BS/MS Program

Per university requirements, a coursework-based Masters degree as part of a combined BS/MS program constitutes (see page 22 of the 2021–2022 Graduate Catalog):

• A minimum of 30 credit hours of acceptable courses.
  • 18 of the 30 credit hours must be graduate-level (5xx-level or 6xx-level) courses or thesis (Ch 598 directed research).
    • 15 of the 18 credits must be in the major field of the student​​.
  • The remainder 12 of the 30 credit hours may include advanced undergraduate courses at the 4xxx level.
  • Up to 40% of the credit hours required for a master's degree may be double counted as part of the undergraduate degree requirements.  The conversion between undergraduate "units" and graduate "credits" is 1/6 of an undergraduate unit = 1 credit hour of graduate study, so a typical 1/3 unit undergraduate course may count for 2 graduate credit hours.
  • For a coursework-based masters, a maximum of 9 credit hours of Ch 598 directed research may be counted towards a coursework-based master's degree requirements.

Beyond this, there three trajectories that may be taken depending on a student's present matriculation or graduation status.

Trajectory 1: Matriculating undergraduate intending on completing a combined BS/MS degree in 4 years.

Trajectory 2: Matriculating undergraduate intending on completing a combined BS/MS degree in more than 4 years (i.e. 4 1/2, 5, etc.)

Trajectory 3: Recently WPI graduates looking to earn a master's degree and benefit from double counting some amount of courseowork from their undergraduate studies.

As mentioned below, the Masters degree associated with the B.S./M.S. program is a coursework-based degree.  For consideration on an accelerated timetable with a four-year combined degree (Trajectory 1 above), the CBC department principally considers undergraduate students majoring in chemistry or biochemistry with an in-major GPA of 3.7 or higher.  Candidates considering Trajectory 2 have significantly more relaxed GPA requirements for their 4 1/2-or-5 year schedules.  Timetables do not really apply to recent WPI graduates seeking a master's degree through the B.S./M.S. program (Trajectory 3).

Course distribution

Students may take graduate courses in any number of departments to tailor a degree to best suit the candidate's needs in consultation with a student's undergraduate advisor and the departmental graduate committee.  However, the department only allows a maximum of 10 credits of elective (non-CBC) coursework (e.g. eng, neuro, math, manag., etc.) to count towards the Masters degree in a combined BS/MS program.  (Remember from above that university policies dictate that 15 credit hours in the "major field" of the student, but these need not necessarily come from the CBC department depending on a student's desired pathway through their master's degree.)  Overrides to this policy must be considered by the departmental graduate committee, but the committee is very accommodating of many graduate-level engineering or natural-science courses that compliment chemistry and biochemistry studies.

Students may count only one of CH 4130 (Nucleic Acids and Bioinformation) or CH 555 196H (Advanced Topics: DNA Trans in Protein Synth) for a combined BS/MS degree.

Graduate research

Because the undergraduate degree requires a research component (i.e. the Major Qualifying Project), students are not allowed to register for concurrent undergraduate MQP work and graduate research, Ch 598, in the same research group.  This of course only applies to students on Trajectories 1 and 2 above.  Two work-around possibilities include performing Ch 598 research in a different research group from one's MQP work, or by scheduling Ch 598 and MQP research in different terms.

The department follows university guidelines for a maximum of of 9 credits of Ch 598 being allowed towards the completion of this coursework-based master's degree.

If Ch 598 is to comprise some part of a student's degree, that student must reach out to a research advisor and secure an agreement to participate in graduate-level research concurrently with applying for the BS/MS program, and discuss with the graduate committee how that research will be separate from any MQP work.

WPI expects graduate students to put in 56 hours of effort per one graduate-credit-hour earned.  Thus, if a student is registering for Ch598 during a seven-week term, the department will expect students to put in eight hours of research effort per week per credit-hour earned in Ch598. (See page 13 of the 2019-2020 graduate catalog, or page 15 of the 2018-2019 graduate catalog).

The graduate committee expects a "product" of graduate research irrespective of the number of hours of Ch 598 that is completed.  This may include a write-up of the research completed, or preparation of a manuscript to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

Credit hour conversion

When matriculating as an undergraduate student, the university registrar counts both 4xxx-level courses and 5xx-level courses at 1.5x the credit hours that would be earned if being counted towards a graduate degree.  For example, a student having completed the biochemistry sequence, CH 4110, 4120, 4130, and 4140 would see each of those courses appear as three credit-hours of effort on their undergraduate transcript.  However, when being counted for graduate credit towards a Master's degree, those courses would only count as two credit-hours of effort each.  Similarly, a graduate-level class such as CH 516 would show up as 4.5 credit-hours of effort for an undergraduate, but will only be counted as three credit hours of effort towards a graduate degree.  Since students in a combined BS/MS program have not yet earned an undergraduate degree, courses will remain listed on transcripts at the undergraduate level of effort and not directly reflect credit-hours earned towards a graduate degree.

With that conversion in mind and the 40% allowed double-counting of credits, the simplest trajectory through the requirements are the completion of six 4xxx-level, 1/3 unit courses, and six 5xx-level 3-credit-hour courses.

