BS/MS Program

The University of Utah BS/MS program makes it possible for students to get both a bachelor's and a master's degree in as little as five years.

Beginning Fall 2024, a Master of Science (MS) degree in Robotics will be available. The program will also roll out a BS/MS option for Mechanical Engineering students to allow for an early start to the Robotics Master's degree. Completion of a BS/MS in Robotics for ME EN students would results in a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's degree in Robotics. Other College of Engineering students interested in an early start on a Robotics MS degree should consult with the Robotics Graduate Student Coordinator.

Admittance to the BS/MS program allows students to start taking graduate-level courses during the senior year. Close advisement from the undergraduate and graduate advisors is imperative for choosing the correct coursework to count for each degree.

A Robotics Master's degree will provide knowledge for integrating hardware and software with algorithms to create the next generation of intelligent machines. Robotics researchers are employed in a wide range of occupations that are creating the next generation of technological devices. Roboticists create assistive robots [prosthetics, wearable robots], autonomous vehicles [cars, mining equipment, underwater, and aerial], automated warehouses, manufacturing systems, medical devices, and consumer products [vacuums, 3d printers, craft machines].

Program Policies

  • A minimum of 30 semester credit hours must satisfy the Department’s requirements for the MS degree (thesis or non-thesis).
  • A minimum of 122 semester credit hours must meet the BS degree requirements of the University of Utah, the College of Engineering, and the Department. The minimum number of credit hours for the combined programs is 6 less than that required for the traditional BS and MS degrees obtained separately.

The only graduate degree that students may pursue in the combined program is the Master of Science (thesis or non-thesis). Courses listed at both the 5000 and 6000 level must be taken at the 6000 level if they are to be applied to the MS degree (see Director of Graduate Studies for exceptions). Students must take a minimum of 6 credit hours of graduate credit the senior year. They may take up to a maximum of 12 credit hours of graduate credit.

Transfer from undergraduate to graduate status occurs after completion of the BS degree requirements and admission to the Graduate School. A student is eligible for the Tuition Benefit Program administered by the Graduate School after graduate status is conferred.  Both the BS and MS degrees are conferred simultaneously following completion of the program. No student will be awarded a separate MS degree without satisfying all requirements for the BS degree.

Students wishing to exit the combined program can apply qualified coursework toward the traditional BS and MS degree requirements without penalty but wouldn’t get the benefit of counting the graduate courses taken as an undergraduate towards the MS degree unless they took more than 4 total technical electives needed for their BS degree (would need to fill out a petition for graduate credit to use extra courses for a future Master’s degree).