Accelerated (4+1) Graduate Program (Education)

Program description, goals, and benefits

The Accelerated program at DSU provides a unique opportunity for high achieving undergraduate students to obtain both a Bachelors and a Master’s degree in five years. This is accomplished by allowing these students to take selected graduate courses during their senior year. These courses will also count towards their undergraduate course requirements thereby accelerating completion of a graduate program. In effect, students will be able to:

• Leverage their presence on campus to complete some of the requirements of the graduate program during the last semesters of their undergraduate degree, thus reducing completion time by at least one semester. In effect, obtaining a BS and a MS degree in five years.
• Save on tuition cost by taking up to 9 credits of graduate course work that will count towards undergraduate and graduate program requirements.

Specific Undergraduate and Graduate Programs for Accelerated Requirements

The Accelerated program is specifically for the Masters of Science in Education and Technology graduate program in the College of Education and Human Performance.

Undergraduate students in:

• Elementary Education (ELED) would select the MSET program.
• Elementary Education/Special Education (ELED/SPED) would select the MSET program.
• Special Education (SPED) would select the MSET program.
• Biology, Biology Education Specialization; Business Education; Computer Education; English, English Education Specialization;  Mathematics, Intermediate Education or Secondary Education Specializations; and Physical Education would select MSET program.

Admission requirements

Students with a identified majors may be admitted to the Accelerated program upon completion of their junior year. Accordingly, they can apply to the program in the last semester of their junior year. To be considered, the student will have to meet the following requirements:

• Students must have 90 credits completed by the time they enroll in graduate coursework

• Students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher

Application requirements

An Accelerated (4+1) Graduate application is available with the Registrar’s Office Forms in the Knowledge Base. Students may apply in the term in which they will have completed at least 90 credits, typically in their junior year. Students must consult with their undergraduate academic advisor before completing the application.