Bachelor's/Master's Program

WashU undergraduate students have the opportunity to earn a master’s degree with as little as one additional year of study. The application is open to current WashU undergraduate students holding a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA for all applicable course work taken at WashU.

With faculty adviser and departmental approval, up to 6 units can be used to satisfy requirements for both the bachelor's and master's degrees; the combined program still requires students to complete a minimum of 144 units in total. Dual-Degree students adding a master’s degree must also have a minimum of 84 total WashU residency units upon completion of the master’s.

Application Process

Students should discuss the program with their faculty and four-year advisers by the completion of six semesters in order to best develop a plan for their final undergraduate year leading into their master’s program. If you will complete your undergraduate degree prior to eight semesters, please speak with your four-year adviser for an alternate plan.

Applicants should apply during their final undergraduate year to the semester their graduate studies will begin. Applications will open on July 1. Students are encouraged to follow our regular deadlines. However, we will accept BS/MS applications until the last day of classes the semester prior to beginning the graduate program.

Important Note: On the second page of the application, when asked "Which type of program are your applying to," please select the option "Bachelor’s/Master’s Program for Current Undergraduate WashU Students".

Bachelor's/Master's Scholarship

Full-time Bachelor's/Master's students are eligible to receive a scholarship during their final master's year of study based on the undergraduate cumulative GPA at the time of application (see table below). The scholarship is available to both international and domestic students and is valid for two full-time master's semesters and one summer semester. Full-time for graduate students is defined as nine or more units. Part-time students, those taking less than nine units, are ineligible for the scholarship.

Domestic students are also eligible for loans and can email the Graduate Financial Aid Analyst & Accountant, Johanna Sengheiser, to inquire about loan options.

Degree Conferral & Student Status

After completing the undergraduate degree requirements, students may choose to officially confer the bachelor's degree immediately or wait and confer both the bachelor's and master's degrees at the same time. There are several things to consider when deciding when to confer your bachelor's degree.

• Student Status: Bachelor's/Master's students remain classified as undergraduate students until they have completed the equivalent of eight semesters (six semesters if Dual Degree student from affiliated liberal arts schools) of undergraduate enrollment or upon conferment of their undergraduate degree, whichever comes first. Students classified as graduate students are not eligible to participate in study abroad.
• Tuition and the Bachelor's/Master's Scholarship: Once classified as a graduate student, tuition is charged at the graduate student rate and the Bachelor's/Master's Scholarship will be applied. Students who remain classified as undergraduate students are not eligible for the Bachelor's/Master's Scholarship.
• Undergraduate Financial Aid: After transitioning to graduate student status, Bachelor's/Master's students are no longer eligible for undergraduate financial support or aid. Students comparing financial aid awards should check with Johanna Sengheiser to evaluate the impact of conferring their undergraduate degree prior to completing eight semesters. If you are a current federal student loan borrower, check with Student Financial Services as there may be implications to the grace period of your loan when conferring your undergraduate degree.
• Undergraduate Final Latin Honors: Undergraduate final Latin honors are determined at the end of the academic year in which a student is officially awarded the undergraduate degree. The cumulative GPA used to determine Latin honors includes all course work taken up until the time the undergraduate degree is officially awarded. This means that master’s courses will also be included in the calculations if a student defers earning the bachelor's degree until the master’s degree is also earned. For further details about final Latin honors calculations, contact Engineering Undergraduate Student Services.

Immigration

International students on an F-1 visa should check with the Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS) when adding the master's program in order to discuss how this could affect status and eligibility for work authorization programs such as OPT and CPT.

Boeing Graduate Residency Program Partnership

Students can apply to the Boeing Graduate Residency Program directly through Boeing during the fall semester of their final undergraduate year. The program begins the summer after a student has earned their undergraduate degree. Application to the program is available to US citizens only. Engineering Intern Programs at Boeing

Bachelor's/Master's students who have been accepted to the Boeing Graduate Residency Program may be granted time off work in order to attend master's courses. Boeing Residency participants will still be eligible for the scholarship award percentages.