• Six free elective courses worth of space
• Six graduate courses at 3 credits each = 18 credits
• Six double-counted, 1/3-ungraduate-unit courses at the 4000 level at 2 credits each = 12 credits.
• Total = 30 credits
• The actual distribution may change as courses may not run in the term originally devised, and may only run every-other year. 

• Six free elective courses worth of space
• Six graduate courses at 3 credits each = 18 credits
• Six double-counted, 1/3-ungraduate-unit courses at the 4000 level at 2 credits each = 12 credits.
• Total = 30 credits
• The actual distribution may change as courses may not run in the term originally devised, and may only run every-other year.
• Given the relative paucity of chemistry courses at the 4000-level, substitutions throughout other departments may be allowed.  Similarly, 5xx-level graduate classes may serve as the double-counted classes.  Given the 1.5x credit multiplier for undergraduates completing graduate classes, a 3-credit-hour 5xx-level graduate class would be counted as 4.5 credit hours or 3/4 of a unit for the purposes of the undergraduate degree requirements.

Students interested in pursuing a combined B.S./M.S. degree should apply to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in their third year for Trajectory 1, or either their third or fourth year for Trajectory 2 as defined above.  Rememer that only actively matriculating or recently graduate WPI students are elligable to receive the 40% double-counting credit.  For students looking to complete a combined B.S./M.S. degree in a total of four years, only applicants with a departmental (i.e. CH #### classes) GPA of 3.7 or higher will be considered in Trajectory 1.  However, in exceptional circumstances candidates with a lower departmental GPA may petition the graduate committee by contacting Prof. Grimm prior to submitting an application.  Students looking to complete the combined B.S./M.S. degree in 4 1/2 or five years will enjoy a significantly looser G.P.A. requirement as in Trajectory 2.  For student looking to complete the combined degree program in four years, the department will only consider applicants to the combined B.S./M.S. program that are pursuing an undergraduate degree in chemistry or biochemistry.  

For a combined four-year B.S./M.S. degree, students should ideally apply in the spring of their third year of matriculation.  The department does not have a strict cut-off date, however applications received prior to these start of D-term will receive the strongest consideration and preference.

Applicants need not solicit recommendation letters concurrently with the submission of an application, but rather should include in their personal statement the names of three WPI professors from whom the graduate committee may request such letters.  Letter writers should be WPI (or WPI-affiliated) professors who can speak positively towards the applicant's scholarship, work ethic, and ability to handle the rigors of a combined B.S./M.S. degree.

First step:

Students wishing to initiate an application should apply here and make sure that you select "B.S./M.S. application" in that process.  Remember that this whould ideally happen in the spring (C or D terms) of the third year of matriculation.

Second step:

Once the application is received and entered into the university's graduate application system, the student must develop a schedule of courses for their graduate study that successfully navigates the B.S./M.S. dual-degree requirements.  A representative from the departmental graduate committee will supply each student with a spreadsheet that is designed to help the students navigate their previously taken and anticipated courses.  Each applicant will have to fill this spreadsheet out and indicate which 4000-level courses are meant for double counting, and what remaining courses will count towards the M.S. degree requirements.

Students must fill out an actual schedule based on upcoming university course schedules for the following school year, and this must be submitted to a departmental representative, or Prof. Grimm.  Upcoming-year schedules are usually posted during the C-term of a preceeding year.  Courses may be listed under both "Worcester" for fall/spring semester and A–D term schedules, as well as "Online" and "Blended" for courses that may run on the 10-week WPI online terms (see below).  Students will not be accepted into the program until a viable course schedule exists.

A note on course schedules: WPI actively maintains three unique course schedules that students may have to consider when designing and building their schedules.  Most undergraduates are familiar with the four seven-week terms, A–D, that comprise the majority of undergraduate courses.  However, some graduate courses run within a system of two fourteen-week semester terms in which the "fall" semester largely aligns with A+B terms, and the "spring" semester largely aligns with the C+D terms.  Additionally, there is a third schedule based on a system of three ten-week terms (and roughly aligns with a quarter system or a trimester system when summers are excluded) that is implemented by many of the department's online course offerings.  Since CBC has graduate classes that run in each of these systems, it may take time to build a viable and balanced schedule.  If you are confused about any of this, don't hesitate to contact Prof. Grimm.

As mentioned above, while 9-credits of Ch 598 (directed graduate research) may be taken for this coursework-based M.S. degree, the department strongly discourages concurrent registration of Ch 598 and MQP work.

Third step:

Once admitted to the program, students must fill out a "Combined Bachelor's/Master's Degree Program Course Designation Form" document from the registrar's office.  This must be signed by the instructors of all 4000-level classes that are being double counted for the combined B.S./M.S. degree.  While this form is supposed to be filled out prior to registration for each courses, many students often choose to double count courses that they have already completed or are currently taking.  To accommodate this issue, have instructors sign the form for any upcoming double-counted classes, but have instructors sign off on all previous/current courses that apply as well.