Two young women work together in a science lab.

The Accelerated Program

UMBC undergraduates may double count credits toward both their bachelor’s degree and a certificate or master’s degree, usually in their junior year. Interested students will need their applications signed off by both their undergraduate advisor and the appropriate graduate program director.

Applying to the Accelerated Program

How to Apply

Students must complete the Application for the Accelerated Program. Both the student’s undergraduate advisor and the Program Director for the graduate program in which they intend to take classes will need to sign off on the application.

An undergraduate may apply to participate in an accelerated program even if the desired graduate program is in a department other than the one in which the student is majoring.

What to do if You’re Accepted

If admitted, the student follows a prescribed course of study in which a predetermined number of credits at the 600 level or higher may be taken as an undergraduate and counted later toward their master’s degree or certificate. They may be enrolled on either a part-time or full-time basis. Students must complete the Request for Approval for Undergraduates to Take Courses for Graduate Credit form for each graduate level course in which they wish to enroll.

Applying to your Graduate Program

Students must still apply and be admitted to the Graduate School for the graduate portion of their program.

Our graduate application can be completed online and the application fee is waived for eligible students in the accelerated programs. Please note that students wishing to enroll in the Accelerated Program for Information Systems or Human Centered Computing will need to apply through their application. There will be no retroactive admissions to the accelerated program once the student has received the bachelor’s degree.

Good to Know

A major advantage of this program is that it enables the student to double count credits toward both their bachelor’s and master’s degree or certificate.

Usually the student can double count between 9 and 12 credits for master’s degrees, and 6 for graduate certificates.

Please review individual graduate program pages for specific information regarding the number of credits allowed.


Requirements & Eligibility

Students must have at least a 3.0 GPA to be considered, and some programs have more strict requirements.

The GRE is often waived for applicants in this program; some graduate programs also waive other application requirements (e.g. letters of recommendation). If admitted, students must develop a plan of study for the remainder of their undergraduate career with the graduate program director.

Students in these accelerated tracks must continue to be in good academic standing throughout the course of their studies. In all cases, the faculty of both the student’s undergraduate and graduate programs must approve the courses that are being used toward the degrees in their respective departments.

A student admitted to the program may be allowed to take a break between their undergraduate and graduate careers, but the graduate courses taken as an undergraduate must be used toward the master’s degree within five years.

Transferring Credits to the Graduate Program

Once students are admitted to Graduate School and are enrolled, they must complete a Transfer of Credit form to transfer approved graduate credits taken as an undergraduate into the graduate program. Note that only the credits are transferred, not the grade received.

Only one graduate degree may be earned through the accelerated degree program. You must earn a C or better for courses to count toward your graduate degree.


Participating Graduate Programs

Engineering & Information Technology

  • Chemical & Biochemical Engineering
  • Computer Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Science
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Engineering Management
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Health Information Technology
  • Human-Centered Computing
  • Information Systems (On Campus or Online)
  • Integrated Product Development & Manufacturing
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Project Management
  • Software Engineering
  • Systems Engineering
  • Technical Management

Humanities & Arts

  • Historical Studies
  • Intercultural Communication
  • Texts, Technologies & Literature

Natural Sciences & Mathematics

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Applied Molecular Biology
  • Atmospheric Physics
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biotechnology
  • Chemistry
  • Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Leadership
  • Physics
  • Statistics

Social Sciences & Education

  • Applied Sociology
  • Economic Policy Analysis
  • Education
  • Emergency Health Services
  • Geography & Environmental Systems
  • Management of Aging Services
  • Public Policy
  • Psychology, Industrial & Organizational
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Contact Us

UMBC’s Graduate School Office

Mailing Address

UMBC Graduate School
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD, 21250

Phone Number

Available Monday through Friday, from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

410-455-2537
or Contact a Staff Member

Request Help

Our help ticket system is available to you 24 hours a day.

Email Us Your Question

Follow UMBC Grad

Scroll to Top