Combined BS/MS in Computer
Science and Engineering
Application to the CSE Department's combined BS/MS program is open to currently-enrolled CSE and CIS undergraduate majors with outstanding academic records. The program allows undergraduates to start graduate study before completing the BS degree. In the combined program, up to 15 credit hours of courses may be applied simultaneously for credit toward both the MS and BS degrees. This can shorten the total time to get a BS degree plus an MS degree by 1-2 quarters. The goal of the combined program is to encourage undergraduates to obtain an advanced degree.
There are four steps involved:
1. You apply for admission to the CSE graduate program at least two quarters in advance of your intended start of graduate study.
2. The CSE Graduate Admission Committee accepts you for graduate study, generally within one quarter after you apply, if your record qualifies you for graduate admission under the usual criteria.
3. You start the CSE graduate program and officially become a CSE graduate student.
4. After completing the BS degree requirements while enrolled as a graduate student, you are awarded the BS degree and smoothly continue with your graduate studies.
Typically step 3 occurs during what normally would be your last year of undergraduate study, so you have to plan ahead. Moreover, although graduate applications can be made at any time during the year, applicants who wish to obtain financial support such as teaching or research assistantships must apply by early January.
Eligibility
You must meet all requirements imposed by the OSU Graduate School for combined BS/MS programs, and by the CSE Department for its graduate programs. See the official OSU Graduate School Handbook and the CSE Department MS and PhD Program brochures for the most up-to-date information.
Currently (November 2005), you are eligible for the combined BS/MS program in the CSE Department if:
- you are an OSU undergraduate CSE or CIS major
- you have at least a 3.5 CPHR in all previous undergraduate work
- you will have completed at least 135 undergraduate credit hours toward the BS degree prior to starting graduate study
- you satisfy all regular graduate admission requirements of the CSE Department, including GRE scores, letters of reference, etc.
- you indicate on your graduate application your desire to enter the combined BS/MS program, and complete any other form(s) involved in application to combined BS/MS programs as required by the OSU Graduate School
- and you are admitted to graduate study under the normal graduate admission criteria and processes.
Advantages
As a student in the combined BS/MS program, you are eligible to count toward your BS degree up to 15 credit-hours of courses taken as an OSU CSE graduate student -- even if these credit-hours also count toward your MS degree -- assuming that the courses would have counted toward the BS degree if taken while you were a regular BS candidate. Generally, you also may compete for graduate fellowships granted by OSU and external funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation, and for graduate assistantships including research, teaching, and administrative associate positions, which pay stipends as well as tuition and fee waivers. Talk to the CSE Graduate Admissions Chair about details of such programs.
Things To Watch Out
For
Only courses you take while enrolled as a graduate student may count toward your MS degree or toward both degrees. Courses taken before you are enrolled as a graduate student will not count toward the MS degree.
Once you become a graduate student, and until you complete your BS degree, you are enrolled concurrently in the Graduate School and in your undergraduate college. You are charged graduate tuition and fees at this point. Since these are higher than undergraduate tuition and fees, the result can be a financial burden if you don't have a graduate assistantship or fellowship. There may be other technical implications for undergraduate scholarship and loan recipients, too, which you should check out early in the process. There also may be some restrictions on holding positions that involve teaching other students; check with the OSU Graduate School for current regulations. Finally, if you hold a graduate fellowship or graduate associate position, then you must meet all graduate-credit-hour and other requirements associated with that position.
More Information for
Combined Degree Programs
For more information regarding combined BS/MS degrees programs, please see the College of Engineering's Information for Combined BS/MS Degree Programs page.
