ANGOLA, Ind. (WLKI)- Trine University has launched a new program designed to give undergraduate students a faster and potentially less expensive route to earning both a bachelor's degree and an advanced degree.
The program, called Dual Advantage, brings together several existing accelerated academic pathways under one name. It is available in business, healthcare, engineering and computing, as well as law.
Depending on the pathway, students may begin graduate-level coursework while still completing their undergraduate degree or enroll in a direct-entry program that shortens the overall time needed to complete both degrees.
"We've offered several of these opportunities for years, but Dual Advantage brings them together under one program so students and families can more easily understand and explore the options available," said Kim Bennett, Trine's vice president for enrollment management.
Trine officials said the program is intended to help students reduce their overall educational costs and enter the workforce or advance in their careers more quickly.
The Bachelor's Plus Master's pathway allows eligible students to begin graduate coursework while they are still working toward their undergraduate degree. Depending on the student's academic plan and degree program, participants could complete both a bachelor's and master's degree in as little as four years.
The university is also offering Health Professions Direct Entry pathways. Those options allow students at Trine's Angola campus to shorten the time required to complete an undergraduate degree before continuing into a master's or doctoral program at the Brooks College of Health Professions in Fort Wayne.
A separate law pathway is available through select partner schools. Students can complete three years of undergraduate coursework at Trine before beginning law school. Their first year of law school would then satisfy the remaining requirements for their bachelor's degree.
Bennett said the program is another way the university is working to create value for students and their families.
More information about Dual Advantage is available at trine.edu/dual-advantage.