Bachelor's–Accelerated Master's Degrees

About the Policy

The bachelor's–accelerated master's (BAM) degree program options offer currently enrolled CU Boulder undergraduate students the opportunity to receive a bachelor's and master's degree in a shorter period of time. Students receive the bachelor's degree first, but begin taking graduate coursework as undergraduates (typically in their senior year).

Because some courses are allowed to double count for both the bachelor's and the master's degrees, students receive a master's degree in less time and at a lower cost than if they were to enroll in a stand-alone master's degree program after completion of their baccalaureate degree. In addition, staying at CU Boulder to pursue a BAM program enables students to continue working with their established faculty mentors.

The BAM program structure has been effective since July 2019. For the full policy text, see BAM Program Policy. (Prior to July 2019, students followed the concurrent degree program structure. For more information, see Concurrent Bachelor's/Master's Degree Program Guidelines.)

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Student-Facing Information 

Frequently Asked Questions

BAM Program Information

Bachelor's–Accelerated Master's programs (BAMs) offer currently enrolled CU Boulder undergraduate students the opportunity to receive a bachelor's and master's degree in a shorter period of time. Students receive the bachelor's degree first, but begin taking graduate coursework as undergraduates, typically in their senior year. Because some courses are allowed to double count for both the bachelor's and the master's degrees, students receive a master's degree in less time and at a lower cost than if they were to enroll in a stand-alone master's degree program after completion of their baccalaureate degree. In addition, staying at CU Boulder to pursue a Bachelor's-Accelerated Master's program enables students to continue working with their established faculty mentors.

The minimum standard for acceptance to a BAM program is a cumulative GPA of 3.000. All students formally admitted to a BAM program must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the duration of the program. Students must meet the basic continuation requirement of a 3.0 GPA in order to be matriculated into the graduate program, and the cumulative GPA of the courses being used toward the master's degree must also be 3.0 or higher. Once students transition to graduate status, the Graduate School is responsible for monitoring the minimum standard and notifying students who are placed on probation. Departments are responsible for establishing a procedure to address academic standing if their departmental standard is higher than the minimum.

Each program was approved with a number of credits that may be applied to both the bachelor's and master's degrees in the initial program proposal.  For almost all programs, including all newly proposed programs, the campus standard is six credit hours. 

Students are bound by existing time limits for bachelor's and master's degrees. The master's degree time limit will be calculated beginning with the semester in which the student is matriculated into the master's degree program. 

BAM programs previously followed a “concurrent” degree structure, whereby students earned the bachelor’s and master’s degrees together upon completion.  Students were advanced to graduate status upon completion of a certain number of credit hours. The transcripts of former students will reflect this structure (prior to July 2019).

Administrative Procedures

Students submit an intent application form through OnBase. Minimum standards for acceptance require a cumulative GPA of 3.0. Additional acceptance criteria are determined by the individual departments in conjunction with the appropriate school or college deans and the Graduate School. 

Departmental forms can be attached to address program-specific admission requirements. This is the single point at which departments review applications and make admissions decisions. After completing the bachelor's degree, students will submit a master's continuation form and be entered into the master's program without subsequent department review, provided they've maintained a 3.0 cumulative GPA (see question below).

When the intent application is approved, an identifying subplan code, an R09 service indicator and an expected graduation term will be entered on the student's record.

Students must apply online to graduate with their bachelor's degree for the semester in which they expect to complete those degree requirements (consistent with all undergraduate students). They will be received and cleared for graduation by their respective undergraduate college/school according to standard protocols. Students are eligible to participate in the general and departmental commencement ceremonies for the bachelor’s degree.

Deadline to apply to graduate (bachelor's degree):

  • February 1 (for students graduating in May)
  • March 1 (for students graduating in August)
  • October 1 (for students graduating in December)

At the beginning of the last semester in which students are enrolled in the remaining requirements for the undergraduate degree portion of the BAM, they must formally request to continue with the accelerated master's program by completing a streamlined master's continuation form through Slate.

