4+1 Degree Program

4+1 Degree Program: BA+MA 

The 4+1 program in English will allow talented undergraduates the opportunity to further pursue their studies in English and Creative Writing at the graduate level in a timely and cost efficient manner. It will allow qualified students the opportunity to do advanced study in British and American literatures, postcolonial and global fiction and film, as well as in creative writing.

Course Sequence and Timetable

For the 4+1 program, students will take 3 graduate 500-level courses in LIT/RHET/CW, in place of three undergraduate 300-level electives. These three 500-level courses will double-count towards their undergraduate degree and their Master's degree. If the student has been accepted into the highly selective Honors Program, and satisfactorily completes the Seminar (fall) and Honors Thesis (spring), the honors seminar can be counted for one of their graduate courses.

Application and Admissions Process

Students interested in the program are invited to confer with a department advisor or the English Undergraduate Program Assistant, Donna Berg (dmberg@binghamton.edu) as they begin the process.  Students normally apply in their junior year and must be able to complete the bachelor鈥檚 degree within 4 years. Admission normally requires a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher; exceptions are occasionally made for students who found their strength in English late.

After that, students normally indicate their intention to apply located on There, they will complete the 4+1 Intent Application identifying their interest in the English 4+1program and two recommenders who can speak to their strengths in English courses; creative writing students must submit at least one letter of recommendation from a CW faculty member.  Students will upload a 1-2 page personal statement and a writing sample.  

In their senior year, students complete the 4+1 Application, which officially admits them to the MA program in English.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Students admitted to the 4+1 program are formally considered undergraduates and pay undergraduate tuition rates for the first four years of the program until they graduate with the BA degree. During the fifth year in the 4+1 program, students are formally considered graduate students and pay graduate student tuition rates.

Questions?