2011-2012 University Catalog 
  
2011-2012 University Catalog

Individualized Study, BIS/Telecommunications, Accelerated MS


Students who are in the Bachelor of Individualized Study (BIS) Program may elect to enter an Accelerated MS in TCOM Program while they are undergraduate students. The accelerated program is designed for qualified undergraduate students in the BIS Program who would like to proceed directly into the MS in TCOM Program, completing the two degrees with 144 credits. Accelerated students must satisfy requirements for the BIS (including 120 credits) and the MS (30 credits), with 6 credits of overlap permitted. The MS in TCOM is on an accelerated track, with 6 credits taken as an undergraduate and 24 credits as a graduate student. The 6 undergraduate credits must be selected from those given in the table that follows and will be substituted for BIS concentration courses, subject to prior approval by a BIS advisor. Note: Accelerated students must take ECE 301 or 303 as one of their BIS concentration courses.

Applicants must be Mason undergraduate students in the BIS Program. Students may apply for the accelerated program during the semester after which they will have completed 90 or more credits and 15 Mason resident credits applicable toward the BIS as an undergraduate. Students must have an overall GPA of at least 3.25 to apply for the program. Students who have not yet finished 90 credits may be accepted provisionally subject to satisfactory completion of 90 credits. Criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission into the MS in TCOM Program, except that students do not need to have completed an undergraduate degree prior to acceptance into the accelerated program.

Students who have been accepted into the accelerated program must maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA in the undergraduate segment of the accelerated program and a 3.00 GPA in the graduate segment. That is, after students have been accepted into the accelerated program, they must maintain a 3.25 GPA until they have satisfied all requirements for the BIS degree. They must then maintain a minimum 3.00 GPA in the graduate segment of the accelerated program.

Students must complete all requirements for the BIS degree. Students in the accelerated program must apply to have the BIS degree conferred the semester before they expect to complete BIS requirements, and must graduate. The MS in TCOM is granted on completion of all requirements for the accelerated degree.

TCOM courses that may be taken by a BIS undergraduate student as part of the accelerated program are given in the table below. Note: All of the prerequisite courses indicated below must be passed with a grade of B or higher.

Degree Requirements


Telecommunications courses:


Note:


Accelerated students who have passed IT 341 with a grade of B or higher will not be required to take TCOM 501 in the MS in TCOM core. They may take a 1.5-credit elective instead. Other TCOM courses may be approved on a case by- case basis.

BIS Concentration: 34-46 credits


  • Additional 500-level TCOM course (3)
  • Plus an additional 9 to 21 credits to reach required number.