Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP)

Approval Process for creating an AMP

The Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP) allows CSU undergraduates to begin graduate-level coursework early and complete a master’s degree in less time and at a lower overall cost.

Faculty play a key role in developing, approving, and mentoring students through AMP pathways. This page outlines the approval process, program design expectations, and student requirements.

Guidelines and Requirements

Eligible undergraduate students may be recruited to an AMP. This initiative expands opportunities for more undergraduates to enroll in defined AMP degree programs.

AMP applicants follow an alternate application process as outlined in the Graduate and Professional Bulletin.  It is important to ensure your Comprehensive Review Process and rubric are aligned with AMP admissions. 
AMP links related undergraduate and master’s degree programs, either within the same or across different colleges, departments, programs, or SAUs. This allows students to earn a master’s degree in less time. 
This is a continuous enrollment program, requiring students to be continuously registered in fall and spring semesters — both upon the completion of the undergraduate degree and throughout the completion of the AMP. Deferral of enrollment to the master’s program is not permitted, and continuous registration (CR) may not be used until the second semester in which a student is officially admitted to a graduate program.
AMP students wishing to double count 500-level courses from their Bachelor’s Degree should use the GS4 AMP Double Count Courses form. This form must be submitted once admitted into the Graduate School and prior to completing your undergraduate degree. 
AMP students must have their GS6 Program of Study form, or GS5 Committee Formation form, (depending on their program), completed within two weeks of their first semester as a graduate student.
Undergraduate students are admitted internally by participating programs and are guaranteed conditional admission to the partnering graduate program during their undergraduate career. 
Final admission to the graduate program and Graduate School is granted when students meet the minimum graduate program and Graduate School admissions criteria upon completion of their bachelor’s degree(s).
Undergraduate students in AMPs may enroll for a maximum of 9 credits of 500-level regular coursework while paying the undergraduate tuition rate. These credits will be counted toward the undergraduate degree and tuition will be assessed at the undergraduate rate. 
- If a student takes more than nine 500-level coursework credits through AMP, additional credits will not be double-counted, and they must fill out the “Request to Exclude Courses from an Undergraduate Degree” form and submit this form to the Office of the Registrar. This form enables undergraduate students to enroll in graduate 500-level coursework that may be applied toward a graduate degree at CSU, but the course work cannot be used to meet the bachelor’s degree requirements. Find this form and on the Office of the Registrar website (under student forms) and email it to [email protected].
Regular, 500-level courses with grades of B or better will be transferred and double-counted toward the graduate degree, as courses taken prior to final admission to the graduate program. 
Tuition fees may vary for students taking hybrid (on-campus and online) courses within a semester.  For further information please reach out to the Registrar’s Office at (970) 495-4482 or CSU Online at (970) 492-4898.

Student Requirements and Processes

Undergraduate students must complete an internal AMP application created by the partnering undergraduate and graduate programs.

The timing of the application and its requirements are defined by the partnering programs. The minimum undergraduate GPA acceptable for entrance into an AMP is 3.000. Students may be admitted into the AMP at any point chosen by the partnering programs of the AMP.

Program and SAU Requirements and Processes

To be eligible to offer an AMP, a program or academic unit must submit an MOU and be approved by the Graduate School. A one-time Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is available below.

Departments offering AMP programs with unique requirements, incentives, or other elements may request approval from the Graduate School for the specific terms they wish to address.

The final terms of the agreement will be stipulated in an MOU between the Graduate School and the partnering programs with approval signatures of the department head(s), college dean(s), and the Dean of the Graduate School.

For AMP students only: If you wish to count 9 credits to fulfill requirements for your undergrad degree AND you want to use those same 9 credits to fulfill the requirements of a graduate certificate then:

You must apply for the grad certificate program and pay the application fee
The certificate will not be awarded until after the bachelor’s degree is awarded

Approved Programs

For a list of approved programs, visit our Graduate Programs webpage and select the “The Accelerated Master’s Program” button. Use the icons to the right of the filtered results to toggle the view between grid and list style.

MOU Template

A template for AMP MOUs between the Graduate School and departments is provided below.

GS4 AMP Double Count Courses Form

Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP) students wishing to double count 500-level courses from their Bachelor’s Degree should use this form. This form must be submitted once admitted into the Graduate School and prior to completing your undergraduate degree. Find the form on RAMweb under the Graduate School section.