Integrated BA/MA Program

For more information, contact the Academic Advisor Claudia Hasegawa.

We offer an early-admission opportunity for eligible majors interested in completing the MA degree in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. The integrated BA/MA program enables current University of Minnesota students in AMES to complete up to 10 graduate credits during their senior year of undergraduate studies, subsequently completing the MA degree after a fifth year of full-time graduate study.

This program offers many benefits to admitted students, including:

  • Streamlined admissions from the undergraduate to the graduate program.
  • Students can work toward their undergraduate and graduate degrees simultaneously, which means that they can finish the master's degree and enter the job market a full year earlier than students in conventional two-year master's programs.

For the Integrated BA/MA in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, all applications must be completed by Monday, December 4, 2023 for fall 2024 admission. Recommendation letters that are emailed to the department must arrive no later than that date.

Find out how to apply for the Integrated BA/MA Program.

Undergraduate Component

The Integrated BA/MA option is open to University of Minnesota students majoring in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies who have a GPA of at least 3.3 and are within 30 credits of completing their undergraduate requirements. Preference will go to students who already have a high degree of proficiency in their language of concentration.

Interested undergraduates apply for admission to the program by the December deadline of their junior year or their senior year. Students admitted to the sub-plan must maintain timely degree progress to ensure all undergraduate degree requirements are completed by the end of their fourth year.

Graduate Component

Upon admission, students may opt to complete either Plan A (Thesis option), Plan B (non-thesis option), or Plan C (language pedagogy option) of the MA degree. Up to 10 graduate credits (5xxx, 8xxx, or 4xxx language courses) may be completed in the senior year of undergraduate study. These credits will count towards students' MA requirements and will not double-count to their BA requirements.

In their fifth year, students complete all remaining MA coursework requirements, as well as the final examination or MA thesis (depending on the student’s choice of plan).

Note: Students cannot count an individual course toward both the undergraduate and graduate requirements simultaneously. Both the bachelor's and master's degrees must be completed in their entirety, with no courses shared between them. The graduate degree cannot be earned before the undergraduate requirements are satisfied. Admitted students who decide not to complete the master's degree are permitted to count credits originally planned for the graduate program toward their undergraduate electives.