The Freeman School’s new 4+1 programs allow students to begin work on a master’s degree in business while still an undergraduate, enabling them to earn a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in just five years and potentially realize significant tuition savings.
Beginning this year, students at the Freeman School will be able to fast-track their business education, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in just five years.
The new 4+1 programs enable students to add a master’s degree in finance, energy management or business analytics to their bachelor’s degree in business with just one additional year of study. The programs reduce the time it ordinarily takes to earn both degrees by allowing students to complete up to 12 hours of graduate-level coursework during their junior and senior years. Undergraduate financial aid can be applied to this graduate coursework, saving students graduate school tuition, and in the fifth year, students will be eligible for graduate financial aid and fellowships.
“Students are increasingly seeking advanced business study at earlier stages in their careers,” said Paulo Goes, dean of the Freeman School. “The new 4+1 programs meet that demand so students with well-defined career goals can combine the Freeman School’s Bachelor of Science in Management program with a Master of Finance, a Master of Management in Energy or a Master of Business Analytics and AI.”
The Freeman School previously offered two five-year programs: The Baccalaureate/MBA, which enables students to earn a bachelor’s degree from Newcomb-Tulane College and an MBA from the Freeman School, and the BSM/MACCT, which enables students to earn a Bachelor of Science in Management (BSM) and a Master of Accounting. The new 4+1 options dramatically expand the range of professional master’s degrees available to undergraduates.
In addition to savings of cost and time, the 4+1 programs also give students advanced skills at an earlier age, giving them a leg up on competition in the workplace and making them eligible for more senior positions and higher salaries.
“For students with well-defined professional goals and a desire to jumpstart their careers, the 4+1 programs are an ideal option,” said Melissa Lightell, assistant dean of graduate admissions. “Not only can they enhance their salary potential and shorten the timeline to receiving a promotion, they can also leverage their undergraduate financial aid, resulting in savings of potentially thousands of dollars.”
