Integrated Master and Bachelor (IMB) Degrees

Overview

Undergraduates who excel academically have the unique opportunity to receive simultaneously or sequentially both B.S. and M.S. degrees or both B.S. and M.E. degrees in MSE. The primary purpose of the Integrated Master and Bachelor (IMB) Degrees Program is to provide students with superior breadth and depth in technical material, which will better prepare them for careers in industry. Students interested in pursuing the IMB Degrees are encouraged to begin taking some of the required graduate courses before their last year. The IMB Degrees Program to obtain an M.S. (M.E.) degree normally requires two (three) additional full academic semesters of coursework beyond the B.S. Degree Requirements (normally eight academic semesters). Experience has shown that students complete the IMB program in eight to ten full academic semesters after enrolling at CMU.

Degree Requirements

• IMB students can be enrolled in either the M.S. or the M.E. degree programs, depending on their preference.
  
• Students must meet the requirements of either the M.S. or M.E. degree, as well as any specially stated rules below.

Eligibility and Enrollment

• The IMB Program is available to all undergraduates who maintain a cumulative QPA of 3.0 or better, including the freshman year and the years in which they are enrolled in the IMB, or by approval of the department head.
• Students become eligible to apply to the program during the spring semester of their junior year, or the semester in which they accumulate 280 or more units, whichever is earlier.
• Students interested in the IMB program are not required to apply to the MSE graduate program through our formal application process, which means no application fee, no need to take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam), and no need to fill out an application form.
• Interested students are encouraged to apply by requesting acceptance into the program from the Department Head of MSE prior to April 1 during their junior year.

Upon Enrollment

• Once the student has been accepted, the student should meet with his or her academic advisor(s) to determine a course schedule.
• Once a student in the IMB program has completed all of the requirements for the BS degree, he or she may become a graduate (Masters) student.
• To determine the most appropriate time for an undergraduate student to become a graduate student, he or she should consult with Enrollment Services to understand how becoming a graduate student will affect financial aid.

Requirements to enroll as a Graduate Student

• If a student takes more than 7 semesters to complete both the BS and MS, then he or she must be a graduate student for at least one 15-week academic semester (Fall or Spring) before graduating.
  
• If a student takes more than 7 semesters to complete both the BS and ME, then he or she must be a graduate student for at least two 15-week academic semesters (Fall or Spring) before graduating.

Tuition Assistance

• When a student is a full-time graduate student through the IMB program, the department is able to provide some tuition assistance through optional Teaching Assistantships.