2013-2014 University Catalog

Individualized Study, BIS/Applied Information Technology, Accelerated MS

Highly qualified students in the Bachelor of Individualized Study (BIS) Program may apply to the Accelerated MS in AIT Program while they are undergraduate students. If accepted, accelerated students will be able to earn both a BIS (including 120 credits) and a MS (30 credits), with six credits of overlap permitted (total of 144 credits).

For policies governing all graduate degrees, see the Academic Policies section of the catalog.

Application Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in the Admissions section of this catalog. Mason undergraduate students in the BIS Program can apply in the semester in which they will have completed 90 or more credits (including 15 Mason resident credits) applicable toward the BIS. Students must have an overall GPA of at least 3.30 to apply to the program. Criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission into the MS in AIT Program, except that students do not need to have completed an undergraduate degree prior to acceptance into the accelerated program.

Reserve Graduate Credit

Students may take up to 6 additional graduate credits as reserve graduate credit. These credits do not apply to the undergraduate degree. The ability to take courses for reserve graduate credit is available to all high achieving undergraduates with the permission of the department. Permission to take a graduate course for reserve graduate credit is normally granted only to Mason seniors within 15 hours of graduation.

To apply these credits to the master’s degree, students must request that the credits be moved from the undergraduate degree to the graduate degree using the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition Form.

Degree Requirements

Students in the accelerated master’s program must maintain a minimum 3.30 GPA in the undergraduate segment until they have satisfied all requirements for the BIS degree. On completion and conferral of the undergraduate degree they submit the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition Form and are admitted to graduate status.

As graduate students, accelerated master’s students have an advanced standing. Students must complete all credits that satisfy requirements of the BIS program and those of the MSAIT program, with two courses (6 credits) overlapping from the courses necessary to earn the BIS with a concentration IND (individualized), applied information technology emphasis as listed below.

Note: All of the prerequisite courses indicated below must be passed with a grade of C or higher.