THE ARTS AND SCIENCES-GRADUATE COMBINATION PROGRAM

(See also: Honors Opportunities in Mathematics. [0])

The Arts and Sciences-Graduate Combination Program is a program for those students who have fulfilled certain University and Arts and Sciences requirements and wish to combine major field and master's work to earn an M.A. or M.S. in a shorter time than usually necessary. Although telescoped, the program is not a dilution of the knowledge or skills normally needed for the master's degree. Completion of the program requires that students meet all the departmentally selected criteria used to evaluate the competency of those following the conventional route to the degree. General supervision of the program is vested in the Dean of the Graduate School and the Vice Provost for the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences. Admission requirements are that the student have completed 150 hours of course work with a cumulative point-hour ratio of at least 3.50 and have completed the Liberal Arts Core for the B.A. or B.S. If the student meets these general criteria, he or she should consult with the Honors Office about the advisability of applying for the program. If this initial conversation results in an affirmative decision, the student should then contact a faculty adviser to discuss departmental criteria for the master's degree and to determine the department's willingness to accept the student into the program.

Before deciding to enter the program, the student and his or her adviser should discuss: a) whether a terminal master's degree is appropriate to the student's goals and the field of study, b) whether, if the doctorate is to be sought, the M.S. should be combined with the B.A. (B.S.) or the Ph.D., and c) whether the M.S. is a desirable intermediate degree in the discipline.

If the decision is that the combination program would be advantageous, the student should determine, in consultation with the department's graduate committee, what curriculum will be appropriate to complete the M.S. work. At the discretion of the department, the curriculum should include graduate-level course work, independent research, thesis, and comprehensive written and oral examinations. Other requirements are at the discretion of the department's graduate committee.

The student must apply to both the Graduate School and the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences and should begin this procedure the quarter before he or she expects to complete the requirements for entry into the program. Obtain the Graduate School application from the Admissions Office, Lincoln Tower or at the Graduate School, Room 247 University Hall. The Arts and Sciences application form can be obtained from the Honors Office in room 207, Enarson Hall. The completed undergraduate application should be returned to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Room 121, Denney Hall. The graduate application should be returned to the Graduate School, Room 247 University Hall.

The student's program must be approved and then supervised by two advisers, one of whom is a member of the Graduate Faculty, and should consist of at least four quarters of fulltime graduate level study. Finally, the student must be admitted formally to both the Graduate School, with the approval of the graduate committee of the appropriate department, and to the Colleges of Arts and Sciences. Further information is available from the Honors Office, 208 Denney Hall.

The following are sample programs intended to illustrate two of the possibilities for this combination program in mathematics. A maximum of 15 hours (denoted by*) may apply to graduate credit while still an undergraduate.

** The undergraduate honors sequence provides a strong grounding in algebra and analysis. However any student planning to pursue a graduate degree in mathematics or a related field is strongly urged to include at least one topology course in his/her curriculum. An excellent option is 655-657 which may be taken concurrently with, or following, H590-H591. Another option is 640 (summer only).

*Because these courses are taken while the student is an undergraduate, prior approval must be obtained from the Graduate School to apply these credits to the master's degree. The other graduate courses listed are taken while the student is in Graduate School and do not need prior approval.