Integrated Graduate Programs

Students must apply to the Graduate School and be accepted into an integrated graduate program (e.g. 3+2, 4+1 programs) before beginning coursework in that program. Admission requirements and timing of application varies by program. Admission decisions to integrated graduate programs are final. The following guidelines, including those describing the number of credits allowed to doubly count toward undergraduate and graduate degree programs represent an institution-defined maximum allowance. Any integrated graduate program at John Carroll University may be established with lower allowances, and students must abide by the requirements of the program in which they are enrolled. Students are not eligible to create their own integrated graduate program pathways.

Students who have been accepted into a JCU integrated graduate program are eligible to take up to 12 credits of 5000-level graduate coursework during their final undergraduate academic year at JCU and may use these credits to dually satisfy both undergraduate and graduate degree requirements, including total credits toward degree completion. Graduate courses’ final grades will factor into the GPA of all undergraduate programs (i.e. majors, minors, etc.) for which they are being used, but will only factor into the cumulative graduate GPA (i.e. graduate courses will not apply to the undergraduate cumulative GPA).

After admission to an integrated graduate program, in order to be eligible to begin graduate coursework at JCU, the student must already have completed:

  • At least 90 undergraduate credit hours, which may include transfer credit

  • At least three-quarters of all academic programs, including majors, concentrations, and minors

  • All undergraduate Integrative Core Curriculum requirements except those within the major (i.e. capstone, additional writing, and oral presentation)

A student will retain undergraduate status for purposes of tuition and financial aid until their undergraduate degree requirements have been fulfilled or until they are no longer enrolled in any undergraduate coursework. A student who is pursuing an integrated graduate program and is still under undergraduate status may pursue up to 12 credits of graduate-level coursework, which can dually satisfy specific undergraduate and graduate program requirements. Please note that, to optimize financial aid eligibility, it is in the student’s best interest to maintain full-time undergraduate status while they are pursuing the undergraduate degree.

In total, 18 credits (but no more than one-third of a program) of graduate-level coursework can be applied to the undergraduate degree to fulfill specific program requirements and general electives toward the required 120 credits for graduation. No more than 12 of these credits can be applied toward the undergraduate major.

For students to earn credit toward a graduate program, they must be enrolled in the graduate-level section (e.g. 5000-and-up) of the course. In cases of cross-listed undergraduate and graduate sections, the student must register for the graduate section. Graduate courses taken for credit toward the undergraduate degree must satisfy graduate-level minimum grade standards (i.e. a C or higher in each course and a cumulative 3.0 GPA overall) or undergraduate standards, whichever is higher. In general, more rigorous GPA requirements exist for coursework applied toward a graduate degree and students are responsible for understanding the requirements of their Master’s degree programs.

For integrated graduate programs, conferral of the baccalaureate degree will take place upon successful completion of all undergraduate requirements, which, in most cases, will be prior to conferral of the graduate degree. However, the student should work closely with their advisor to determine anticipated graduation timelines for both degree programs.

Students who begin a course of study in an integrated graduate program but, upon completion of the undergraduate requirements, do not wish to continue in the graduate program may withdraw from the institution. Should they later wish to return, they must apply for readmission and, if readmitted, abide by graduate program requirements in the bulletin which is in effect at the time of re-entry to the institution. Any previous coursework which is required for the updated program requirements may be considered for application toward the new degree program in accordance with the degree completion time limit policy.