The Combined Baccalaureate/Master's Program (Plus 24)

Kent State University offers outstanding students the opportunity to enroll in a Master's program before they complete their undergraduate degrees. When a student is accepted into the Combined Baccalaureate/Master's Program, he/she may apply up to 12 hours of graduate-level coursework toward the completion of the undergraduate degree as well. If a student combines an undergraduate degree in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication with a JMC Master's degree that requires 36 hours of coursework, that student will have both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree with just 24 more credit hours than the Bachelor's degree alone. That's why we call this program "Plus 24."

In order to be eligible to apply for the Plus 24 program, a student must have achieved a GPA of:

• 3.5 after 60 semester hours
• 3.4 after 75 semester hours
• 3.3 after 90 semester hours, or
• 3.2 after 105 semester hours.

A student who wishes to apply for this program must complete all the necessary documents and requirements for admission to graduate study. In addition, the student must complete a document listing all the courses yet to be taken to complete the requirements for the undergraduate degree, including the courses that will be taken at the graduate level and counted toward both degrees. The applicant should meet with an adviser in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication to complete this form.

When the applicant has been admitted to the graduate program in JMC, he/she may register for and take graduate and undergraduate courses in the same semester. The candidate is entitled to participate in the undergraduate graduation ceremony as soon as he/she has completed all the requirements for the undergraduate degree. The candidate will also participate in the Master's level graduation ceremony when he/she has completed all the requirements for the Master's degree. The candidate must apply to graduate at each level separately.

Students enrolled in the Plus 24 program are eligible to hold graduate assistantships even if they have not yet completed the requirements for the undergraduate degree. Students may combine any undergraduate program with any Master's program at Kent State University, as long as the two programs agree.