Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Five-Year Dual Degree Program

This applies only to Georgetown University undergraduate mathematics majors.

Advanced mathematics majors at Georgetown are invited to consider entering an accelerated degree program in which both baccalaureate and MS degrees can be obtained in five years. The MS can be earned in two semesters after completing requirements for the BA or BS. Six credit hours are available for dual credit, i.e. they may be applied towards both degrees. These doubly-counted courses will normally be selected from the set of core courses in the senior year. Graduating seniors will thus have already taken two of the ten required courses. Two additional three credit graduate courses taken as an undergraduate may be counted towards the graduate degree, provided that these credits are not needed for the BA or BS degree. These courses are sometimes referred to as “asterisk” courses because they may appear on the undergraduate transcript with an asterisk or other symbol indicating that they are not used to satisfy BA or BS requirements and do not count towards the undergraduate GPA. Advanced students can thus satisfy up to 40% of the course requirements of the MS degree in the four undergraduate years. In the final two semesters, a typical student in the accelerated degree program will carry a course load of nine credit hours each semester, which is normal for graduate students. It is critical that planning for the 5-year curriculum directly involve the Dean of the College, who alone has the authority to approve which courses are to be doubly-counted and which courses, if any, should be written to the graduate transcript and not counted towards the undergraduate degree. Proposed “asterisk” courses must be submitted to the Dean by the end of the drop/add period of the last undergraduate semester.

Dual degree applicants should have an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher, no C grades in mathematics courses and no more B than A grades in mathematics courses. No math/stat course taken while dual-enrolled and with grade less than B may be counted towards the graduate degree. Dual degree students must take at least one graduate level course that can be counted towards the graduate degree in each semester in which they are dual enrolled. Failure to do so may result in removal from the program. After completing the BA/BS degree, dual degree students become regular graduate students.

Application for the accelerated degree includes applying to the graduate program, as an accelerated degree student, and is usually submitted in the Spring semester of the junior year and adhering to the usual application deadline. Interested students should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies early in their junior year and should also discuss their plans with their undergraduate advisor.

Normally the student should take MATH-501 Probability Theory and Applications in the Fall of their senior year, and MATH-503 Mathematical Statistics in the Spring of their senior year. This will prepare them for additional statistics courses in the 5th year.