Biology, BS - Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s (ABM) Option

The Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s (ABM) option allows qualified undergraduate students to complete the requirements for both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree at an accelerated pace, in approved, participating programs, by double-counting up to 12 graduate-level hours taken after admission into the ABM track. 

ABM Student Eligibility Requirements

1. Undergraduate students must have completed a minimum of sixty (60) hours in the Biology undergraduate degree program.
2. Transfer students must have earned a minimum of 24 hours at Western Carolina University.
3. Students must have a minimum cumulative WCU grade point average (GPA) of 3.500 at the time of application to the ABM track and must maintain the 3.000 GPA through the completion of their bachelor’s degree.

Application to the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s (ABM) Track

1. A prospective ABM student that meets the eligibility requirements above should schedule a meeting with their academic/research advisor and the graduate program director to develop a tentative plan of study for their bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, and to discuss the ABM requirements. 
2. The prospective ABM-track student should be given a copy of the program-specific ABM guidelines at that meeting. 
3. The student must submit, while still an undergraduate, the standard application for admission to the Graduate School including an application, application fee, and all required admission materials, including a letter of recommendation from the prospective thesis advisor. 
4. Upon review of the submitted application materials, the Biology Graduate Committee will make a recommendation to the Graduate School to conditionally accept or deny a student admission to the Master’s program, contingent on maintaining the ABM eligibility and participation requirements through obtaining the B.S. 

Requirements for ABM Participation and Graduation

1. Students must complete their Bachelor’s degree prior to entering a Master’s degree program. Consequently, ABM students may not elect to bypass the Bachelor’s degree. 
2. Students must receive a grade of B or higher in the double-counted graduate-level courses. Graduate courses with a grade below a B can count toward the Bachelor’s degree but cannot counted toward the Master's degree requirements.
3. Students must complete the following required courses for the ABM Bachelor’s degree: 
   • Research requirement (at least 6 hours of BIOL 480 and at least 2 hours of BIOL 493)
   • BIOL 697 (Introduction to Graduate Studies, 2 hours)
   • BIOL 696 or BIOL 496 (Seminar in Biology, 1 hour)
4. No more than 12 hours of graduate-level work may be counted towards the requirements of both degrees, and no more than 12 graduate-level credit hours may be taken before the conferral of the Bachelor’s degree. 

Continuing ABM Eligibility

1. It is the responsibility of the student to recognize their eligibility requirements. 
2. If a student completes the Bachelor’s degree requirements with a cumulative GPA of less than 3.000/4.000, then they become ineligible to complete the ABM track. They may reapply to the Graduate School for the regular Master’s degree program.
3. If a student becomes ineligible to participate in the ABM track, the graduate program director must inform the student in writing of their ABM ineligibility. A copy of this letter to the student must be sent to the Graduate School. 
4. A student who is ineligible to participate in or withdraws from the ABM cannot double-count any courses for both the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. 

Withdrawal from the ABM Program

A student may withdraw at any time from the ABM track by informing the graduate program director in writing. A copy of this request must be sent to the Graduate School.

BS-MS Transition

After being admitted into graduate school and upon conferral of the student’s Bachelor’s degree with a 3.000 GPA or higher, the student’s records will be updated to reflect graduate-level enrollment. At that time, the student will be officially considered a graduate student at WCU and may be eligible for fellowships, assistantships, scholarships, and financial assistance available to graduate students.

The student is strongly encouraged to enroll in BIOL 699 (Thesis, 1-3 hours) in the first summer term following completion of the Bachelor’s degree. If the student is registered for the summer session, the student is eligible to apply for a summer assistantship from the Graduate School during the spring semester prior to this enrollment.

The student must complete all Master’s requirements to obtain the M.S. degree, which includes a total of 30 hours of graduate course work and an approved written thesis.