Contiguous Bachelor’s/Master’s Pathway
The B.A./M.A. pathway in linguistics is a demanding, selective option that allows students who are well prepared and well motivated to complete the requirements for both degrees in five years rather than the usual six.
Admission to the pathway has two stages. In the first stage, interested students first consult with the undergraduate program director and one or more faculty members, and then apply to be admitted to the pathway by the sixth week of the first quarter of their junior year. Transfer students should consult with the undergraduate program director if they are contemplating this pathway. In order to be accepted at this first stage, students must have demonstrated excellence in at least three courses that are named requirements for the linguistics major.
Students accepted at this initial stage are assigned a faculty mentor who monitors their progress closely.
At the second stage of the admission procedure, students apply in their senior year to be admitted to the M.A. program through UCSC’s normal graduate admissions process. If accepted, ideally they complete all course requirements and complete and defend the M.A. thesis by the end of the fifth year.
Students in the B.A./M.A. pathway take a number of graduate courses in their senior year which are selected in close consultation with the faculty mentor. Performance in these courses forms a central part of the ongoing evaluation process. If a student’s performance does not meet the standards set for the pathway, the student completes the B.A. at the end of the senior year and does not proceed to the M.A.
Graduate courses required for the M.A. are taken partly in the senior year and partly in the fifth year. The M.A. thesis is written in the fifth year. Thus, by the end of the fifth year, students in the pathway will have fulfilled the requirements for both the B.A. and the M.A. degrees. Students who need additional time may remain in the pathway until the M.A. thesis is completed and defended. Students admitted into the B.A./M.A. pathway must complete a minimum of 35 credits as an M.A. student, regardless of the number of graduate courses completed as an undergraduate.