Purdue’s Brian Lamb School of Communication offering new combined BA and MS program

Students can earn the 2 degrees in as little as 4 years

WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. – Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts “Degree in 3” program was created to help undergraduate students majoring in liberal arts save time and money while earning their undergraduate degree.

The program has helped many students earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in three years, saving them an average of $9,000 for in-state students and $19,400 for out-of-state and international students. In addition to providing tuition savings, the program allows students to enter the workforce sooner and amass more job experience. The College of Liberal Arts spearheaded this program in response to the student debt crisis to provide students with more money-saving options.

Now, Purdue’s Brian Lamb School of Communication is building off the time and tuition savings offered by the “Degree in 3” track with a new combined degree program that will allow undergraduate students to earn a Bachelor of Arts in communication and a Master of Science in communication in four to five years of study. Students completing the “Degree in 3” bachelor’s track can earn a bachelor’s and a master’s in four years. Traditional students can finish the combined degree program in five years.

Lamb School students in the combined degree program can take up to 12 credit hours that count toward both their bachelor's and master’s degree beginning in their junior year. The Master of Science in communication is a fully online program, giving students the opportunity to earn graduate credits while working or studying from anywhere.

According to Jessie Stocker, Brian Lamb School of Communication graduate program administrator, the combined degree program provides value to students who are looking to become more competitive job candidates as well as save time and money toward completing two degrees.

“By earning 12 graduate credits while completing an undergraduate degree, students can condense the master’s in communication program, which typically takes two or three years to complete, into one year,” Stocker said. “This saves students a lot of time, and it saves them money on graduate credits.”

Additionally, up to four graduate classes can be included in a student’s undergraduate tuition, saving them an average of $6,200 for in-state students and $9,800 for all other students.

Taking graduate courses gives undergraduate students exposure to in-demand job skills that can make them more competitive candidates in communication fields. It also puts them in contact with other communications professionals in the online Master of Science in communication program.

“Students in the Master of Science in communication program come from dozens of different industries and bring a lot of experience into the program with them,” Stocker said. “When undergraduate students take these courses, they are entering an expansive professional network and learning from industry experts. This makes them more competitive job candidates overall.”

To learn more about The Brian Lamb School of Communication’s combined degree program, visit the program’s webpage.

Writer: Rachel Barton, barton53@purdue.edu

Source: Jessica Stocker, jhuffman@purdue.edu