Program Description 

The combined degrees program enables the student with an outstanding academic record to complete both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree through an accelerated program. Upper-level undergraduate courses are integrated with initial graduate courses in the curriculum, which decreases the total requirements for both degrees by a maximum of 12 credit hours.

Students who have accumulated between 64 and 98 credit hours and who have maintained a 3.3 GPA in previous college work are eligible to apply for admission to the program.

The combined degrees program is offered at the St. Louis area locations and has limited availability at Webster’s European campuses. Students seeking the BSN/MSN combination may complete this program in either St. Louis OR Kansas City. Also, students pursuing a sequential degree in computer science (BS) in St. Louis may apply for a sequential combined BS/MS degree program in computer science.

Acceptance and Advancement to Candidacy

The letter of acceptance to the combined degrees program serves as the letter of acceptance required for the master’s degree program. Degree-seeking students are advanced to master’s candidacy when they have completed 12 credit hours of graduate coursework with grades of B OR above.

Academic Performance

The degree-seeking student must maintain an A OR B grade average to remain in the combined degrees program. Students must maintain a current GPA of at least 3.0.

An undergraduate student who receives two grades of C, one grade of D OR one grade of F in the required combined degree transition courses will be dismissed from the combined degrees program. A graduate student who receives one grade of C OR one grade of F will be dismissed from the combined degrees program.

Students dismissed from this accelerated program are eligible to pursue the traditional graduate degree program at Webster University, subject to the policies stated in the current Graduate Studies Catalog.

Continuous Enrollment

Students in the accelerated degrees program must maintain continuous and consecutive enrollment at Webster University. Students who miss more than two consecutive eight-week OR nine-week terms will be withdrawn from the program. For exceptional reasons, students may request a waiver of this requirement from the appropriate dean.

Because of the special accelerated nature of this program, no coursework will be permitted to be transferred into the graduate component of the program. Transfer courses may be used only to meet undergraduate requisite course requirements, and then only if taken before acceptance into the program.

General Requirements

Students in the undergraduate component of the combined degrees program are subject to the policies and procedures outlined in the current Undergraduate Studies Catalog, with the addition OR exception of acceptance/advancement to candidacy, academic performance, and continuous enrollment requirements detailed in this section.

Students in the graduate component of the combined degrees program are subject to the policies and procedures outlined in the current Graduate Studies Catalog, with the addition OR exception of the acceptance/advancement to candidacy, academic performance, and continuous enrollment requirements detailed in this section.

BA/MA OR BS/MA Combinations

Admission

Students seeking combined degrees must submit an application for the combined program along with a signed letter of agreement.

General Requirements

By completing a block of requisite courses for the declared graduate major, students may combine their liberal arts undergraduate major with a more career-oriented graduate program. Most undergraduate majors leading to a bachelor of arts OR bachelor of science degree can be combined with any of the following graduate programs as long as the requisite courses for the graduate program have been met.

• MA in Advertising and Marketing Communications
• MA in Gerontology
• MA in Human Resources Development
• MA in International Relations
• MA in Legal Studies
• MA in Management and Leadership
• MA in Marketing
• MA in Media Communications
• MA in Public Relations

Graduate course descriptions are included in the MA and MBA Majors/Emphasis and Course Descriptions section of the current Graduate Studies Catalog. For undergraduate course descriptions, please refer to the appropriate sections of the Undergraduate Studies Catalog.

MA in Advertising and Marketing Communications

Undergraduate Requisite Courses

 Transition Courses

 Graduate Courses

 Elective Courses

Students are required to choose two courses from the MA in advertising and marketing communications curriculum in addition to the courses listed. For more information about the MA in advertising and marketing communications curriculum, please refer to the School of Communications section of the Graduate Studies Catalog.

 MA in Gerontology

 Undergraduate Requisite Courses

 Transition Courses

 Graduate Courses

 Elective Courses

 The combined degree in gerontology requires one elective graduate course in addition to the courses listed.

 MA in Human Resources Development

 Undergraduate Requisite Courses

 Transition Courses

 Graduate Courses

 Elective Courses

 The combined degree in human resources development requires three elective graduate courses in addition to the courses listed.

 MA in International Relations *

 Undergraduate Requisite Courses

 Transition Courses

 Graduate Courses

 Elective Courses

 The combined degree in international relations requires two graduate international relations elective courses in addition to the courses listed OR pre-approved courses (non-INTL) related to international relations.

 * This program is not recommended for evening students.

 MA in Legal Studies

 Undergraduate Requisite Courses

 Transition Courses

 Graduate Courses

 Elective Courses

 The combined degree in legal studies requires two elective graduate courses in addition to the courses listed.

 MA in Management and Leadership

 Undergraduate Requisite Courses

Transition Courses

Graduate Courses

 Elective Courses

 The combined degree in management and leadership requires three elective graduate courses in addition to the courses listed.

 MA in Marketing

 Undergraduate Requisite Courses

 Transition Courses

 Graduate Courses

 Elective Courses

 The combined degree in marketing requires four elective graduate courses in addition to the courses listed.

 MA in Media Communications

Students majoring in an undergraduate discipline other than media communications must earn 18 credit hours in undergraduate media communications coursework in order to qualify for the graduate portion of the combined degree program in media communications. These courses will be selected in consultation with an undergraduate advisor.

