Overview

Over the past years, the Graduate Council has approved "early entry" (EE) procedures for various graduate programs. The concept of early entry is common at many universities and has been around for years (see Villanova). Having such programs at VU would permit VU undergraduate students to apply for early entry into select VU graduate programs and enroll in graduate level coursework (6 credits for most programs, but up to 12 credits for programs 60 credits or more) during their senior year. This graduate level coursework would then be applied to both the student's undergraduate (the component of this petition that is relevant to CAPS) and graduate degrees. Early entry programs provide strong time, cost ($3200), and planning incentives for our own high quality undergraduates to consider VU as their graduate school of choice.

At VU, we currently have early entry-type programs approved for:

• RN-MSN
• BA/MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC)
• BA/EdS School Counseling
• BA/EdS School Psychology
• BA/MACS

Graduate programs that should consider 6 cr of early entry programs include:

• Arts and Entertainment Administration  (30-36 cr remaining)
• English Studies and Communication (31 cr remaining)
• Information Technology and Management (31 cr remaining)
• International Commerce and Policy (31 cr remaining)
• International Economics and Finance (31 cr remaining)
• Digital Media (31/30 cr remaining)
• Sports Media (31/30 cr remaining)
• Sports Administration (33 cr remaining)

General Procedure

Early-entry applicants must have a 3.3 GPA or higher. The 6 graduate credits applied to the graduate program must be beyond those required for the undergraduate major of any program, but would count toward the 124 cr required for graduation. The student must also meet with the Program Director for advisement before submitting an application.

1. The applicant should submit the following materials by March 1 of his/her junior year or October 1 of his/her senior year:
   • Application, fee, and supplemental application if needed
   • Essay
   • Letters of reference
   • Transcript(s) of completed coursework (an unofficial copy is acceptable at this time).
2. If, after review by the Program Committee, the applicant is offered conditional admission, s/he may register for graduate level coursework, as approved by the Program Director during his/her senior year. The student retains undergraduate status until all coursework for the undergraduate degree is completed.
3. In spring of the senior year, the conditionally admitted student will be reviewed again by the Program Committee for final acceptance. At this time, the student will need to submit an updated copy of his/her transcript.