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Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate Program

Engineering Science students, because of the flexibility of the curriculum and their strength in fundamentals, have a unique opportunity to take advantage of the ESM Integrated Undergraduate Graduate (IUG) program. Application for IUG status may be made in the fifth or subsequent semesters.

IUG status permits students to take on the rigors and research challenges of graduate study at Penn State, coordinating and combining them with their baccalaureate studies.

Because some credits earned as an undergraduate may be applied to both degree programs, the time required for completion of integrated undergraduate/graduate studies is normally less than that required to complete separate degree programs. The actual time required is determined by the individual student’s objectives, needs, and diligence. In no case, however, should the acceleration of work in the major be at the expense of the richest possible undergraduate experience; there must be a balance between the accelerated specialization and a sound general education.

The advantages of Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate Status are several:

1. It permits coherent planning of studies through the graduate degree, with advising informed by not only the requirements of the baccalaureate program, but also the longer-range goals of the graduate degree.
2. For most students, the total time required to reach completion of the higher degree will be shortened. In particular, IUG students may count up to 12 credits towards both their B.S. and M.S. degree requirements.
3. The student will have earlier contact with the rigors of graduate study with graduate faculty; the resources of the Graduate School are accessible to IUG students.
4. While still undergraduates, students with IUG status benefit from their association with graduate students whose level of work and whose intensity of interest and commitment parallel their own.

IUG arrangements have been designed for the truly extraordinary students, those who have exceptional academic records; whose progress in the major is so advanced that they would be taking graduate courses in later semesters even without IUG status; whose general education progress and plans indicate a readiness to forge ahead with specialization; and who are ready, indeed eager, for that particular challenge of graduate work, advancing knowledge.

Engineering Science students who believe they are among such scholars are encouraged to apply for Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate status.