DSE Four Plus One Program
Data Science and Engineering Four Plus One Program
Conditional Acceptance while an Undergraduate Student
By planning ahead during your undergraduate program, you can finish in a single year the Master of Science in Data Science and Engineering. The final year in completing the Master’s degrees may be taken either on campus or online if the final courses desired are offered online.
Application to the Four Plus One Program: Undergraduate students from any degree program at the University of Maine may apply as early as the summer before their junior year for admission. Applications for conditional “early admission” should be received preferably by the middle of the first semester of the junior year and are not accepted after the senior year has commenced.
Note: Students from other UMS campuses may propose participation by having their faculty contact us to cooperatively propose a Four Plus Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to their campus Provost.
Application for Admission to the MS DSE Four Plus One Program (Word Document)
An applicant should expect to have an overall minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.25, must have completed at least a semester course in calculus, and must have three letters of recommendation from current or previous university instructors. Provisionally admitted Four Plus One students with an undergraduate grade point average of 3.25 or better may take up to 9 credits of graduate-level courses in Data Science and Engineering toward the MS Data Science and Engineering with Coursework-Only Option. These graduate courses (9 credits) may also count towards the Bachelor’s degree (joint credits) but they must also be part of the student’s Master’s Program of Study in Data Science and Engineering.
Application to the Graduate School: Upon graduation with a bachelor’s degree, and with satisfactory performance in courses taken as an undergraduate, the student may be formally matriculated into the master’s program. Below a 3.0 accumulated undergraduate grade point average should be assumed cause for discontinuation in the program.
By taking a course overload of three credits in the second semester of the Junior year and a course overload in each of the semesters of the Senior year, a motivated student typically may acquire 9 credits (but no more than 12) for graduate school (at undergraduate tuition rates) prior to acquiring their undergraduate degree assuming that they receive a B or better in the courses. These courses, if chosen appropriately, may double count towards both the undergraduate and graduate degree. By taking a 3-credit Internship graduate course (e.g. SIE 590) with a corporation, agency or non-profit organization during the summer, a student may readily complete the coursework master’s degree in a single year after their undergraduate degree. Graduate-level courses to double count must be at the 500-599 level. For Four Plus One students pursuing the MS DSE during and after the undergraduate degree, see the long list of qualifying graduate courses.
In the senior year, provisionally admitted students must submit a formal application to the Graduate School. Four Plus One students must enroll in the master’s program within one semester/term after receiving their bachelor’s degree in order to use the joint credits.
To save course credit tuition dollars for the student, the Application for Admission to the Four Plus One Program is submitted to the appropriate DSE Graduate Coordinator rather than to the graduate school. If a student is accepted and the performance criteria below are met, acceptance into the Four Plus One Program indicates a commitment by the DSE graduate faculty (1) to accept the student’s graduate courses completed while an undergraduate student within their graduate program of study and (2) to support the student’s application for formal admission to the graduate school after completion of the undergraduate degree.
To apply for early admission before or during the junior year, an applicant should expect to have an overall minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.25, must have completed the University of Maine General Education Requirement in Math and must have three letters of recommendation from current or previous university instructors.
Apply using the Application for Admission to the MS DSE Four Plus One Program (Word Document)
Continuation in the graduate program is based primarily on performance in the graduate courses and overall grade point average upon graduation from the undergraduate program. Accepted Four Plus One students must submit the full application to graduate school in their senior year. The GRE exam is typically waived for these accepted high performing Four Plus One students.
Students with two or fewer semesters remaining to complete their undergraduate degree program do NOT qualify for the “four-plus-one program” but their applications will be considered as applications within the regular MSIS admissions process. In this case, one may transfer up to two graduate courses prior to formal admission.
Formal Application to Graduate School: The formal application for admission to the graduate program through the graduate school can occur anytime during or just after the senior year of the undergraduate program. Apply
Exceptions to Graduate School Rules: The Graduate School Rules pertaining to Four Plus One Programs may be found in Section 3.3. Exceptions to these rules may be applied for by completing the form for Request for an Exception to Regulation. Exceptions granted in the past have included: (a) allowing a student to count more graduate courses taken at the undergraduate tuition rate than the twelve normally allowed for a Four Plus One student prior to formal entry into graduate school, (b) allowing a student with a 3.25 GPA to double count 9 graduate credits in the undergrad program since their GPA in the major was well above 3.5, and (c) allowing a student who entered as a Four Plus One Student to convert to a thesis program (i.e. Four Plus Two Program) in order to accept a funded graduate assistantship.
Application for Admission to the MS DSE Four Plus One Program (Word Document)