This simple process will not require documents such as letters of recommendation or personal statements, and students will not be required to pay an application fee. The process will not require departmental review. Students will be matriculated into the master's program if they meet the basic continuation requirement of 3.0 GPA. International students must have approval from International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) prior to matriculation (see question below).

The deadline to submit the master's continuation form matches the undergraduate graduation application deadline (students may select a start term within three semesters):

  • February 1 (for students graduating in May)
  • March 1 (for students graduating in August)
  • October 1 (for students graduating in December)

These dates ensure that students can register along with continuing graduate students for the upcoming semester/term.

Students must begin the master's program within one academic year (three semesters, including summer) and must select their term of admission on the application. Advising will be necessary for students if their master's program only permits students to start in a particular semester (e.g., programs with a prescribed fall semester start).

Upon submitting a master's continuation form through Slate, international students in F-1 or J-1 visa status are prompted to contact ISSS to provide the proof of funding required for a change in level. Upon approval by ISSS, the student may continue to move forward in the matriculation process.

Students are prompted to select the semester in which their bachelor’s degree will be awarded; this should match the semester in which they apply to graduate in Buff Portal to earn the undergraduate degree.  They will then be prompted to select the semester in which they plan to begin the master’s degree, and should then select the semester in which they first plan to take a graduate level course after earning the bachelor’s degree. If they plan to take their first course in summer, they must select summer.

Students must begin the master's program within one academic year (three semesters, including summer) and must select their term of admission on the master’s continuation form.  This would allow them to take time away before beginning the master’s program. The leave of absence program is available to students only after they have completed at least one semester of the master’s program.

If the student changes their planned semester of undergraduate graduation or their planned semester to begin the master’s degree, they must resubmit the master’s continuation form with updated information. Failure to do so can cause a problem with matriculation or can cause discontinuation if they do not register during their originally planned first semester at graduate status.  If the expected undergraduate graduation term has changed, they must also apply anew to graduate through Buff Portal and submit a BAM change/discontinuation form.

As is the case with all master’s students, a student who does not register during their first semester will be discontinued. The student will then need to resubmit the master’s continuation form for one of their three potential start terms. If they no longer plan to continue with the master’s program, no additional action is necessary.

First, the student should select their current undergraduate program. In some cases, there may be multiple options at the undergraduate level; they must select the plan assigned in Campus Solutions. Next, the form will display the master’s programs which have a BAM program pairing with that undergraduate degree; they must select the program for which they were originally admitted with their BAM intent application.

Selecting a plan which was not approved with the original BAM intent application will cause a problem with matriculation. If the student’s plan needs to be updated, contact us for assistance.

Students supply an expected graduation term in their intent application, which should be discussed with their academic advisor. This will be entered in Campus Solutions and an R11 service indicator will be placed on these students' accounts. This will prevent students for registering for upcoming terms without applying to graduate, applying to continue to the master's degree or updating their expected graduation term through the Office of the Registrar. 

Students also receive instructional and reminder communications prior to and during their expected graduation term.

The student will submit a BAM supplement form through OnBase that identifies:

  • The 12 or fewer credits the student took during their undergraduate career that can be applied toward their graduate degree
  • Which of those courses are being counted toward both the bachelor's and master's degrees

This form must be submitted by the posted deadline during the semester in which the bachelor's degree will be awarded. It must then be reviewed and approved by both the undergraduate college and the graduate program. It is essential that this form be submitted in a timely fashion and that all advisors understand the credits being applied to each degree and which will be double counted. Advisors should work together as needed to ensure that students have met all degree requirements within the framework of the BAM policy.

If the student has already applied to graduate, they should cancel their current application and submit a new application with their revised graduation term. Students who have not applied to graduate will need to update their expected graduation term by submitting the BAM program change/discontinuation form to the Office of the Registrar. 

