Undergraduate math majors who would like to be admitted to the combined BS/MS program must apply during their junior year. To be eligible for the program a student must have maintained a 3.5 GPA overall and in their major (which must be mathematics), and indications must be that the student will successfully satisfy the requirements for both the Bachelor's and Master's degrees within two years after beginning the program. Interested students must apply to the department's graduate program and submit a detailed program of study that has been prepared with the help of the student's advisor(s). Students must also submit a graduate application to the admissions office. When applying for the BS/MS program students must meet the regular graduate application deadlines:

March 15th for Fall Semester
November 1st for Spring Semester
March 15th for Summer Semester

Please note that beginning the program in the summer semester is not encouraged due to the lack of graduate program classes available in the summer.

Students wishing to participate in this program are strongly encouraged to participate in research early in their program of study. Transfer students may be considered for the program only after completing 24 hours of coursework at the University of Utah.

The main advantage of the combined BS/MS program is that it can help students who take more than the 122 credits required for the undergraduate degree.  By applying to the combined BS/MS program the extra credits may be fully counted toward to the Masters degree.

Here is an example.  Suppose that, as an undergraduate, a student takes 135 credits, then graduates and wants to join the Masters of Mathematics program.  The university will allow for only 6 of the extra 13 credits to be applied towards the Masters degree.  The student is now required to take 24 further credits to obtain the Masters.  If, instead, the student had applied to the combined BS/MS program before graduation, then the 13 extra credits could all be applied toward the Masters (assuming the credits satisfy the requirements of the Masters of Mathematics program).  For this to work the student must be admitted to the combined BS/MS program before completing their undergraduate degree.

Based on these considerations, the combined BS/MS is most useful when an undergraduate math major:

• Already plans to obtain 152 credits of coursework, 30 of which satisfy the requirements of the Masters in Mathematics programs, and 
• Intends the Masters degree to be a terminal degree in mathematics, i.e. the student does not intend to apply to PhD programs in mathematics.

The latter point relates to a potential downside of the combined BS/MS program.  The main downsides to be aware of are:

• If you are an international student your visa status could potentially change.  Before applying to the combined BS/MS program you should consult the Office of International Student & Scholar Services to determine if there could be complications with your visa status.
• In some cases, scholarships that apply towards your undergraduate degree may no longer apply once you enroll in the combined BS/MS program.  If this happens you would be responsible for tuition.  Contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid to determine if this may apply to your situation.
• If you intend to apply to Mathematics PhD programs after graduation, your application may be negatively impacted by holding a Masters degree.  Some universities offer a smaller amount of tuition waiver to applicants that have Masters degrees.  And typically, having a Masters degree does not increase your chances of being admitted to a PhD program, as admissions committees usually give more weight to the coursework on transcripts rather than degrees held.

For more information please contact our Directors of Graduate Studies, who can be found on the department's Contact Us page.