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Graduate School

Accelerated Bachelors/Master's Program Procedures

The Accelerated Bachelor to Master (ABM) Program allows qualified undergraduates to simultaneously earn credits toward completion of both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Students may earn up to 12 graduate credit hours toward the requirements of both their undergraduate and graduate degrees. The ABM process is entered by the Registrar’s Office as institutional credit.  Individual ABM programs may have standards for eligibility greater than below.  See details in the appropriate section of the undergraduate catalog. Undergraduate level tuition will be assessed for both undergraduate and graduate courses for an undergraduate level student who is taking part in the ABM program.

ELIGIBILITY

Departments will conduct a comprehensive review of the student’s background for the purpose of identifying high-level qualifications for acceptance into ABM programs, considering the following guidelines:

  1. Invitation or approval from a program faculty member and the undergraduate advisor.
  2. Minimum institutional GPA of 3.25, although exceptions may be made by specific academic programs.
  3. Progress toward UG degree–completion of 60 credit hours or more (exact hours may vary and are determined by the specific academic program).
  4. Approval may be based on other academic program-specific guidelines.

Departments determine which graduate courses are appropriate substitutes for undergraduate major requirements, given program learning outcomes.

Students admitted to the ABM program must maintain an institutional GPA of 3.0 or better and earn a minimum grade of B or higher (B, B+, A-, A, or A+) in each graduate course. ABM program admission or completion is no guarantee of admission into or progression in a graduate program of study.  Students are encouraged to submit a graduate application upon admission to the ABM program or by the first semester of the senior year.

Please see the Undergraduate Catalog for additional qualifications for acceptance into ABM programs.

Step One – Initiating ABM Coursework

  • The student must receive an invitation or sponsorship from a program faculty member and the undergraduate advisor.
  • The student must then meet with their academic advisor to discuss program requirements to ascertain if minimum qualifications have been met for entry into the program,
  • Thereafter, all other program/departmental/school/college approvals must be obtained.

Step Two – Completing the ABM Request Form

The ABM departmental approver will contact the Graduate School (emailing gsgraduateanalyst@memphis.edu) requesting the addition of the ABM designation to the students record, noting which starting term and year the designation needs to be active. Then the ABM departmental approver will complete and sign the ABM Request Form, including only the student’s planned classes with open registration.

The ABM departmental approver submits the completed ABM Request Form to the student’s graduation analyst in their program of study for review and signature. The analyst then forwards the ABM form to the Registrar’s Office for processing.

If the student wishes to take a course for a future term, an additional form must be completed once registration opens for that term.

Note: In order for the Graduate School to add the ABM designation to the student’s record and the Registrar’s Office to process the ABM paperwork and add the UG equivalent course(s), the student must have applied to graduate.

Step Three – Obtaining Registrar’s Office Approval and Registration Permit

Once the ABM Request Form is approved, the advisor issues an ABM Permit to the student so that he or she may register for a graduate-level course. Students without permits will receive a level restriction block from registering for graduate courses.

Once the ABM Request Form is submitted the Registrar’s Office will confirm receipt and approval with the Graduate School.

Step Four – Grading the ABM Student

Upon registration to the graduate-level course, the undergraduate-level course equivalent will be added to the student record and appear as 'in progress' until the end of the term. Upon completion of the course, standard grades and credit hours will be applied to the graduate-level course, and a grade of 'S' (Satisfactory) or 'U' (Unsatisfactory) will be applied to the undergraduate-level equivalent course.  If at any time the student withdraws from the graduate-level ABM course, receiving a ‘W’ (Withdrawal) grade, a ‘W’ will also be applied to the undergraduate-level equivalent course.