Graduate Credit for Undergraduates

A combined-degree program provides an opportunity for an undergraduate student to begin working toward a master's degree in his/her senior year, and to complete the bachelor's and master's degrees in less combined time than it would take to complete them sequentially.  The program is designed for the most talented students, so a student must meet the academic standards defined below and apply to participate in the combined-degree program.

Students pursuing both the bachelor's and master's degrees in the same discipline at Wright State, or students, under partnership agreements, pursuing bachelor’s degrees at other institutions and master’s degrees at Wright State, can participate in approved combined-degree programs.  Departments, colleges, and other units wishing to create combined-degree programs must have proposals for those programs approved by the Faculty Senate and other appropriate academic authorities.  When submitted, proposals must include sample curricula (covering the requirements of both the bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as a list of graduate courses that will be allowed to count towards both), and an explanation of how the program meets the following criteria:

1. Both the bachelor's-level program and the master's-level program have been approved by ODHE and the Higher Learning Commission.
    
2. No more than 9 hours of the undergraduate program will be made up of graduate courses which also count toward the master's program.
    
3. No undergraduate courses will be counted graduate degree requirements.
    
4. The undergraduate department has a means to ensure that students meet program outcomes for the undergraduate degree once they have completed the credits for both bachelor's and master's degrees.
    
5. A process is in place to ensure that documentation and advising for students is clear and transparent.
    
6. A pathway is in place for students who wish to leave the program with only a bachelor's degree before finishing graduate-level work.
    
7. There is a clear means by which the institution will monitor student success in the program.
    
8. The program has agreed to submit annual reports on the scope of the program and student success.

For a student enrolled in a combined-degree program, a maximum of 9 semester credit hours of graduate-level courses can be "double-counted" to satisfy both the bachelor’s and the master’s degree requirements, and students must earn a total in the combined-degree program of at least 141 unique credit hours (i.e., any credits that "double-count" toward both degrees are counted only once toward the total number of "unique" hours).  These limits are determined by the Ohio Department of Higher Education and may not be exceeded.

1. To participate in a combined-degree program, students must meet all of the following qualifications:

• 3.2 cumulative grade point average in all undergraduate work, including undergraduate credits earned at other institutions and transferred to Wright State.
• Undergraduate advisor's approval for admission to the combined-degree program, and mandatory advising during each semester the student is taking graduate credit toward the bachelor's degree.
• Formal admission to combined-degree status.

2. Students admitted to a combined degree program will be admitted as provisional graduate students to the College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies, pending completion of the requirements for their bachelor's degree.  Students admitted into an approved combined degree program do not have to formally apply to the master's program in question.
    
3. If students have studies in progress at the time they apply to a combined degree program, any approval of the application is provisional and may be revoked if the student fails to meet all required standards at the end of the term. 

Students who are pursuing an undergraduate degree at Wright State University or another accredited university may, under certain circumstances, take graduate courses for graduate or undergraduate credit outside of the combined-degree program.  Students must complete the Graduate Course Permission Form and obtain all required signatures. Reapplication is required for any subsequent period. In addition, students must indicate their desire for undergraduate or graduate credit. No changes will be granted to the type of credit selected after the course(s) have been completed.  Courses taken for undergraduate credit may be applied, with the academic unit’s approval, toward undergraduate degree requirements.  Courses taken for graduate credit may be applied towards an appropriate graduate degree at Wright State with the permission of the relevant department or program.

When taking graduate courses under this status, students are not limited in the number of graduate credit hours they may take that will apply towards their undergraduate degree (provided they have permission of the relevant department).  However, students are limited by this policy to a total of 12 credit hours of graduate coursework that can be applied as graduate credit.  This total is cumulative over the student’s undergraduate career.

1. To be eligible for graduate course permission, students must meet all of the following qualifications:

• Senior status.
• 3.0 cumulative grade point average on all undergraduate work completed at Wright State University.
• Undergraduate advisor’s approval.
• Permission of the chair of each department in which graduate credit is desired.

Non-degree undergraduate students are not permitted to register for graduate courses.  Undergraduate students already possessing a bachelor’s degree are eligible to apply as non-degree graduate students and are not permitted to register under the Graduate Course Permission policy, unless they are enrolled as part of a program that has received waiver permission to this rule from the College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies and the credits being taken are being applied towards a second undergraduate degree.  Students participating in combined-degree programs may also take graduate hours for graduate credit using the Graduate Course Permission Form, but only up to a total of 15 graduate credit hours, taken as an undergraduate, may be applied to the graduate degree.  Except as arranged within specific approved combined-degree programs, no undergraduate student will be allowed to double-count more than 12 semester credit hours towards both degrees, and the total of double-counted hours and Graduate Course Permission hours applied to the graduate degree should not exceed 15.