Combined Undergraduate (BS) and Graduate (MS or PhD) Degree Programs

Many graduate degree programs offer Mines undergraduate students the opportunity to begin work on a Graduate degree while completing the requirements for the Undergraduate degree. These Combined Undergraduate/Graduate Programs have been created by Mines faculty in those situations where they have deemed it academically advantageous to treat the Undergraduate and Graduate degree programs as a continuous and integrated process.

Admission Process

A student interested in applying into a graduate degree program as a Combined BS/(Master's or Doctoral) degree student should first contact the department/division hosting the graduate degree program into which he/she wishes to apply. Initial inquiries may be made at any time, but initial contacts made soon after completion of the first semester, Sophomore year are recommended.

Formal admission into the Combined Undergraduate/Graduate degree program occurs only after program review and acceptance of a formal application made through the regular graduate admission procedure. Admission into a graduate degree program as a Combined Undergraduate/Graduate degree student may occur as early as the first semester, Junior year, and must be granted no later than the end of registration, last semester Senior year.

Ways to Count Courses Completed as an Undergraduate Student Toward Your Graduate Degree Program

Once admitted into a graduate degree program through the Combined Undergraduate/Graduate degree program, students may enroll in 500-level courses and apply these directly to a Graduate degree program. In addition, some programs allow students in Combined Undergraduate/Graduate degree programs to double count up to six credit hours of work toward their undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Lastly, any student may apply courses not used to fulfill an undergraduate degree requirement toward their graduate degree program as transfer credit.

A brief summary of each of these possibilities is provided below. Please review for the requirements and limitations to which the Institution adheres in application of each procedure. Also, please note the impact on incorporating courses to a graduate degree program through these methods.

Mechanism	Requirements/Limitations	Impacts
Double count courses toward both undergraduate and graduate degree programs	Must be admitted into Combined Undergraduate/Graduate degree program prior to close of registration of final semester of the undergraduate degree program Limited to a maximum of 6 credit hours; 1 credit hour allowed for each credit hour required toward Master's degree above 30 credit hours, or 6 credit hours toward a Doctoral degree Courses must meet all requirements for inclusion in graduate degree program (i.e., 400-level or higher and final grade of C- or higher) Subject to Graduate degree program approval	400-level courses count toward 400-level maximum allowed in Graduate degree program Grades do not count toward graduate GPA Indicated on Admission to Candidacy Form as "Double Counted"
Complete graduate coursework as an undergraduate student; moving courses to graduate transcript upon completion of undergraduate degree	Must be admitted into Combined Undergraduate/Graduate degree program prior to close of registration of term in which courses are to be completed Courses must be declared through the Registrar's Office at time of registration No limit on number of 500/700 level credits that may be included Courses must meet all requirements for inclusion in graduate degree program (i.e., 400-level or higher and final grade of C- or higher) Subject to Graduate degree program approval	400-level courses count toward 400-level maximum allowed in Master's degree program Grades count toward graduate GPA Courses may not be used to meet undergraduate financial aid requirements Indicated on Admission to Candidacy Form as regular graduate coursework
Use courses completed as an undergraduate student toward a graduate degree requirement as transfer credit	Available to any Mines undergraduate student Courses may not have been used to fulfill any undergraduate degree requirement Limited by the number of transfer credits that may be applied toward the Graduate degree program Courses must meet all requirements for inclusion in graduate degree program (i.e., 400-level or higher and final grade of C- or higher) Subject to Graduate degree program approval	400-level courses count toward 400-level maximum allowed in Master's degree program Grades do not count toward graduate GPA Indicated on Admission to Candidacy Form as "Transfer Credit"

As indicated in the Table above, all coursework must be appropriately declared on a student's Admission to Candidacy Form; once that form is submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies for certification of meeting degree requirements.

Graduate Registration Requirement

All students in Combined Undergraduate/Graduate degree programs must complete at least one semester as a registered graduate student (i.e., one semester of graduate registration is required after completion of the undergraduate degree program) before being awarded a graduate degree.