Accelerated Master's Degree Program - Graduate Handbook

Students with a Food Science and Technology concentration and a strong interest in research may pursue a 5-year BS/MS combined degree. For this accelerated program, students must begin graduate laboratory research in their junior year and complete the thesis MS program.

Preparation:

To prepare for the 5-year BS/MS Program, students must:

• Identify a Research Advisor* no later than their junior year.

• Begin conducting laboratory research no later than their junior year.

• Apply to the Food Science MS program in their senior year, and have their Research Advisor write one of the letters of recommendation.

*Research Advisors are different from your departmentally assigned Academic Advisor

Credit transfer:

• All courses applied to the Accelerated Master’s Degree Option must be graduate-level courses, 500-level or above.
• Upon departmental recommendation, up to 12 credits may be transferred to an Accelerated Master’s Degree.
• Of those transfer credits, up to 6 can be double-counted for Accelerated Master’s Programs requiring 30 credits.
• Please submit the Transfer Credit form, “Transfer of Credits for Accelerated”
• Transfer credits should be submitted in the first semester of the graduate program.

Completion of MS with Thesis Requirements:

• Complete the MS requirements, which can be found at https://www.umass.edu/food-science/msphd-requirements/ms-thesis
• Plan on spending two summers (after your Senior and Graduate years) at UMass to conduct research.