Blended Bachelor's & Master's Degree Program
Eligibility and How to Apply | Program of Study | Recommended Courses for the Blended Program | Some Advantages of the Blended Program
The blended program provides motivated students with an efficient way to complete a BS and MS in mathematics with both degrees being conferred simultaneously. Students are provided with ample advising so that there is a seamless transition from undergraduate to graduate status.
Eligibility and How to Apply
Students majoring in mathematics may apply for the blended program as early as their junior year after completing at least two upper-division mathematics classes and must apply before they have completed all undergraduate degree-applicable units required for their major.
Program of Study
Students must complete the requirements of both the undergraduate and master's program of study for a total of 225 units. However, they are advised to take the undergraduate courses most suitable as preparation for the master's program. They should take the graduate preliminary written examinations at the time they complete the appropriate courses, even possibly before they have graduate status. Finally, the senior project, if sufficiently complex, may be extended into a graduate thesis. This last option is particularly attractive to students participating in one of the many undergraduate summer research programs available at either Cal Poly or other universities, since the research can then be used as a basis for the senior project and master's thesis.
Recommended Courses for the Blended Program
As part of their upper-division coursework, students interested in the blended program should include in their course of study as many of the following as possible:
- Math 413 Introduction to Analysis II
- Math 412 Introduction to Analysis I
- Math 481 Abstract Algebra I
- Math 482 Abstract Algebra II
Some Advantages of the Blended Program
- No "formal" application is made for the graduate program through Admissions: no $55 fee.
- Students receive graduate student status after completing the undergraduate mathematics requirements, except for senior project; therefore, priority registration helps them enroll in hard-to-get classes.
- Students may become Teaching Associates as soon as they have graduate student status.
- As part of their graduate program, students may use certain mathematics courses taken as undergraduates that are not part of undergraduate degree requirements. The number of units is not subject to limits.
Please contact the graduate coordinator (mathgradprogram@calpoly.edu).