 Undergraduate Requisite Courses

 Transition Courses

 Graduate Courses

 Elective Courses

 The combined degree in media communications requires four elective graduate courses in addition to the courses listed above.

MA in Public Relations

 Undergraduate Requisite Courses

 Transition Courses

 Graduate Courses

 Elective Courses

Students are required to choose three courses from the MA in public relations curriculum in addition to the courses listed. For more information about the MA in public relations curriculum, please refer to the School of Communications section of the Graduate Studies Catalog.

 BS in Accounting/MS in Finance Combination

 Program Description

 The bachelor of science (BS) in accounting/master of science (MS) in finance is an accelerated degree combination primarily designed for students in accounting who plan to enter the accounting profession and are in need of at least 150 credit hours in order to sit for the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) exam.

 Admission

 Students seeking combined degree program BS in accounting/MS in finance must submit an application to the Office of Academic Advising and must provide two letters of recommendation from Webster University faculty with the application.

General Requirements

The BS in accounting/MS in finance degree combination program requires a total of 152 credit hours which is a combination of undergraduate and graduate credit hours. A maximum of 98 credit hours may be accepted for transfer into the undergraduate program but only a maximum of 64 credit hours of lower-division work are allowed to transfer. A student must complete a minimum of 18 credit hours of undergraduate accounting courses at Webster University. No transfer credit is allowed for the graduate portion of the program.

Students must apply to the Business Department through the Office of Academic Advising for the graduate portion of the BS in accounting/MS in finance when they have accumulated between 64 and 98 credit hours and have successfully completed 15 credit hours of required upper-division ACCT courses including Intermediate Accounting. Students who have maintained an overall grade point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale in all previous college work will be eligible for the BS in accounting/MS in finance degree combination.

Combination BS in Accounting/MS in Finance Requirements

 The BS in accounting/MS in finance degree combination requires that all university-wide undergraduate degree requirements for general education and also the accounting major must be met. Students may receive the BS in accounting degree after completing all the undergraduate requirements for the degree and before completing the graduate requirements for the MS in finance degree. For the BS in accounting, they should have a total of 128 credit hours, completed all general education requirements, completed all of the required undergraduate courses for the major in accounting, and completed the four transition courses in the set of core requirements. Students may then continue completing the requirements for the MS in finance degree.

Undergraduate Requisite Courses

All courses required for the BS in accounting major with the exception of ACCT 4100 Advanced Financial Accounting and ACCT 4900 Auditing, which are defined as core transition courses between the BS in accounting/MS in finance programs

 Transition Courses

Graduate Courses

 BS/MS in Computer Science Combination

 Program Description

The MS in computer science (COSC) program builds on the strong technical foundation in the BS in computer science program. The combined program allows students to enhance and further develop their technical skills in this profession.

 Admission

 Students seeking combined degrees in computer science must submit an application to the Academic Advising Center in St. Louis.

 General Requirements

Students must have an overall lifetime 3.3 GPA They should have between 64 and 98 credit hours and have successfully completed at least 15 credit hours of required COSC coursework before applying for the combined degree program. Students must be accepted into the program before enrolling in the 4000-level core courses OR any graduate-level courses. Students must take all of the undergraduate courses before taking any of the graduate courses.

Students may receive the BS degree after completing all of the requirements for the degree and before completing the requirements for the MS degree. For the BS degree, they should have a total of 128 credit hours, completed all general education requirements, completed all 24 credit hours of the required undergraduate COSC courses, and completed the four COSC courses in the set of transition courses. Students may then continue completing the requirement for the MS degree.

Sequential BS/MS Requirements

The sequential BS/MS combined degree program in computer science is recommended for students who wish to change fields and earn a master’s degree in computer science.

For the sequential BS/MS combined degree, students should hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with an overall lifetime 3.3 GPA They should have successfully completed at least 15 credit hours of the required undergraduate COSC coursework before applying for the combined degree program. Students must be accepted into the program before enrolling in the 4000-level core courses OR any graduate-level courses. Students must take all of the undergraduate courses before taking any of the graduate courses.

Students may receive the BS degree after completing all of the requirements for the sequential degree and before completing the requirements for the MS degree. For the BS degree, they should have a total of 36 credit hours, completed all 24 credit hours of the required undergraduate COSC courses, and completed the four COSC courses in the set of transition courses. Students may then continue completing the requirements for the MS degree.
All courses must be taken at Webster University for the sequential combined degree program in computer science.

Undergraduate Requisite Courses

 Transition Courses

 Graduate Courses

 BSN/MSN Combination

 Admission

 Requirements for admission to the combined BSN/MSN program are:

• completion and submission of an application to the combined BSN/MSN program;
• completion and submission of a signed letter of agreement;
• completion of all admission requirements for the MSN program with the additions and exceptions noted in this section.

General Requirements

 Students must apply to the program, and undergraduate courses must be completed prior to enrollment in the four core courses. Students should consult the appropriate sections of the Undergraduate Studies Catalog for undergraduate course descriptions.

 Undergraduate Requisite Courses

 Transition Courses

 Graduate Courses

In addition, the degree-seeking student must complete one of the following options:

 Educator Focus

 Students selecting this option must complete the following courses:

 Leader Focus

 Students selecting this option must complete the following courses: