Why You Should Know About UNH’s Accelerated Master’s Program

What is the accelerated master’s program?
As a UNH undergraduate student, you can save time and money through our accelerated master's program, which allows you to earn both your bachelor’s and master’s degrees in as few as five years across more than 60 majors and tracks. The accelerated master’s program is only open to current UNH students and offers a number of academic, professional and financial benefits including:

• The ability to maximize your time on campus and the return on your educational investment
• Waived graduate school application fee
• Waived GRE and GMAT admissions requirements
• Dual credit courses – those that count for both your bachelor’s and master’s degrees – are included in the cost of your undergraduate tuition.

In fact, many current students and alumni will tell you that the accelerated master’s program is one of the key reasons they chose UNH, equipping them with the right advanced degree for their career in the least amount of time – and at the best value.

Meet an accelerated master’s alum
Danielle Johnson ’20 ’21G says that earning her accelerated master’s in UNH’s education program helped her launch her career with additional skills and experiences – and stand out during her job search.

“I have always been passionate about social studies education. However, the accelerated master's program expanded my career interests to include teaching English language learners,” she explains. “In taking an elective on ELL education for dual credit, I became inspired by the subject area. Due to the time efficiency of the accelerated master's program, I earned dual certification and a graduate degree one year earlier than a typical graduate student.”

Incredible opportunities
She adds that the benefits of her accelerated master’s far exceeded the condensed timeline. “It was financially beneficial to begin graduate courses early, but the program also provided rewarding and enriching academic opportunities I would not have had otherwise.”

One such experience was Danielle’s acceptance to the highly competitive Fulbright program. She currently lives in the Netherlands completing her one-year Fulbright-grant funded internship working at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, also known as the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. In this internship, she helps first-year students in the English teacher preparation program improve their English and learn how to teach it.

“My time as a UNH accelerated master’s student was the most beneficial tool as I navigated moving to a new country and taking on the responsibilities that come with a prestigious internship like the Fulbright English Teaching Program,” she says. “The content I learned and academic experiences I had at UNH not only helped me get the Fulbright grant but also allowed me to have discussions with my coworkers in the Netherlands to improve their English teacher preparation program.”

While at UNH, Danielle participated actively in the community. She served as a member of the Graduate Student Senate, an ESL teaching assistant, campus tour guide, YWCA volunteer domestic violence counselor, resident assistant and more! You can view what a typical day at UNH was like for her in her Instagram takeover.

Is an accelerated master’s right for you?
Still curious if you should pursue an accelerated master’s program? Candice Morey, the educational program coordinator for accelerated master’s programs, says that her top tips for interested students include:

• Apply during your junior year to begin taking courses for dual credit senior year.
• Save room in your academic course schedule to take electives during your senior year that can count for both your bachelor’s and your master’s degrees.
• Connect with the program coordinator or other advisor(s)about the program early on; developing connections may provide you with research or funding opportunities during your graduate program.
• As graduate courses can be writing intensive, spreading the work out over two semesters might be more manageable than taking all your graduate courses in one semester.

View our accelerated master’s student qualifications or connect with Candice. To learn more, visit our website. We can’t wait to welcome you to the UNH Graduate community.