Accelerated degrees (4 + 1)

Increase your competitiveness in the job market, save time and money. Consider applying to one of our accelerated 4+1 BA/MA programs. 

These programs will help you sharpen your bilingual and multicultural skills through advanced coursework to pursue careers in language teaching or others such as non-government organizations, private business settings, government, public administration, tourism and legal professions. ​​

The School of International Letters and Cultures offers the following accelerated programs designed to enable highly qualified undergraduate majors to earn both a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in five years

• Bachelor of Arts in Spanish (BA) + Master of Arts in Spanish (MA)

• Bachelor of Arts in Spanish (linguistics track) (BA) + Master of Arts in Language Teaching (MA)

• Bachelor of Arts in French (BA) + Master of Arts in Language Teaching (MA)

• Bachelor of Arts in German (BA) + Master of Arts in Language Teaching (MA)

Other ASU Accelerated Programs:

• Thunderbird accelerated Programs

*At this time, these 4+1 programs are not able to accommodate online-only undergraduate students. All graduate courses are held in person on the Tempe campus.

Before applying to the 4+1 program, you must meet with your undergraduate advisor to discuss your eligibility for the program.

Speak to a SILC advisor

At this meeting, your undergraduate advisor will notify the Graduation Admissions Office that you are a candidate for the 4+1 program. This notification must be done before you submit your application to the Master's program.

Current undergraduate students interested in applying for the 4+1 accelerated program will need to complete an online application for one of the above-listed Master's degrees.

To apply, students must submit:

• Online application and application fee
• Personal statement of interest
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae
• Three letters of recommendation
• Writing Sample (10-25 page academic writing sample such as a term or research paper. If you do not have a previously written paper of this length, you may combine multiple papers into one PDF.)

Language Teaching 4+1 program

To be eligible for admission into the Language Teaching 4+1 program, a student must:

• Be enrolled in one of the above-listed on-ground Bachelor degree programs at the time of application.
• Have a minimum of a 3.00 cumulative GPA.
• Have completed at least 75 credit hours toward the undergraduate degree at the time of application; 90 credit hours are required to begin the program.
• Be on track to graduate with the undergraduate degree two semesters after being accepted into the graduate program (one calendar year after the acceptance date).
• Complete and submit the online application for the Master's degree for the term and year they plan to start sharing credit hours.

Spanish BA/MA 4+1 program

In addition to the above, students interested in the Spanish BA/MA 4+1 program must:

• Have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
• Have taken at least one 400-level Spanish course at ASU.

Question: If I am registered to graduate this year am I eligible to apply to the Accelerated degree (4 + 1) program?
Answer: No, but you can still apply to any ASU master’s program.

Q: If I am accepted into an Accelerated degree (4 + 1) program but I do not want to pursue the master’s program, do I still receive my bachelor’s diploma?
A: Yes, as long as you completed all the necessary requirements to graduate from your bachelor’s program you will still graduate.

Q: Once I finish my bachelor’s program, can I take a break before starting the master’s portion of the Accelerated degrees (4 + 1) program?
A: No, students must immediately begin their master’s program once they graduate with their bachelor’s degree.

Q: If I am an online student, Am I eligible for an on-ground Accelerated degree (4 + 1) program?
A: No, students must be in the same modality for both programs of the Accelerated degree (4 + 1) pathway. If the Accelerated degree (4 + 1) pathway is on-ground then any interested student must be an on-ground student. Accelerated degree (4 + 1) programs do not mix modalities.

Q: Is there one combined graduation ceremony for Accelerated degree (4 + 1) students?
A: No, there are two separate ceremonies for graduation. The bachelor’s ceremony is separate from the master’s ceremony.