Integrated B.S./M.S. in ECE

The Integrated Master's/Bachelor's program (otherwise known as the IMB program) allows students who excel academically to achieve both a Bachelor's and Master’s degree in ECE through our Professional MS degree program without needing to apply separately. This means no application fee, no recommendation letters, and no need to take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam).

Eligible students begin by completing their BS degree in ECE, and can either complete the MS degree at the same time or over the next few semesters. If a course is eligible for the MS degree but must be used to complete the BS degree, then the BS degree takes priority over the MS degree. If suitable progress towards completing the B.S. is not made, the M.S. cannot be granted regardless of whether or not a student fulfills all M.S. graduation requirements. BS students must complete their degree requirements and graduate before they can be classified as a graduate student. Some courses will require graduate student status before a student can register for them. In the case of M.S. research projects, an IMB student can only register for the graduate version in their senior year and with written approval from their research instructor confirming the work is at an appropriate rigor for M.S. students.

Students with a 3.00 QPA or above automatically become eligible for the IMB program in the second semester of their junior year once they have completed at least 270 units. To be officially admitted, students must attend an IMB info session and submit a declaration form. IMB info sessions are offered twice per semester and all juniors and seniors receive an email in the first few weeks of classes with that semester’s dates. Students who meet all requirements for the IMB program and attend an info session will be emailed the link to declare. The deadline to sign up for the IMB program for students who meet all requirements is the end of November for the fall semester and the end of April for the spring semester.

Students who must petition to enter the program can work with their academic advisor to do so and still must attend an info session. Undergraduate students with a 2.50 to 2.99 QPA may petition only in their final semester. Students with below a 2.5 QPA are not eligible for the program. All undergraduate students who would like to petition must submit their petition to their academic advisor by October 31st in the fall semester and March 31st in the spring semester. To obtain the petition form, students can contact their academic advisor.

The information sessions for the S23 semester will be held on Tuesday, February 14, Wednesday, February 15, and Friday, February 17. ECE juniors & seniors, please refer to your email for additional details. If you are unable to attend an information session due to a class conflict, please contact your academic advisor.

Degree requirements

Professional MS degree requirements 

Please see the M.S. in ECE section for the requirements for the Professional MS degree. ECE IMB students must complete all the same requirements as the Professional MS degree except 18-989 - Introduction to Graduate Studies. This course is waived for IMB students. For students in the ECE IMB program, all requirements for the Professional MS degree are in addition to the requirements for the BS in ECE. No requirements for the MS degree may be used in any way toward the BS degree, including minors, additional majors or dual degrees.

Students will be beholden to the MS curriculum requirements that exist at the time that they sign their declaration form.

Residency requirements and financial impacts

Once a student in the IMB program has completed all of the requirements for the BS degree, they may become a graduate (Masters) student. To do this, the student's undergraduate degree is certified, and that student officially graduates with the BS degree. Once a student's undergraduate degree has been certified, no more courses may then be applied toward the BS degree. This includes courses toward minors and additional majors, although students pursuing an undergraduate dual degree with another department may still continue to apply additional coursework toward that second degree.

If a student takes more than 8 semesters to complete both the BS and MS degrees, then they must be a full time graduate student for at least one semester before graduating.

To determine the most appropriate time for an undergraduate student to become a graduate student, they should consult with Enrollment Services to understand how becoming a graduate student will affect financial aid, and with their academic advisor to determine a course schedule. When a student is a graduate student through the IMB program, the department is able to provide some financial assistance through Teaching Assistantships.