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About the B.S./MPA Fast Track Program

The Fast Track program is designed to recruit talented, undergraduate political science majors. This program allows you to enroll in the graduate program for a fifth year – you should graduate with your MPA in just five years. 

This program streamlines the ascent to a MPA degree by allowing you to take the graduate version of four cross-listed courses during your senior year. These courses are offered at both an undergraduate (special topics) and a graduate level, with the graduate version requiring an additional research component. If you successfully complete the graduate version of these courses during your senior year, you will receive both the graduate credit and institutionally awarded undergraduate credit.

Credit Hours

An undergraduate degree requires 120 hours and our master's degree requires 36 hours. You are allowed to take 12 graduate hours during your senior year and take nominal graduate loads during your only graduate year. 

Program Requirements

1. You should apply to the Fast Track program during your junior year.

2. You will maintain an undergraduate classification until you reach 107 credit hours. At this point, the Office of Graduate Admissions will create a degree-seeking Master's record to run concurrently with your undergraduate record. You must maintain a 3.3 GPA in all political science courses and satisfy all requirements for admission to the Master's program including:

• GRE scores submitted prior to the completion of 108 hours
• Three letters of recommendation from political science instructors
• Candidacy approved by the graduate committee

3. If you are considering the program, you should:

• Complete two advanced POLS undergraduate courses prior to the conclusion of your sophomore year
• Complete POLS 3351 and 3352 prior to the conclusion of your junior year
• Complete 6 hours of graduate courses in the Fall semester of your senior year
• Complete 6 hours of dual-credit courses in the Spring semester of your senior year
• Meet all departmental and university requirements for the MPA thesis or non-thesis option as dictated by the catalog
• Complete a total of 36 hours regardless of the choice of thesis or non-thesis track

4. You may not receive credit for both the undergraduate and the graduate version of a cross-listed course.

5. You may take no less than four graduate courses, that is, at least four courses must be graduate courses having no undergraduate counter-part.

For more information, please contact Dr. Brian Williams at bwilliams9@lamar.edu