Admission
The BS/MS Shared Credit Program is a special program for which a student will apply during the junior year of the BS program. Students may apply to the shared credit program when enrolled in courses that will complete the 5th semester of her/his BS curriculum. Normally, applications will be accepted in November with a decision in early February, or in April with a decision in August. Admission is based on grades earned through the 5th semester of the curriculum, with GPA calculated based on the best attempt at each course.
For students pursuing a shared credit program within the same discipline, admission is automatic if the student has a GPA of 3.5 or better on courses applicable to the degree (including UNM core). For students in this category, only a short application is required that will include a proposed set of courses the student will take to complete the BS and MS degrees, and the name of the faculty advisor who has agreed to work with the student.
For students pursuing a BS to MS program within the same discipline whose degree GPA falls between 3.0 and 3.5, a more extensive application is required including letters of recommendation from faculty and staff advisors, a proposed plan of courses required to complete the BS and MS degrees, and the name of the faculty advisor who has agreed to work with the student.
For students pursing a BS to MS in different disciplines, a full application package as outlined above is required regardless of degree GPA.
Once students have been accepted into the SoE Shared Credit program, application to the graduate program is through the normal graduate admission process and should occur during the semester when the student is enrolled in the final semester of the undergraduate program. For students in the shared credit program, the GRE and UNM application fee are waived.
In order to be eligible for the Shared Credit Program, students must have already been admitted to a BS degree program in the School. Admission to the graduate portion of this program is provisional, and is not finalized until the student satisfactorily completes the requirements for the BS degree. A student whose degree GPA falls below 3.0 will be dropped from the shared credit program.
Students admitted to this BS/MS Shared-Credit Program may choose to not complete the MS degree, terminating with the BS degree. If a student chooses to not complete the MS degree, he/she should inform the department graduate advisor of this as soon as possible. The student will be awarded the BS upon completion of the requirements for the BS degree; the shared-credit courses listed in the student’s curriculum for this degree in the senior year will be applicable to the BS degree whether the student completes the MS or not. Similarly, if the student is not advanced by the department to the MS program due to poor performance on the undergraduate portion of the degree after admission, the student will still be able to complete the BS degree and will be allowed to include the graduate level courses that are part of the Shared Credit curriculum towards the BS degree.
Further rules regarding SOE shared credit programs can be found on the School of Engineering website and in the advising manuals for each department.
