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The ³ÉÈËAVÊÓƵ provides exceptional undergraduate students with the opportunity to complete the requirements for both the bachelor’s and master's degrees at an accelerated pace. Accelerated tracks allow students to get a head start on their graduate education by taking graduate courses during their junior and senior undergraduate years. Up to 12 credit hours of graduate work also count toward a baccalaureate degree, thus reducing the time it takes to get both degrees. The number of shared hours is determined by the total graduate and undergraduate credits.

Developing an accelerated pathway requires close coordination with The Graduate School. To create an accelerated pathway, the following steps are required:

1. The intent to develop an accelerated pathway needs to be communicated to the college dean(s) and the dean of the Graduate School, each of whom must also approve the specific curriculum plan.
2. The plan for implementing an accelerated pathway needs to be approved by the Faculty Association via the APC process, which will also serve as the mechanism for alerting other administrative units of the track’s implementation. The APC documentation needs to clearly explain how an accelerated pathway minimally does not compromise the academic integrity of the undergraduate and graduate programs.
3. If substantial changes are made to either the bachelor’s or master’s degree, or to its coursework, a substantive change notification will need to be submitted to ³ÉÈËAVÊÓƵ’s accreditation body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

Graduate program directors can obtain full details for developing an accelerated pathway in the Graduate Program Directors Canvas course, module 1.5 Accelerated Pathways.