English Department Introduces New BA/MA Program
The GW English Department is happy to announce a new five year program in which majors can earn both a bachelor and a masters of arts.
Open to our best undergraduates, the BA/MA program enables students enrolled in the department’s honors program to take graduate coursework in the senior year. Students apply into the BA/MA program as juniors, when they also apply for departmental honors. Those accepted complete their BA at the end of the senior year and graduate with their colleagues. They remain at GW for one additional year to complete their MA.
The combined program enables our brightest students to begin graduate studies earlier in their academic life, providing them the opportunity to study literature at an advanced level within a nationally recognized program. The BA/MA program saves students a year of tuition, since they earn their advanced degree far more swiftly than they would in our traditional program.
A masters degree gives students a competitive edge on the job market and can aid in achieving a further graduate degree within or outside the discipline. The English Department is offering this new program because it realizes that for career reasons many more of its students are seeking an advanced degree. The five year BA/MA offers an affordable and timely means to do so. By taking graduate seminars while still seniors, undergraduates will also find themselves challenged and engaged by some of the best teachers we have in the department.
