The combined bachelor/master's program specific to the Grinnell BA/MCS U2G require a combined total of 112 s.h., which is 12 semester hours less than the sum of the requirements for both degrees earned separately.

Students in the joint programs must complete all requirements for each degree. They may count a maximum of 12 s.h. (four courses) toward both degrees. The four courses must be taken during the fourth year of undergraduate study, after admission to the joint program, and must satisfy degree requirements of both the B.A. or B.S., and the M.C.S.

When a student withdraws from the joint program before completing his or her bachelor's degree, credit earned in the four courses is counted only toward the undergraduate degree.

Students are granted the B.A. or B.S. when they complete all requirements for the undergraduate degree.

Students apply for admission to the joint program during their third year as undergraduates and enter the program at the beginning of their fourth year—becoming both an undergraduate and graduate student. Students will switch to graduate status only in the semester following the award of the baccalaureate degree (usually at the end of their fourth year), and should complete the program comfortably in one additional year.

Admission Standards

Grinnell undergraduate students with a declared major in Computer Science may be considered for admission. The Grinnell student will apply to the UIGC-MCS program by the second semester of the third (penultimate) undergraduate year.

The application requirements are:

  • Completion of 80 semester credits of undergraduate work toward a B.A. at Grinnell.
  • At least a 3.25 GPA.
  • A letter of application including a statement of purpose.
  • Three letters of recommendation.
  • The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test is not required but optional. Applicants who want their GRE scores to be included as part of their application may submit their scores. Applicants who do not include GRE scores will not be at any disadvantage on that account.
  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores (if international).
  • Students must have a GPA of at least 3.0 at the time of transition to graduate status.

Application Process

Each applicant must begin by completing, by March 1, the University of Iowa Graduate College application. For application information, please visit the University of Iowa's Graduate and Professional Admissions website. The Graduate College application process asks for the effective session of admission: if a student enters the program in the fall 2021 semester, which would be the senior year of study, the effective session on the Grad College application would be fall 2021.

Once the Graduate College application is being processed (deadline of March 1) and the applicant has a HawkID, they must:

  • submit the Declaration of Interest in Computer Science U2G Program form as early as possible but no later than March 8 for a program beginning the following fall semester;
  • submit on MyUI:
    • a statement of purpose expressing current academic interests and why a master’s degree is being pursued;
    • three letters of recommendation;
    • copies of all college transcripts;
    • TOEFL or IELTS scores are required for international students;
    • GRE scores may be submitted, but are not required.

Cross-Credited Coursework

Following admission to the combined degree program, Grinnell College will accept six (6) graduate credits of UIGC-MCS coursework to fulfill the requirements for their BA degree.

These courses will be:

  1. An online, three (3)-credit M.C.S. courses taken in the fall semester of the students’ fourth (final) year at Grinnell.
  2. An online, three (3)-credit M.C.S. courses taken in the spring semester of the students’ fourth (final) year at Grinnell.

The University of Iowa will accept six (6) undergraduate semester credits of Grinnell College coursework to fulfill the requirements for the M.C.S. degree—converted from eight (8) semester credits of undergraduate coursework at Grinnell.

The eight (8) undergraduate credits will transfer to the University of Iowa as six (6) graduate credits, counting toward the M.C.S. degree there.

These courses will be:

  1. CSC-341: Automata, Formal Languages, and Computational Complexity (4 semester credits)
  2. CSC-324: Software Design and Development (4 semester credits)

If a required M.C.S. course is taken before admission to the combined program, then that M.C.S. course may transfer to Grinnell and be counted as 3 (three) of the six (6) graduate credits of M.C.S. coursework that fulfills the requirements of the B.A. degree at Grinnell and the MCS degree at UI.

Tuition and Fees Assessment

During the first year of combined study (the fourth and final year of study at Grinnell), or until completion of the undergraduate degree requirements, students will be assessed Grinnell College tuition and University of Iowa tuition. Grinnell College will reimburse the University of Iowa, at the UI rate, for UIGC-MCS courses taken by all dual-enrolled students during the first year of combined study (the fourth and final year of study at Grinnell) or until completion of the undergraduate degree requirements (provided that the students are enrolled at Grinnell College).

  • Once students advance to MCS graduate-only status, they will be assessed and pay resident tuition directly to the University of Iowa without any financial aid from Grinnell or other payments from Grinnell towards the MCS program.
  • Students may hold a graduate appointment at the University of Iowa beginning with the second year of the combined program enrollment (the first year of MCS study at UI).

Degree Plan

  • The MCS program requires a minimum of 32 semester credits to earn the degree.

  • Six (6) of these credits will be taken during the students’ fourth (final) year of undergraduate study at Grinnell College and apply to both the BA at Grinnell and the MCS degree at UI.

  • Six (6) of these credits will transfer from Grinnell College to UI and apply to both the BA at Grinnell and the MCS degree at UI.

  • Twenty (20) of these credits will be taken at UI and only apply to the MCS degree at UI.

Advising

Academic support will be provided by students’ Grinnell adviser(s) as well as the graduate adviser in UI MCS. Once students have completed the requirements for their undergraduate degree they will be advised by UI MCS advisers only.

Scheduling

  • Faculty and staff at Grinnell College and the UIGC-MCS program will work together to assure students are able to schedule web-based and on-campus courses in the appropriate semesters.

  • Some UIGC-MCS core courses have web-based options, facilitating scheduling across geographically distant campuses.

  • Based on scheduling in previous years, there are no conflicts at this time in the proposed plan of study.

  • We expect students will reside at Grinnell College for the first year of the combined degree program (the fourth and final year of study at Grinnell) and at the University of Iowa for fifth year of study at UI (the first year of MCS study at UI).

Plan of Study

An individualized and detailed plan of study will be prepared for each student on admission to the program and will be configured to ensure that the BA degree will be completed two semesters after admission to the combined degree program (the end of the fourth and final year of study at Grinnell), and that the MCS degree will be completed by the spring or summer of the fifth year.