Accelerated Graduate Enrollment (AGRADE)
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Accelerated Graduate Enrollment (AGRADE) program provides the opportunity for top students to enroll simultaneously in an undergraduate and graduate program. Students can apply a maximum of 16 credits towards both an undergraduate and a graduate degree in the student's major field. Students electing AGRADE programs may expect to complete their bachelor's and master's in five years of full-time study.
Students must apply for an AGRADE program during the semester that they earn 90 credits toward an undergraduate degree (typically during junior year). Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3 and final approval from their major department.
Overview
Our AGRADE program enables qualified seniors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) to enroll simultaneously in the undergraduate and graduate programs of the college and apply a maximum of 16 credits toward both an undergraduate and graduate degree in the student's major field.
Students who join the AGRADE program may expect to complete their bachelor's and master's in five years of full-time study. This allows students to save both time and money as they pursue their undergraduate and graduate degrees, making the most of their experiences at Wayne State.
Contact 💬
For more details about the AGRADE program, contact the undergraduate advisor of your major's department or the CLAS Graduate Office at clasgrad@wayne.edu / 313-577-2516.
Getting started
- Application procedures
Students should always consult their undergraduate advisor and the graduate director in their major department to find out about how to apply to AGRADE. Many departments will require that AGRADE applicants submit all of the application materials required for normal graduate admission. Specific details of the department's normal admissions procedures can be found on their admissions page or in the Graduate Bulletin.
For departments in which the GRE is required for admission to a master's program, it's expected that this exam will be taken at the normal time (i.e., as students finish their undergraduate degrees and apply for their master's only year).
Important: Admission into AGRADE status does not require receipt of GRE scores.
- Eligibility and timeline
AGRADE applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better. Applicants are also expected to have performed at a superior level in the major, as determined by the department.
The earliest a student may apply for the AGRADE Program is the semester in which he/she completes 90 credits towards the undergraduate degree. Students should consult with their undergraduate advisor in their major department to seek advice about the appropriate time to apply for AGRADE status.
- Plan of work
Once a department accepts a student into AGRADE, the student and the graduate director will complete an AGRADE plan of work that designates which graduate courses will be taken during the student's undergraduate program. An AGRADE plan of work is a master's plan of work that designates the type of master's being chosen (Plan A, B, or C) and the courses that the student will complete during their master's program (both during AGRADE as an undergraduate and as a master's student upon graduation from their undergraduate program).
AGRADE plans of work should be submitted to the Graduate Office in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at clasgrad@wayne.edu.
Upon receipt of an AGRADE plan of work, the Graduate Office in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will formally accept students into AGRADE status, as long as they meet the minimum criteria for the AGRADE program and have departmental approval. AGRADE plans of work must be on file in the Graduate Office of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences no later than the second week of classes for new applicants.
- Registration for AGRADE students
Registration for approved AGRADE coursework is no different from normal registration procedures. If any approved courses are at the 7000 or 8000 levels, the student may have to obtain a registration override from the department. If a student enrolls in upper-division courses in which both undergraduate and graduate students participate, AGRADE students will be held to the course standards required of the graduate students.
- Final approval of graduate status
At the normal time during the senior year, the student will be reviewed for formal admission into the department's graduate program. All materials required by the department for regular admission must be available at this time. Under normal circumstances, approval of AGRADE status will be followed by formal acceptance into the graduate program. AGRADE students must formally apply to the master's program in their major department as they complete their bachelor's, in order to enter into their master's only semesters at Wayne State.
Students who drop the AGRADE program at any time prior to completion of the master's degree will not have AGRADE courses posted on a graduate transcript.
About the program
- Advising
Students accepted into AGRADE status will be assigned a graduate advisor in their major department. They will also retain their undergraduate advisor while they are finishing up their bachelor's degree.
- AGRADE credits
Students may elect a minimum of three and a maximum of 16 AGRADE credits. These will be used to complete the baccalaureate degree as well as to serve as the beginning of graduate study. Upon formal admission to a master's degree program, AGRADE courses are treated as if they were graduate credits transferred from a graduate program at another university. The remaining graduate credits required for the master's degree will be earned in the usual manner following formal admission to the graduate program.
The college's AGRADE program is administered by the Graduate Office of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The college's Graduate Office accepts students to the AGRADE program upon recommendations from departments and processes all necessary forms to make sure that students receive credit for the graduate-level AGRADE courses that they may take during their undergraduate years. Departments will also monitor the progress of AGRADE students, and advise them about coursework and when to apply for their graduate program of choice.
- Departmental participation
The following departments/programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences participate in the AGRADE program:
- Anthropology
- Biological Sciences
- Classical & Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures
- Chemistry
- Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Economics
- English
- History
- Linguistics
- Mathematics
- Nutrition and Food Science
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Astronomy
- Biomedical Physics
- Political Science
- Public Health
- Sociology
- Urban Studies and Planning
Some departments of the college may choose not to participate in the AGRADE program, as it is up to the individual department whether to accept AGRADE students. - Enrollment status under AGRADE
Upon acceptance into AGRADE status by the department and college, the Liberal Arts and Sciences Graduate Office will process an AGRADE curriculum code for the student. Students' records will then carry an AGRADE designation for the duration of their undergraduate program.
- Receipt of bachelor's
AGRADE students will receive their bachelor's at the normal time after they have completed all undergraduate requirements and have applied for graduation. Students should work with their major's undergraduate advisor to ensure completion of their undergraduate degree.
- Retroactive courses
Courses already on the student's transcript at the time of application cannot be approved for AGRADE status. Students who have already completed their bachelor's are not eligible for AGRADE status.
- Transfer of courses
Because grades of "B-", "C" and "D" are treated differently at the graduate and undergraduate levels, only those AGRADE-approved courses in which the student subsequently earns a "B" or higher will transfer to the graduate transcript. Graduate course grades will be transferred to student's master's only transcripts upon completion of their first master's only semester.
- Tuition
Graduate courses taken as part of the AGRADE program carry undergraduate tuition. This is a major benefit of AGRADE enrollment. Once students graduate from their bachelor's program, they'll pay graduate-level tuition for the remainder of their master's degree programs.