Students who are at undergraduate status and would like to discontinue the BAM program (i.e., receive their undergraduate degree and not continue to a graduate degree) should submit the BAM program change/discontinuation form through the Office of the Registrar. This will remove the BAM subplan and R09 service indicator from the student's record, as well as update their expected graduation term.

Students who have received their undergraduate degree may withdraw from their graduate plan and/or courses through the Office of the Registrar using the normal withdraw process. Students at graduate status who fail to register for one or more semesters will be discontinued.

Staff Resources

Request Campus Solutions and OnBase access through normal campus procedures, and Slate access through the Graduate School. 

Once system access is in place, contact the Graduate School to request access to the BAM OnBase workflows.

When a student submits an intent form through OnBase, an email will be sent to the general graduate email address for their intended program. Applications will appear in the BAM workflow in OnBase for your review. For detailed information, review the administrator guide.

When a student submits an intent form through OnBase, an email will be sent first to the undergraduate advising email associated with their program. The BAM supplement form will appear in the BAM workflow in OnBase for the undergraduate advisor’s review. After that approval, an email will be sent to the general graduate email address and the BAM supplement form will appear in the BAM workflow for the graduate advisor’s review. The completed form signed by both advisors will be added to the student’s OnBase record to be used upon certification of the master’s degree. For detailed information, review the administrator guide.

In Campus Solutions, navigate to the student services admin view page, and right click the student ID while in the “Student Center” tab. Select “Search DMO all student docs.” Review list of items and select those with “B-Reg-Enrollment-BAM” in the title to open in a new window.

The master’s continuation form is submitted through Slate and can be viewed using the query developed by the Graduate School. However, the program will not receive notification upon submission and the form does not require the review and approval of the graduate program. Assuming the student meets BAM continuation requirement (and obtains ISSS approval if applicable) they will be advanced to graduate status.

After the master’s continuation form has been processed, the graduate stack will be added to the student’s record on the schedule for terms to become active for continuing students (e.g., for summer, terms will typically be activated in February). 

After that time, staff can check the student services center admin view page in Campus Solutions to see if the graduate stack has been added. Students who have advanced to graduate status will see the graduate program associated with their BAM program in BuffPortal. If an expected graduate stack hasn’t been added, the master’s continuation form should be viewed through the query and the selections on the form should be reviewed.

In the CU Boulder system, courses appear on a student’s transcript under the career in which they were taken. Courses taken while at undergraduate status are part of the undergraduate career as far as credit totals and GPA. Courses taken after the change to graduate status are part of the graduate career as far as credit totals and GPA.

The minimum standard for acceptance to a BAM program is a cumulative GPA of 3.000 (at the undergraduate level). All students formally admitted to a BAM program must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the duration of the program. Students must meet the basic continuation requirement of a 3.0 GPA in order to be matriculated into the graduate program, and the cumulative GPA of the courses being used toward the master's degree must also be 3.0 or higher.

If you have concerns about a student’s GPA, please reach out to the Graduate School directly.

Financial Considerations

Yes, students whose bachelor's degree has been conferred are eligible, at the discretion of their department, for RA/TA appointments, scholarships, fellowships or other types of support or recognition ordinarily available to graduate students. Professional Master's students are eligible for hourly student assistant work, but not for positions with tuition remission, such as RA/TA/GPTI.

Students must begin the master's program within one academic year (three semesters, including summer, and depending on the graduate program). To ensure students aren't refunded the confirmation deposit and then asked to repay it at a later date, the Bursar's Office will place the positive service indicator R09 on students in the program to trigger a process to hold the student’s enrollment deposit for three semesters following the awarding of the undergraduate degree. Students should be aware in advance that their enrollment deposit will be held for three semesters following graduation from their undergraduate program.

Once a student has met their undergraduate requirements, they will no longer be eligible for federal grants, most state and university grants, and subsidized loans. Annual and aggregate federal loan limits will increase. Also, graduate students are considered independent of their parents when completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

It depends on the scholarship provider. We recommend contacting the Office of Financial Aid for specific scholarship questions.

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