Combined BSME/MSME: The 5-Year Plan

The Combined BSME/MSME Program is an integrated five-year degree program in which qualified students can receive a BS and an MS in Mechanical Engineering. The program provides a seamless transition from the BS to MS programs for Purdue students where graduate courses taken as undergraduate electives are counted toward both the BS and MS degrees, thereby reducing the overall time required for the MS degree. Students can choose to go to the Thesis track or the Professional Master’s track. This program is only available to students in the BSME program at the West Lafayette campus.

Please note: The BS/MS program is a continuous program.   Should a student leave the program and need to be re-admitted to ME as a Master’s student, the dual-counted course status no longer applies.

Typical Timeline

Undergraduate Semester 5 (first semester of junior year)

  • Attend mid-October callout by the ME Graduate Office to get detailed information.

Semester 6 (second semester of junior year)

  • Submit a graduate school application in the time window: October 15 – November 1 for spring term; May 1 – May 15 for fall term.
  • BSMS/MSME supplemental form and Form 27 need to be submitted with application.
  • Minimum GPA 3.40 is needed to apply.

Semester 7 and 8 (senior year)

  • BS and MS dual degree status.
  • Complete up to 12 hours of graduate level courses, with a grade B or better, in addition to undergraduate courses.
  • BSME degree is expected to be awarded at the end of semester 8.
  • Cumulative GPA must be 3.2 or higher at the end of semester 8 to continue in the BS/MS program and enter the Master’s program in semester 9.

Semester 9 and 10 (master’s year)

  • MS degree status.
  • Submit MSME plan of study in semester 9, between weeks 3-6.
  • Register for candidacy in Semester 10 if Master’s degree requirements have been met (see Graduation/Candidacy webpage).

Procedures and Rules

  1. A minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.4 is required when submitting the graduate school application. Do not apply if your GPA is lower than the minimum requirement, as your application will not be considered.
  2. Start your graduate school application here. Please choose MSME for degree objective. Application term is the semester that you will start your dual degree status (typically semester 7). Submit all required materials including 3 recommendation letters and copy of official Purdue transcripts. (English proficiency scores and GRE are not required for the combined program.) Requirements can be found here. Submit your application first, then login your application portal to upload a BSME/MSME Program Application Supplemental Form and GS Form 27 as "miscellaneous supporting documents." The graduate office will obtain undergraduate and graduate associate heads’ signatures for students on the GS Form 27. Students need to fill out the rest of the form.
  3. Upon admission to Graduate School, in semesters 7 and 8 you will have dual-degree status until the BSME degree is awarded (at end of semester 8). You must start MSME degree status in the first semester (semester 9) after obtaining the BSME degree. Summer semester is excluded.
  4. During the dual-status semesters, you may complete at most 12 hours of allowable graduate courses (50000 or 60000 level courses) as undergraduate technical electives. Usually two graduate courses are taken in semester 7 and two are taken in semester 8, in addition to undergraduate courses. These graduate courses will be added later to the MSME plan of study. These courses may be “dual-counted” for both the BSME and MSME degrees. Please make sure to check with the ME Grad office that the grad-level courses you are taking are degree-allowable.
  5. Important notes:
    • Grades of B or better are required for the dual-counted graduate courses for graduate credit and to remain in the BS/MS program.
    • You must have at least two full undergraduate semesters (not including summer) remaining to be admitted to the program and the dual-counted graduate courses must be taken in these semesters.
    • The Graduate School prohibits undergraduate excess courses for BS/MS plans of study.
    • The BS/MS program is a continuous program.  Students who become inactive and have to reapply to ME, are not able to be re-admitted to the BS/MS program and the dual counted coursework can no longer be applied toward the Master’s degree requirements.
    • For dual-counted coursework to apply, you need to begin the Master’s program in the semester following the awarding of your BS degree, and finish the Master’s program before attempting to enroll in a PhD program.
    • Students in their final semester of the BS degree program, will not immediately be able to register for their first Master’s semester coursework, when graduate student registration opens for that semester.   Please contact megradoffice@purdue.edu for expected timeline as to when you’ll be able to register as a graduate student.
    • International BS/MS students who graduate with their BS in the spring semester and wish to do an internship over the summer, before starting in the Master’s program in the fall semester, should work with ISS to apply for OPT.   CPT will not be approved by ME, until you’ve completed two full semesters as an official Master’s student.
    • It is expected for students in the BS/MS program to complete their Bachelor’s and begin their Master’s program in the following spring or fall semester, whichever applies.  There cannot be a ‘gap’ between completing your Bachelor’s and starting your Master’s program, other than the summer semester.
  6. As a reminder, students admitted to the BS/MS program, are admitted to the Grad School while finishing up their undergraduate degree.   Before you graduate, you continue to work with your ME undergraduate advisor and follow undergraduate policies/procedures.  The semester following your undergraduate graduation, you become an official Graduate Student, and at that time, you’ll work with the ME Grad Advisors and will need to comply with the ME Grad student policies/procedures.  Please make sure to attend the virtual informational meetings scheduled for new grad students, the semester you become an official graduate student. Details/link for all ME grad student virtual meetings are found on the ME grad blog home page.
  7. Your record is reviewed by the graduate office at the end of semesters 7 and 8:
    • It is required that you have an undergraduate CGPA of at least 3.2 to begin semester 9.
    • If the above CGPA and course grade conditions are not met, you will be required to leave the BS/MS program. When a student leaves the BS/MS Program, the graduate courses taken as undergraduate electives (that were intended to be dual-counted) will be applied only to the BS degree and cannot be used for graduate credit.
  8. After satisfactory completion of the BSME degree requirements, the degree will be awarded. You will then have graduate status only starting in semester 9, as long as your cumulative GPA is 3.2 or above.
  9. A graduate plan of study must be submitted as final in week 3-6 of semester 9. A plan of study approved by the graduate office is required before registration for courses for semester 10.
  10. You may choose Professional Master’s or Thesis MSME degree program when you enter the Master’s semester, and will complete your POS according to that program’s requirements. If you choose the thesis track, you need to identify an ME faculty member who has agreed to oversee your research in advance and fund you, before you submit the grad school application. The Professional Master’s track requires at least 30 hours of degree-allowable coursework (usually 10 courses). The thesis option requires at least 21 hours of degree-allowable coursework (usually 7 courses), and a minimum of 9 hours of successful completion of ME 69800 (MS thesis research) which includes defense and deposit of the Master’s thesis. The thesis option may require additional time to complete.
  11. BS/MS program students will be qualified to receive a graduate assistantship starting in semester 9, if they're accepted into the Master's thesis program. If funded, students need to be registered full-time.

ME Graduate Office
516 Northwestern Ave. (4th floor of Wang Hall)
West Lafayette, IN 47906
MEgradoffice@purdue.edu
(765) 494-5730
Virtual office hours available every Tues/Wed/Thurs