in the curriculum of the individual degrees).

Approved by the Graduate Council on December 8, 1997

This policy is to permit a doctoral student in one graduate program to pursue concurrently a master's degree in another field. For example, a doctoral student in Economics might wish to acquire a master's degree in Business or a doctoral student in Physics might obtain a master's in Mathematics. The dual degree path is recommended only for the most academically gifted students who can handle the demands of two concurrent degree programs.

The following guidelines govern this dual-degree policy:

• The student must first be enrolled in a doctoral program before he/she can apply for the master's.
• The student must be in good standing in his/her doctoral program and be making satisfactory progress towards the doctorate.
• Both the doctoral and the master's programs must agree to allow the student to participate. 
• The two programs must agree, in advance, on a joint course of study for the student. A copy of this dual course-of-study plan must be submitted to the Graduate School for approval. 
• Under no circumstances will a student be permitted to pursue two concurrent doctoral degrees. 
• With the exception of already approved joint masters programs, this option is not available for students who wish to pursue two concurrent master's degrees. 

The following are some of the consequences of the concurrent pursuit of the two degrees:

• On the student's transcript, the name of the doctoral program will appear first, which will indicate the primary program, followed by the master's program, which will indicate the secondary program.
• The student's GPA will be calculated as the combined GPA for both programs. Separate GPAs cannot be provided. 
• If the master's portion of the course of study continues beyond the doctoral portion, the student will have to be readmitted as a master's student. This readmission will be pro forma and no application fee will be charged. 
• Courses that were completed more than seven years before completion of the master's portion of the program cannot be counted towards the master's degree.