College of Social Sciences students with an interest in Geography and Environment can compress the time it takes to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees in the subject, thanks to the recently approved Bachelor’s and Master’s (BAM) degree pathway.
“This is an accelerated opportunity for motivated, high-performing UH Mānoa undergraduates who want to commit to a master’s program early and take graduate-level classes in their senior year,” said Reece Jones, professor and department chair. “This gives them a head start on their graduate studies, which reduces the overall amount of time spent on their degrees.”
In many cases, BAM students can graduate with both degrees in five years. The program also reduces the total cost of education, with BAM students paying for graduate classes taken as undergraduates at the lower undergraduate tuition rate.
Jocelyn Grandinetti learned about the program earlier this year from her Honors Geography faculty advisor, Professor Krisna Suryanata. “She suggested that – since I had almost all of my required undergraduate credits already completed – I should try out the BAM program to continue my studies straight into the pursuit of my master’s,” said Grandinetti, 20.
“I love being an undergraduate while taking part in such enlightening discussions with graduate students in my classes,” added Grandinetti. “It’s an extremely exciting and rewarding experience. I now have a more holistic idea of what’s involved in conducting research and what general principles are most important in the field.”
“I would definitely recommend the BAM to others. I realize that, while being an undergrad provides you with the academic tools, it’s in grad school that you start to utilize them in discovering new, exciting things,” she added.
Geography is a diverse discipline united by a focus on global change and local impacts on humans and the environment. The department was founded in 1932 and is consistently ranked among the top programs in the nation.
For more information, see https://geography.manoa.hawaii.edu/bam/.
