Concurrent Degrees

Concurrent undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Geology and Meteorology provide the opportunity for well-qualified ISU juniors and seniors to earn both a master’s and bachelor’s degree at the end of a fifth year of study.

To complete the concurrent B.S./M.S. or M.S./MBA within five years, students will begin taking graduate courses their senior year. Students on a thesis track will also begin research in their senior year. Students interested in research may apply for a graduate research assistantship during their fourth and fifth years of study. A maximum of 6 graduate credits can be double counted for both the bachelor’s degree and the graduate degree subject to the Program of Study Committee approval.

Qualified students interested in pursuing the concurrent degrees must complete the necessary paperwork to apply to the graduate program by January 1 of their junior year. The admissions committee of the respective program will review the applications following the same procedure used for all other graduate applicants. Program specific requirements are described below. Individualized concurrent degree programs are available.

Concurrent B.S./M.S. and B.S./MBA in Geology

Admission procedures and requirements

A 3.5 or higher GPA will be required for candidates wishing to pursue a concurrent degree in geology.

Students intending to apply to the B.S./M.S. geology degree will discuss research interests with the undergraduate advisor in their sophomore year, and identify possible graduate advisors with the relevant expertise before applying to the program. The student and graduate advisor will agree between a thesis or creative component option. The student will also be considered for a TA or RA following the procedure currently in use in the geology program.

The application of students interested in pursuing the B.S./MBA degree will be evaluated by the Ivy College of Business.

Requirements of the program

Students pursuing the B.S./M.S. Geology degree will complete 6 credits of geology required (e.g. GEOL 579, 3 cr.) or electives at the 500 level that will count both for the B.S. and M.S. degrees. In addition, the student will complete 6 research credits and 18 credits of 500-level geology electives in the 4th and 5th year. The research component can either be a thesis or a creative component. Sample 5-year plans are available below.

Students pursuing the B.S./MBA geology degree will complete 48 credits for the MBA program in their 4th and 5th year, according to the sample plan below.

For more information, please contact Prof. Cinzia Cervato.

Concurrent B.S./M.S. in Meteorology

Students need to have at least a 3.4 GPA, adequate grades in calculus and physics courses, and evidence of potential to do graduate-level research. Students do not need to take the GRE test. Upon acceptance, the student’s undergraduate advisor will meet with the student to discuss research interests, and the student will be directed toward faculty members having expertise in that area to discuss the ability of those faculty to serve as major professor(s).

Students seeking the concurrent degrees will have the B.S. requirement for 2 credits of Mteor 499 (senior thesis) waived. Instead, students will take 2 credits of Mteor 590 (Special Topics) during spring semester of year 4 to engage in research toward the Master’s thesis, which is required. It is anticipated that it will take a total of 5 years to complete all work needed for the concurrent B.S. and M.S. degrees. If students decide during fall semester or spring semester to drop the pursuit of the concurrent M.S. degree, the 2 credits of Mteor 590 will count instead of Mteor 499 to allow the student to receive the B.S. degree alone at the end of year 4. This is the only change in the normal B.S. requirements. Students will end up with 30 credits applied to the M.S. degree, and as is usual in Meteorology, 18 of the credits will be from structured courses, with 12 or more credits of Mteor 699 taken while the student does research for the Master’s thesis. It is anticipated that these 12 credits of research will come during year 5, and possibly also during summer between years 4 and 5. Students will defend their M.S. research by the end of year 5.

Students will develop their graduate program of study during fall of year 4, which effectively will be much like the first semester of the normal 2-year M.S. program. The student will be assigned a major professor shortly acceptance into the concurrent program, either by the end of year 3, or during fall of year 4.

Graduate assistantships will not be guaranteed, but these students will be considered the same as other graduate students, and following policies in the University catalog, are eligible for available RAs and TAs in their last two years of study.

A sample semester-by-semester plan is shown below (for years 4 and 5 as nothing would be different from the normal B.S. plan in earlier years).

Students interested in pursuing the concurrent degrees should contact meteorology@iastate.edu<.