Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s (ABM)
Program in the NCSU ECE Department
OVERVIEW
For NCSU ECE undergraduates who have an overall GPA>3.5 that are considering
enrolling in the MS degree program in ECE, the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s (ABM)
program may be an option to save time and money towards their goal.
The ABM program allows ECE undergraduates who have an overall GPA>3.5 to complete
up to 18 credit hours of graduate courses that can be used to meet Master of Science (MS)
degree requirements. This is possible since up to 12 credit hours can be counted towards
BOTH the BS and MS degree in ECE. In order for these credit hours to count towards the
MS degree, a grade of B or above must be obtained. If the grade is below a B, it can still
count towards the BS degree. The remaining MS graduate courses must be completed
within one calendar year of finishing the BS degree.
WHERE TO BEGIN
Do well in your core (300-level) courses and once you are ready to begin enrolling in
400-level courses, begin meeting with Assistant Director of Graduate Programs(ADGP), in
addition to Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs
1.
In your last 2-3 semesters, you can plan to complete 3-6 graduate courses,
depending on your undergraduate degree audit.
2.
We’ll plan courses accordingly to balance your workload and discuss whether to
enroll in 400 or 500 level courses, depending on your interests.
3.
To view available graduate course, refer to ECE Course Detail & Specialty Area and
the Course Catalog for descriptions & prerequisites.
4.
Dual level courses are courses that are offered at the 400 and 500 level in the same
classroom, but have different requirements. For dual-level courses, either the 400
or 500 level course can be counted towards the degrees, but not both. You cannot
get credit for both the 4xx/5xx dual level course.
ADVISING DURING LAST YEAR OF UNDERGRADUATE
1.
During advising, please continue to meet with both the Coordinator of
Undergraduate Advising and the ADGP. This will ensure you are meeting the
requirements of your BS degree audit and also your MS Plan of Work, which you
will develop with the ADGP.
2. Refer to the ECE Graduate web site for information on degree requirements of the
MS degree programs in Computer Engineering (CPE), Electrical Engineering (EE),
Electric Power Systems Engineering (EPSE) and Networking(CNE).
3.
If you decide not to participate in the ABM program, the completed graduate
courses can still be used on your BS degree audit.
4.
If you are interested in the PhD program , please meet with the ADGP to discuss
options.
APPLYING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL
You will need to apply to NCSU Graduate School before your last semester of
undergraduate program is completed . Enrolling in graduate courses in your
undergraduate program or meeting with the ADGP does not enroll you in graduate
school.
1. Please see the ECE Graduate website for application information and deadlines .
2. Items needed for application:
a. Personal statement - explanation of why you want to go to graduate school
b.
3 letters of recommendation - to explain who you are besides your
transcript
c.
ABM Plan of Work (POW)- to show how you plan on completing your
degree in one calendar year after completing your BS degree. After signing
the document, submit it to the Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs for
their signature and then submit it to the ADGP. (electronic copies by email
are acceptable) The ADGP will approve and sign and then ECE Admissions
will email you a scanned copy of the document for you to upload with your
application in the Supplemental Documents section.
3.
You do not need to take the GRE for application to Graduate school, however, it
may be required for fellowships, scholarships, etc.
WHAT TO DO AFTER GETTING ACCEPTED TO GRADUATE SCHOOL
In order to enroll for courses in your last semester of undergraduate program, you must
indicate your acceptance into the graduate program.
1. Follow the link in the acceptance letter to accept.
2. Pay deposit to acknowledge acceptance and to be able to enroll.
3. Enroll in courses.
4.
Visit ADGP for advising: to check degree requirements, discuss courses, etc. Notify
ADGP of any changes to original ABM POW.
5.
Grades of C- and above can be used in MS plan of work, overall GPA > 3.0. The
overall GPA is calculated from courses taken while a graduate student and the
graduate courses completed while an undergraduate.
PREPARING TO GRADUATE (updated 2/1/2022)
In your final semester of graduate school, complete these items in order to graduate
After Census Day (i.e. once you have made the final decision on courses), it’s time to
submit your Graduate Plan of Work on MyPack Portal. There are 3 tabs in your plan of
work (shown below): Plan of Work, Committee and POW Comments
1.
In the Plan of Work tab, please Add Row(s) and Select courses from your Graduate
transcript that were used to meet MS degree requirements. If there are courses
that were completed in undergrad that are not available in the Graduate
transcript, please choose Transfer Credit and enter “ABM ECE 5xx” for the
description and enter “3.0” for the number of credit hours. Repeat this for each
class that is missing. This will prompt the Graduate School to request the transfer
of these courses. Select ECE 600 for the Mandatory Orientation Seminar from
your transcript.
2.
In the Committee tab, choose the ADGP (Donna Yu) as the chair of your committee,
if you are MS non-thesis. If you are MS thesis, choose your faculty advisor as the
chair and then add 2 other committee members.
3.
In the POW Comments tab, write a 1 sentence justification for each course change
from your original ABM POW submitted with your application.
4.
Submit your plan of work on the Plan of Work tab. An email will automatically be
sent to the committee members to alert them to approve your plan of work. If you
have trouble submitting your plan of work, email your student ID to the ADGP,
who can submit the plan of work for you.
5. Apply to graduate on MyPack.
