Programs, Curricula & Courses (PCC) Manual

Introduction
 Table of Contents
Programs
Departments
Approval Routes and Times
Centers and Institutes
College Contacts

The Design of Academic Programs

Curriculum Changes
Faculty Governance
Off-Campus and
Distance Learning
Minors
Bachelor's Degrees
Honors Programs
Master's Degrees
Doctoral Degrees
Certificates
Combined Bachelor's /
Master's Degrees
Dual Master's /
Doctoral Degrees
Credentials
Master and Graduate Certificate of Professional Studies

bullet Approved Programs

bullet 2008-09 Academic Planning and Programs Calendar (Please contact the Graduate School for information about spring Graduate PCC and Graduate Council meetings.)

 

 

Design of Academic Programs

Section XI: Policy for Dual Masters
and Doctoral Programs

Approved by the Graduate Council on December 8, 1997

This policy is to permit a doctoral student in one graduate program to pursue concurrently a masters degree in another field. For example, a doctoral student in Economics might wish to acquire a masters in Business or a doctoral student in Physics might obtain a masters in Mathematics. The dual degree path is reommended only for the most academically gifted students who can handle the demands of two concurrent degree programs.

The following are the guidelines that will govern this new dual-degree policy:

  1. The student must first be enrolled in a doctoral program before he/she can apply for the masters.
  2. The student must be in good standing in his/her doctoral program and be making satisfactory progress towards the doctorate.
  3. Both the doctoral and the masters programs must agree to allow the student to participate.
  4. The two programs must agree, in advance, on a joint course of study for the student. A copy of this dual course-of-study plan must be submitted to the Graduate School for approval.
  5. Under no circumstances will a student be permitted to pursue two concurrent doctoral degrees.
  6. With the exception of already approved joint masters programs, this option is not available for students who wish to pursue two concurrent masters degrees.

The following are some of the consequences of the concurrent pursuit of the two degrees:

  1. On the student's transcript, the name of the doctoral program will appear first, which will indicate the primary program, followed by the masters program, which will indicate the secondary program.
  2. The student's GPA will be calculated as the combined GPA for both programs. Separate GPAs cannot be provided.
  3. If the masters portion of the course of study continues beyond the doctoral portion, the student will have to be readmitted as a masters student. This readmission will be pro forma and no application fee will be charged.
  4. Courses that were completed more than seven years before completion of the masters portion of the program cannot be counted towards the masters degree.

 

 

 

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