Undergraduate - Graduate Concurrent Enrollment

Advanced Rice undergraduate students may be accepted into a Rice graduate program prior to receiving their undergraduate degree. Their formal graduate program enrollment is deferred until after the bachelor’s degree has been awarded, at which time the students will complete a minimum of one semester of residency as a Rice graduate student. With certain stipulations, undergraduate students may i.) begin work on their graduate degree at Rice prior to completing all degree requirements for their bachelor’s degree, and ii.) must complete the requirements for a bachelor's degree and the master's degree independently of each other (i.e. no course may be counted toward the fulfillment of both degrees).

A student cannot be admitted to concurrent enrollment in Rice undergraduate and graduate programs without the approval of the dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies. The graduate application should be submitted as usual and will have decanal review as part of the process. 

While concurrently enrolled in a graduate program, in order not to jeopardize financial aid funding, Rice undergraduates should maintain enrollment in at least 12 credit hours of study to count toward the undergraduate degree and may be enrolled in no more than a total of 18 credit hours combined between the undergraduate and the graduate degrees. By default, all courses in which undergraduate students are enrolled count toward the undergraduate degree, regardless of the course number. To designate courses that will count toward the graduate degree, Rice undergraduates concurrently enrolled in a graduate program must submit an Undergraduate Student in Graduate Degree Program Special Registration Request Form as part of the registration process each semester. Students submit the completed form to the Office of the Registrar once registration is open, but no later than the Friday of the second week of courses for each term. Please note: If a student were to have a change of plans and withdraw from the graduate degree program before completing the bachelor's degree, those courses taken toward the graduate degree program would be returned to the undergraduate record. 

Important: Please note that seeking a graduate degree while still a Rice undergraduate may have financial aid implications. Undergraduate students applying for graduate programs should consult with the Office of Financial Aid prior to accepting an offer of admission. Any undergraduate students enrolled in a graduate degree program will not be eligible to request a continuance of their federal financial aid beyond their eighth semester of study at Rice. Furthermore, students will not be eligible for any undergraduate financial aid after the completion of their undergraduate degree requirements. Once the undergraduate degree is conferred, students that have been concurrently enrolled will be classified as a graduate student. Students are only eligible for graduate loans if classified as a graduate student. Students are not classified as graduate students until they have successfully completed their undergraduate degree program.