拉马尔大学

The fast-track BA/MA degree in history is designed to allow truly exceptional, talented, and motivated undergraduate history majors to complete up to 15 credit hours of graduate study while still an undergraduate and to earn both degrees in as little as five years. This is achieved by allowing qualifying undergraduate majors to take a total of as many as five courses in their junior and senior years for dual credit. They take the undergraduate course for credit toward their BA degree but also complete a graduate component of the same course that is banked for later application toward their MA degree.

As undergraduates, fast-track students register for the undergraduate versions of 4000/5000 cross-listed courses, complete all the work expected of both undergraduate and graduate students, and simultaneously earn undergraduate and graduate credit.

After a fast-track student's first two dual-credit courses, his or her professors will meet in committee with the graduate advisor to review the student's progress and determine his or her continued eligibility in the fast-track program. The committee must agree unanimously that the student's work merits continuance in the fast-track program. If not, the student will be dropped from the fast track but maintain any graduate credits, up to six, that he or she has earned with a grade of B or better. If, after graduation with the BA, the student successfully applies to the MA program, he or she still gets credit for the accumulated hours.

Students who continue on in the fast-track program may complete a total of as many as five courses for graduate credit during their junior and senior years: one each in the first semester and second semester of the junior and senior years and one in the summer in between.

Fast-track students must successfully complete the GRE during their junior year, with minimum scores of 153 on the verbal portion and a 3 on the analytical.

Fast-track students complete HIST 4391, the undergraduate capstone, in their final semester of the BA degree. The paper they produce is encouraged to become the foundation for an MA thesis for students on the thesis track. The capstone is not eligible for dual credit, however. Fast-track students should plan on taking another advanced, upper-level history course in their final semester so that they may earn dual credit.

Upon completing the BA component of the fast-track program, students must choose either the 30-credit hour thesis option or 36-credit hour non-thesis option for the MA degree and complete all requirements for that degree.

After graduating with the BA, former fast-track students have the option of going full-time or part-time to complete the MA.