The B.L.A. / M.L.A. Program
Admission Requirements

Appropriateness to Individual Students
The integrated B.L.A./M.L.A. program is appropriate to those students who already hold a baccalaureate degree and wish to receive an accredited professional undergraduate degree and a post-professional graduate degree focused on advanced critical inquiry. Returning adult students interested in this Integrated Undergraduate-Graduate (IUG) degree program will come from a wide array of backgrounds.

Admission Requirements
Anyone who already holds a bachelor’s degree from any discipline is eligible to apply for entry into the integrated B.L.A./M.L.A. program.

Initial Application
Application packages for this program must be submitted directly to the department. Prospective students must include in their application package:

M.L.A. portion of the Program
After successful completion of four semesters of the B.L.A. portion of the program, students are invited to submit a research proposal. Students should have maintained an overall grade-point average of 3.0 or better during their first two years in the program. The research proposal will include a statement of intent regarding the topic of study, identification of a proposed primary advisor for graduate studies, and written consent from that proposed advisor.

Evaluation for Admission
Admission to the B.L.A./M.L.A. program will be based on an evaluation of the complete application package by the departmental B.L.A./M.L.A. program committee. The committee will subsequently make a written recommendation to the department head, who will then recommend acceptance or rejection to the undergraduate and graduate admissions offices.

Admission Timing and Course Sequence
Application packages must be submitted to the B.L.A./M.L.A. program committee on or before January 15 of the year preceding the initial fall semester of study. Notification of admittance will generally be available from the department head within sixweeks from the application deadline.

For the first 2 1/2 years of curriculum, B.L.A./M.L.A. students will be in IUG status, and will be considered provisional graduate students.

After four semesters, and in review with B.L.A./M.L.A. students, faculty will determine whether B.L.A./M.L.A. students are ready to progress into the M.L.A. portion of the program. If either the reviewing faculty or the student determines that s/he should not proceed to the M.L.A. segment of the B.L.A./M.L.A. program, the student will be eligible to complete the professional B.L.A. program and graduate with that degree alone. To do so the student must meet all requirements of the B.L.A. degree. Additionally, if the student is not participating in the M.L.A. program, the Graduate Gchool must be notified of this change in the student’s status.

Those students who continue into the M.L.A. program will submit a proposal for their M.L.A. focus to determine whether they are well-equipped and prepared to undertake master’s-level work. Review of the proposal by the graduate admissions committee is made during the student’s fifth semester, so that s/he can officially enter the M.L.A. program as a fully-admitted graduate student at the beginning of the sixth semester.

Advising
A faculty B.L.A./M.L.A. advisor will be assigned to all B.L.A./M.L.A. students. Upon admission, students will prepare a plan of study in consultation with the designated B.L.A./M.L.A. advisor, showing the intended course sequence, anticipated electives, and required remedial courses (if any). The advisor will periodically review the plan of study with the student, and make recommendations for modifications, where appropriate. The advisor will also be responsible for general monitoring and mentoring of student progress. Once the student becomes a fully-admitted graduate student, a graduate faculty primary advisor will assume these duties.