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Policy

GCAC-209 Concurrent Degrees

Procedure

  1. Approval of a Concurrent Degree Proposal and Integrated Study Plan requires separate approval and endorsement by the student, the home and concurrent degree program advisers and committee chairs, where applicable, and the home and concurrent degree program heads.
    1. Student endorsement signals:
      1. Agreement to pursue the home and concurrent degrees as described in the plan;
      2. Understanding that home degree funding commitments may not be applied to cover expenses related to the pursuit of the concurrent degree;
      3. Understanding that approval to pursue a concurrent degree does not extend or otherwise modify funding commitments made by the home degree program, the Graduate School, or the University.
    2. Home degree adviser and committee chair endorsement signals:
      1. Agreement that the proposed concurrent degree program is part of a well-balanced, unified and complete program of study related to the degree the student was admitted to pursue and/or supports related career goals;
      2. Agreement that the student is sufficiently strong to successfully pursue the additional coursework, research/scholarship/culminating experience work as described in the plan, without compromising the home degree;
      3. Agreement to work with the student as described in the Integrated Study Plan.
    3. Concurrent degree adviser and committee chair endorsement signals:
      1. Agreement that the student is sufficiently strong to successfully pursue the additional coursework, research/scholarship/culminating experience work as described in the plan, and fully met the expectations for all students in the concurrent degree program.
      2. Agreement to work with the student as described in the Integrated Study Plan.
    4. Home degree program head endorsement signals:
      1. Agreement that the plan is consistent with the planned home program degree requirements and standards;
      2. Agreement that the plan meets the requirements of the home degree program with no more than 20% of the required course credits allowed to double count between the home and concurrent degree programs. (see example in Statement of Policy/Overlapping Concurrent and Home Degree Requirements)
    5. Concurrent degree program head endorsement signals:
      1. Agreement that the plan is consistent with the concurrent degree program’s requirements and standards;
      2. Agreement that the plan meets the requirements of the concurrent degree program with no more than 20% of the required course credits allowed to double count between the home and concurrent degree programs.
  2. If approved by all parties the Concurrent Degree Proposal and Integrated Study Plan shall be filed with the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services in the Graduate School, and a copy maintained by both the home and concurrent degree program heads, advisers, and committee chairs.

Supervision of Home and Concurrent Degree Study

  1. Students accepted to pursue a concurrent degree must maintain adequate progress, measured against the Concurrent Degree Program Integrated Study Plan, in their home degree program and in the concurrent degree program. The student’s adviser in the home program is responsible for checking, each semester, that the plan milestones for that semester have been met.
  2. Students who fall behind the Integrated Study Plan may ask to negotiate with their home and concurrent degree advisers and committee chairs a revised Concurrent Graduate Degree Programs Plan of Study. The revised plan may extend the time to completion of both the home and concurrent degrees by no more than one-year, relative to the original plan.
  3. Students who fall behind their revised plan will have their permission to pursue a concurrent degree withdrawn.

Forms

Concurrent Graduate Degree Programs Plan of Study - Instructions and Fillable Form (PDF) | (DOC)

Revision History

  • Approved by The Graduate School, Aug. 29, 2018. Effective immediately.
    • New procedure.
This page was generated on March 29, 2024 at 6:00 AM local time. This may not be the most recent version of this page. Check the Penn State Graduate School website for updates.