Overview

The William B. Burnsed Jr. Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering allows well-qualified undergraduates to follow an “Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s” (ABM) study plan. Under ABM, up to six credit hours of graduate coursework can count towards both the BSME (as Technical Electives) and the MSME degrees, so that the MSME degree is earned faster than usual. This applies to both thesis and non-thesis degrees. (The coursework concerned must individually satisfy the requirements of both degrees.)

Example: the MSME degree (thesis option) requires 30 total credit hours (24 credit hours of coursework plus six credit hours of thesis work). ABM students may take up to six of the MSME coursework credit hours as Technical Electives for their BSME degree, leaving only 18 further credit hours of coursework plus six credit hours of thesis work needed to earn the MSME degree.

Eligibility requirements:

• Must have at least 3.40 GPA (Engineering and at USA), and
• Must be in junior or senior status and must have completed PCS requirements.

A student who later withdraws or is dismissed from the ABM program may not count graduate coursework towards both degrees. Graduate courses will only be counted towards the MSME degree if the undergraduate student earns an “A” or “B” grade.

ABM students must be registered for full-time study and must complete all Master’s degree requirements within three semesters of the semester in which they were admitted to the Graduate School. An exception for a fourth semester may be granted where an additional semester is required for final revisions to and submission of a defended thesis. Exceptions to the ABM policy are at the discretion of the Dean of the Graduate School.

Procedure:

If you satisfy these eligibility requirements, and wish to be considered for the ABM program:

1. Discuss ABM with the Department Chair and/or your advisor, for course planning;
2. Complete an undergraduate Advising Form at https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/engineering/currentstudents/resources/engineeringadvisingform.pdf incorporating the ABM courses you have chosen;
3. Complete and print both the ABM Declaration form at https://www.southalabama.edu/departments/eforms/graduateschool/abmdeclarationform.pdf and the form requesting authorization to use graduate courses at https://www.southalabama.edu/departments/eforms/registrar/graduate_level_course_for_undergraduate_degree.pdf incorporating the ABM courses you have chosen;
4. Submit these printed forms to the Department Chair for formal approval and routing; and
5. Enroll in the graduate section (500-level) of your chosen ABM Technical Elective(s) (note that this will require course overrides).

These 500-level Technical Electives will count towards the MSME degree after you apply for graduate school (later) and successfully complete at least nine credit hours of graduate courses.