Communication and Information Design
BS/MS Accelerated Program
Accelerated BS/MS Program in Communication and Information Design and Information Design and Technology
The joint BS/MS program is a well-integrated program that permits students to complete both a bachelor's degree in Communication and Information Design, and a master's degree in Information Design and Technology in a reduced timeframe with a reduced total number of total credits.
Requirements
Completion of the joint BS/MS program requires a minimum of 145 credit hours, including a minimum of 33 semester hours of graduate study. All specific requirements for both the BS and the MS degrees must be met. Students in the joint program may apply up to twelve credits of graduate coursework to both the undergraduate and graduate degrees simultaneously. The double-counted coursework will be chosen from the Core and Elective Courses in the graduate program, and up to 6 of these credits may be applied to the undergraduate track electives with the remaining credits applied toward the undergraduate open electives requirement. The intent of this program option is to allow well-prepared students to finish both a bachelor's and master's degree within a 6-year period.
Status
A student enrolled in the joint BS/MS program will be considered to remain in undergraduate status until the completion of 124 semester hours, and thereafter tuition and fees will be charged at the graduate level. The BS degree will be awarded at such time as all the requirements for that degree are satisfactorily met. Students are expected to complete their BS program requirements prior to pursuit of the MS degree except where those two programs overlap.
Academic Standing
Continued matriculation in the joint program requires maintenance of a GPA of 3.0 for courses taken at SUNYIT in each of the following categories: (a) all Communication courses applicable to the undergraduate degree; (b) all IDT courses applicable to the undergraduate degree; (c) all graduate courses.
Students with a GPA of less than 3.0 in any of these categories will be placed on academic probation in the program. Students who are on academic probation for any two semesters or who have a GPA of less than 2.50 in any of these categories will be academically dismissed from the joint program. Students who are academically dismissed but have not yet completed the baccalaureate program but whose performance constitutes satisfactory performance in the undergraduate program will automatically be placed in that program.
Admission to the BS/MS Program
Admission to the BS/MS program may be achieved, and enrollment maintained, in one of the following ways:
A) As an entering freshman: continued enrollment in the joint program requires achievement of an overall GPA of at least 3.0 at the end of the semester in which the first 60 credits have been completed.
B) Upon initial transfer to SUNYIT: students must have a transfer GPA of at least 3.0.
C) As a junior you can enroll in the accelerated program if you have a GPA of at least 3.0. Continued matriculation in the joint program requires maintenance of a GPA of 3.0 for courses taken at SUNYIT in each of the following categories: (a) all Communication courses applicable to the undergraduate degree; (b) all IDT courses applicable to the undergraduate degree; (c) all graduate courses.
Students with a GPA of less than 3.0 in any of these categories will be placed on academic probation in the program. Students who are on academic probation for any two semesters or who have a GPA of less than 2.50 in any of these categories will be academically dismissed from the joint program. Students who are academically dismissed but have not yet completed the baccalaureate program but whose performance constitutes satisfactory performance in the undergraduate program will automatically be placed in that program.
Applying for the program
New students or students who are CID majors and are in their freshmen, sophomore, or junior years at SUNYIT can pick up an application for the BS/MS program at the admissions office. Your application will be reviewed by admissions and the CID coordinator. Once you are accepted into the program you will need to fill out a petition to take graduate level coursework, each semester you wish to enroll in IDT courses. Once you graduate from the BS program, if you meet all the GPA requirements (noted earlier), you will be admitted as a graduate student.
