Accelerated Master's Program (AMP)

Accelerated Master's Programs (AMP) allow outstanding Illinois Institute of Technology undergraduate students and alumni to complete a graduate master's degree in an accelerated manner, which allows students to gain deeper and/or broader knowledge in specialized areas. Through the sharing of up to nine credit hours of courses between the bachelor's and master's degrees, students may complete the master’s degree in as little as one year beyond the bachelor's degree. Students may select from either a pre-determined pairing of bachelor’s and master’s degrees or work with their adviser to select a customized pairing that matches their interests. In the latter case, the student must have advance approval from both the undergraduate and graduate academic units for the program of interest, including the intended shared courses. The program consists of two formats:

  1. Co-Terminal (AMP-CT):  For Illinois Tech undergraduates with at least 12 credits remaining toward their undergraduate degree. The co-terminal program allows students to complete both a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously in as few as five years through sharing of up to nine credit hours between the bachelor's and master's degrees. Co-terminal students maintain their undergraduate student status while completing graduate coursework, which allows them to maintain financial aid eligibility when applicable.
  2. Advanced Standing (AMP-AS):  For Illinois Tech alumni who have completed a bachelor's degree within three years before enrollment in the master's degree. AMP-AS students can apply up to nine credit hours of their bachelor's degree to the accelerated master's if such shared courses satisfy requirements of the master's degree.

Co-Terminal Admission

Students applying to co-terminal studies (AMP-CT) must have completed at least 60 credit hours of applicable undergraduate study and at least one full-semester (12 credit hours) at the university. Students must be at least one full-time semester (12 credit hours) away from undergraduate degree completion in order to apply. Applicants are required to have a minimum GPA of 3.0/4.0; however, please consult individual departments for specific minimum GPA requirements. The deadlines for application to co-terminal admission are:

  • August 1 for fall semester  
  • December 1 for spring semester
  • May 1 for summer semester (all sessions)

Questions regarding co-terminal admission should be addressed to the Office of Graduate Admission at grad.admission@iit.edu.

Shared and Non-Shared Credit Form

Before completion of nine credit hours of graduate coursework applicable to the AMP-CT or AMP-AS, and in the first semester of AMP enrollment, a Co-Terminal Shared and Non-Shared Credit Form must be filed with and approved by the co-terminal academic adviser, the academic unit head, and the Office of Graduate Academic Affairs. The Co-Terminal Shared and Non-Shared Credit Form is created and filed in eForms for Degree Works and is used to monitor the successful completion of the master’s degree requirements. 

Academic Standing

AMP-CT students must maintain satisfactory grade point averages and a satisfactory rate of progress towards the completion of their co-terminal degrees. The university considers co-terminal students to have an undergraduate student status throughout the course of their studies; however, students are subject to both undergraduate and graduate academic policies.

Co-terminal students who do not earn at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA, a 1.85 term GPA, a 2.0 major GPA, or who do not maintain satisfactory academic progress are placed on undergraduate academic probation. All co-terminal degree requirements must be completed within six years of undergraduate matriculation, or the student will be dismissed from the co-terminal degree program.  Co-terminal students who are placed on undergraduate academic probation will be dismissed from the co-terminal program.

In order to remain in good academic standing on the graduate level, all AMP-CT and AMP-AS students must maintain a GPA of 3.0/4.0. A student who earns a GPA of less than 3.0/4.0 will be placed on graduate academic probation. If in subsequent semesters, the student fails to make the requisite academic progress in accordance with graduate academic standing rules, they will be dismissed from AMP study. An AMP-CT student dismissed from co-terminal degree status may still complete the undergraduate degree following the academic rules of undergraduate study. A student who is dismissed from co-terminal degree status may apply for AMP-AS admission consideration in the future.