Accelerated Degree Program Policies and Procedures

POLICIES

1. Students must complete and submit the application to the Accelerated B.A./Master’s Degree Program through the online portal by May 1 of their junior year, or Nov. 1 if the second semester of the junior year is in the fall semester.
2. Certain accelerated degree programs have additional requirements and alternate GPA goals, so it is important to familiarize yourself with your specific program’s admission requirements.
3. Students may not switch to another program after May 1.
4. Students who are dismissed, suspended or expelled from the University lose their eligibility for the program.
5. Sophomore/junior and senior year GPAs are calculated on the basis of courses taken at Clark or at a Clark-approved study abroad program during the fall and spring semesters only. Transfer, summer courses and School of Professional Studies courses taken during the summer are not included.
6. Students must complete eight semesters of full-time study at Clark within five years of initial entry to be eligible for full tuition remission. The additional year is to enable students to take one or two semesters’ leave of absence for any reason except required withdrawal or suspension (for academic or nonacademic reasons). These need not be consecutive semesters. Transfer students do not have the same privilege of taking a leave of absence.
7. Transfer students and any students who complete their undergraduate degrees in six semesters or fewer pay 50 percent tuition. Students who transfer in credits but later decide not to use them for graduation requirements are eligible for full tuition remission if they have completed eight full-time semesters at Clark.
8. Students who complete their bachelor’s degrees in seven semesters for whatever reason (students who manage to accelerate by one semester or students who transfer in but complete seven paid semesters at Clark) pay 25 percent tuition for the eighth and ninth semesters.
9. Clark study-abroad programs count as regular Clark courses.
10. Students are required to complete a minimum of 15 units with letter grades in their sophomore and junior years.
11. Students who study abroad in a non-Clark program pay 25 percent tuition for the eighth and ninth semesters.
12. The full or reduced remission policy applies to all required courses for a period of up to one year after receipt of the bachelor’s degree. All non-required courses will be charged at normal tuition rates. There will be no extensions of the tuition-free policy beyond 12 months after graduation for any reason, except as noted in 13 and 14 below.
13. Students must begin graduate course work during the senior year. Tuition remission applies to a maximum of 10 courses taken during the fifth year. Additional courses taken during the fifth year will be charged at full tuition rates.
14. Only coursework taken during the senior year and beyond can be counted toward the master’s degree.
15. Students who take longer than one year will pay regular tuition rates for any additional courses taken after the 12-month period. Students who have not completed the master’s requirements will be charged non-resident fees of $200 per semester for up to one year if they have uncompleted coursework.
16. Education students who complete their degree requirements in December/January may defer their eligibility one semester if, and only if, the required courses are not available in the spring semester.
17. Students who complete their degree requirements in December/January rather than in May can defer their eligibility one semester if, and only if, the program agrees that the required courses are not available in the spring semester (presumably because the course offering would be off-sequence).
18. Students who graduate in May and begin their master’s program in the following summer will remain eligible for tuition remission for both that summer and the summer following if they require both summers to complete the degree requirements.
19. The application fee is waived.
20. Students accelerate with graduate work in the senior year and must have earned a bachelor’s degree before the start of the fifth year in order to be eligible for the tuition remission.
21. The senior year is defined as the last two semesters of full-time study at Clark prior to receipt of a  bachelor’s degree.
22. Students who are provisionally admitted to the program may take a maximum of two units of graduate-level courses during the senior year. The exceptions are the MBA program, which allows four units in the senior year, and the MSF program, which allows for three units in the senior year.