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PIT Accelerated Master’s Degree Program

Accelerated bachelor’s/master’s degree program

MSTP 4+1 Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s (4+1) Degree Program

Available to BS/BA Innovation in Society and BS Technological Leadership majors

The accelerated bachelor’s/master’s degree program allows undergraduate students in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society to start master’s level coursework toward their Public Interest Technology Master’s degree as an undergraduate student. Graduate school is expensive and accelerated master’s students can use undergraduate tuition to pay for part of graduate school. Students enrolled in the programs can complete both degrees in five years. Student enrolled in the program can share 12 hours between the programs. This means that accelerated master;s students will be able to complete the bachelor’s/master’s program with 138 hours instead of 150 hours.

MS PIT at ASU Online pairs with:

  • BA in Innovation in Society (in person or online)
  • BS in Innovation in Society (in person or online)
  • BS in Technological Leadership (in person or online)

What are the benefits of the accelerated master’s program?

Students with a master’s degree have a competitive edge in the marketplace and increase their earning potential. Students with a master’s degree have a competitive degree in the marketplace and increase their earning potential. Students enrolled in the accelerated master’s program will save time because they will earn a master’s degree in just one year, saving on tuition. PIT masters students learn to engage with community leaders and policy makers to find public consensus and deploy technologies for public benefit. The MS is an opportunity to work with faculty on projects longer and in more depth than as undergraduates.Students enrolled in the accelerated master’s program will also save time because they will earn a master’s degree in just one year, saving on tuition. Finally, students will gain foundation skills and real-world experience in science and technology policy through the core courses and the applied project.

What is the Public Interest Technology degree?

The Master in Public Interest Technology program is a one-year, online-only program. It explores and investigates how technology can improve the lives of groups, communities, and societies, but also how technologies can have surprising and unintended effects. PIT students learn how to identify and inform stakeholders who influence policy choices about technology. PIT courses use real-world cases to explore how emerging technologies enter the world and affect different people in many ways. Upon graduation, PIT students can identify responsible innovation, identify stakeholders, assess how technology might affect those stakeholders, and inform policy decisions intended to improve outcomes

Pursuing an accelerated degree program

Undergraduate students enrolled in one of the six undergraduate programs listed above may begin the application process to the accelerated bachelor’s/master’s degree program by submitting an Accelerated Program Pre-Application form no later than the early spring term of their junior year. Applications are accepted until 2 weeks before the start of fall session A and 2 weeks before spring session A.

Students are eligible to submit the pre-application when:

  • they have completed at least 75 semester hours in their undergraduate degree.
  • have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or better on a 4.0 grading scale.

Students with an approved pre-application and who have successfully completed 90 credit hours of coursework toward their undergraduate degree program with a 3.2 GPA may:

  • take 12 credit hours of shared coursework during the fall and spring terms of their senior year.
  • submit a full online graduate admissions application for the Master of Public Interest Technology found on the Graduate College website during the fall term of their senior year for consideration for graduate admission to the MS program the next year, which (if accepted) they would begin the following fall . The student must apply and pay the application fee for the term and year they plan to start their PIT graduate career. Please answer the question on the application indicating that you are applying for the accelerated program and specify your undergraduate program. 

For official university reporting purposes, students will be considered undergraduates until awarded their bachelor’s degrees.

PIT graduate application process

Students must meet all admission criteria, except not having yet completed their baccalaureate degree. The program chair for the Master of Public Interest Technology will review applications based on the recommendations of the PIT admissions committee.

The following documents must be submitted with the online Graduate College application for the Master of Public Interest Technology: 

  • Resume or curriculum vita
  • Personal statement of interest
  • Transcripts for any and all universities and colleges outside ASU, as well as ASU transcript
  • Three letters of recommendation: two from faculty in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society verifying the applicant’s readiness and probable success in completing the program, and one from a referee of the student’s choosing

The Graduate College will processethe application, and once the file is complete, it will be released to SFIS for a recommendation. The application then goes through the PIT admissions review. A personal interview with the admissions committee, a member of the admissions committee, or the program director may be required if additional information is needed to determine eligibility for admissions to the program. 

Degree requirements

  • After successfully completing 90 undergraduate credit hours, the student will take up to 12 hours of the PIT degree course work during the fall and spring terms of the senior year
  • Of the 12 credit hours taken as an undergraduate for the master’s degree credit, at least six hours must be 400-level.
  • Course requirements are the same as the regular PIT program
  • You must complete the bachelor’s degree before admission to the PIT graduate program formally begins
  • Once the student completes the undergraduate degree and begins the graduate portion of their career, they are considered a regular master’s student and PIT program requirements and fees apply
  • An undergraduate honors’ thesis may not be substituted for the master’s applied project
  • Satisfactory academic progress requirements for the PIT accelerated master’s program will follow the ones currently set up for PIT graduate students 

Academic progress

Satisfactory academic progress requirements to remain in the accelerated bachelor’s/master’s degree program are outlined below. Students must complete all requirements for the bachelor’s degree in their major and the requirements for the Master of Public Interest Technology.

Continued participation in the accelerated degree program is contingent on, but not limited to, the student completing their undergraduate degree with a minimum GPA of 3.2 prior to starting their graduate career in PIT.

After completion of the bachelor’s degree, the student is admitted into the master’s program. All accelerated students at the master’s level are expected to make systematic progress toward completing their degree. Progress includes meeting the conditions listed below and achieving the benchmarks and requirements set by the MS-PIT and the student’s indivdiual plan of study. If a student fails to meet the requirements or benchmarks of their degree program, the student may be withdrawn from their program based on recommendations submitted by SFIS to the Graduate College.

To be considered as making satisfactory progress toward the master’s degree objective, a student must:

  • Remain continuously enrolled in the degree program
  • Maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher in all classes included in the master’s Program of Study

(Those students who have not yet filed a program of study must maintain a combined GPA of 3.0 or higher for all courses taken since entering the current degree program and all courses numbered 500 and above completed since the last degree.)

  • Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher in all classes on their transcript numbered 500 or above
  • Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher
  • Complete PIT 501, PIT 502, PIT 503, PIT 504 with a grade of at least a B
  • Meet all DEADLINES for the program:
    • Selection of supervisory committee chair
    • Completion and filing of the plan of study
    • Completion and submittal of the Applied Project proposal
    • Successful completion of the Applied Project
    • Submission of the report of final master’s culminating experience form
    • Meet the stated time limit for graduation from the degree program as shown on the Graduate College website.

Contact

If you have any questions or would like more information on the accelerated master’s degree program or the application process, please contact:

Erik Fisher
Associate Professor and Director of PIT Program
School for the Future of Innovation in Society
[email protected]

Elisha Thompson
Undergraduate Coordinator
School for the Future of Innovation in Society
[email protected] 

Wendi Taylor
Academic Advisor
School for the Future of Innovation in Society
[email protected]