What is the Grad Track Program?


The Grad Track is a program option for undergraduate students planning ahead for a graduate program. A student admitted to the Grad Track program may enroll in a limited number of graduate-level courses while completing the bachelor's degree. The Grad Track program provides an opportunity for students to earn both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in as few as 5 years. The credits earned will count first toward the undergraduate program and then the master's degree program.

Benefits of Grad Track and Graduate Study

  • Shortens the time and expense to complete the Master of Science programs.
  • Prepares the student for the rigors of graduate-level coursework while still an undergraduate student.
  • Provides uninterrupted continuity of the knowledge gained as an undergraduate student to graduate-level courses.
  • Provides an accelerated path to employment.

The Department of Information Science offers the following Grad Track Pathways:

BS in Information Science to MS in Library Science or Information Science

Admission Requirements

  • Applicants to the Grad Track option should be students in the UNT College of Information pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Information Science (BSIS).
  • A student may apply for the grad track option during their junior year and must have completed at least 75 credit hours at the time of application to grad track.
  • A minimum of 3.5 cumulative GPA is required at the time of application submission.
  • The student will provide two (2) recommendation letters from Department of Information Science faculty members who can evaluate the student's ability to complete graduate-level work.
  • The application will be reviewed by the College of Information advising and admissions student support services office and the undergraduate and graduate advisors.
  • Once approved the student must contact ci-uadvising@unt.edu with their 8-digit ID and their expected start term for the master's to be updated to master's seeking.

Program Policies

  1. After completing 90 credit hours, the student can start taking the graduate courses as grad track electives for the health informatics degree requirement. The accepted graduate courses for the HI grad track are listed below. If the student wants to take other graduate courses for the grad track credits, he/she needs to obtain approvals from the Information Science department chair, or the graduate faculty advisor, and the director or assistant director of the College of Information (COI) advising and admissions student support services office. For these graduate courses to be counted toward requirements for the MS degree, the student should earn a B or above in the approved graduate courses.
  2. The students admitted to the grad track option will be admitted into the MS program on a conditional basis. Once the student has satisfied all course work for the BS degree and maintained a 3.0 or higher GPA on the specified graduate courses, he/she will be fully admitted to the MS program. 
  3. Undergraduate students who have been accepted to a grad track option should complete all of their bachelor’s degree requirements and graduate within 12 months of the first day of the semester in which they start taking graduate courses, or enrollment in graduate-level course work will be suspended.
  4. The student must enroll in graduate school in the next long semester after finishing his/her BS degree and should take the remaining graduate courses in the following 12-48 months to complete his/her MS degree. If the student does not enroll in graduate school in the next long semester after finishing his/her BS degree, those graduate course credit hours taken as part of grad track will not be applied to the MS degree, even if the student comes back for graduate school in the future.

Program Requirements

After application approval and completion of at least 90 credit hours, students will complete master's-level courses from a pre-determined list of courses.

  • Students planning to pursue the M.S. in Library Science degree may choose three (3) courses from the following list of graduate courses:
    • INFO 5080 - Research Methods and Analysis
    • INFO 5230 - Records Management
    • INFO 5300 - Management of Information Agencies
    • INFO 5306 - Project Management for Information Systems
    • INFO 5400 - Information Resources Development
    • INFO 5615 - Electronic Databases and Information Services
    • INFO 5XXX - Course negotiated with Program Director
  • Students planning to pursue the M.S. in Information Science degree may choose three (3) courses from the following list of graduate courses:
    • INFO 5080 - Research Methods and Analysis
    • INFO 5230 - Records Management
    • INFO 5305 - Systems Analysis and Design
    • INFO 5306 - Project Management for Information Systems
    • INFO 5615 - Electronic Databases and Information Services
    • INFO 5707 - Data Modeling for Information Professionals
    • INFO 5814 - Website Development and Maintenance
    • INFO 5XXX - Course negotiated with Program Director

How to Apply

  1. Send two recommendation letters to the COI Advising office via email to ci-uadvising@unt.edu.
  2. Meet with an advisor to submit the application form.
BS in Health Informatics to MS in Health Informatics

Admission Requirements

  1. A student may apply for the grad track option during their junior year (and must have completed at least 75 credit hours at the time of application to grad track).
  2. A minimum of 3.5 cumulative GPA is required at the time of application submission.
  3. The student will provide two recommendation forms completed by UNT faculty members (one of whom must be from the Department of Information Science) who can evaluate the student’s ability to complete graduate-level work.
  4. The application will be reviewed by the College of Information admissions and advising student support services office and the undergraduate and graduate advisors.
  5. Admission to the MS in Health Informatics program will require the completion of the Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics. Conditional admission may be granted after successfully completing 90 credit hours.
  6. Once approved, the student must apply to the Toulouse Graduate School within the first semester of the senior year.

Program Policies

  1. After completing 90 credit hours, the student can start taking the graduate courses as grad track electives for the health informatics degree requirement. The accepted graduate courses for the HI grad track are listed below. If the student wants to take other graduate courses for the grad track credits, he/she needs to obtain approvals from the Information Science department chair, or the graduate faculty advisor, and the director or assistant director of the College of Information (COI) advising and admissions student support services office. For these graduate courses to be counted toward requirements for the MS degree, the student should earn a B or above in the approved graduate courses.
  2. The students admitted to the grad track option will be admitted into the MS program on a conditional basis. Once the student has satisfied all course work for the BS degree and maintained a 3.0 or higher GPA on the specified graduate courses, he/she will be fully admitted to the MS program. 
  3. Undergraduate students who have been accepted to a grad track option should complete all of their bachelor’s degree requirements and graduate within 12 months of the first day of the semester in which they start taking graduate courses, or enrollment in graduate-level course work will be suspended.
  4. The student must enroll in graduate school in the next long semester after finishing his/her BS degree and should take the remaining graduate courses in the following 12-48 months to complete his/her MS degree. If the student does not enroll in graduate school in the next long semester after finishing his/her BS degree, those graduate course credit hours taken as part of grad track will not be applied to the MS degree, even if the student comes back for graduate school in the future.

Program Requirements

Students may take 9 hours from the following:

How to Apply

  1. Send two recommendation letters to the COI Advising office via email to ci-uadvising@unt.edu.
  2. Meet with an advisor to submit the application form.

Questions?

Schedule an appointment in Navigate or contact ci-uadvising@unt.edu for additional details.