An Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s (ABM) Program is offered by the College of Health Sciences: BS, Health Studies (HS) with a concentration in Exercise, Sport and Movement Sciences (ESMS)/ MS, Health Studies (HS) with a concentration in Exercise, Sport and Movement Science (ESMS).

The Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s (ABM) degree program HS (ESMS)/ HS (ESMS) provides qualified UM-selected undergraduate students the opportunity to satisfy course requirements, including elective hours, for the bachelor’s degree in HS with a concentration in ESMS that also may be subsequently applied on a prearranged basis to the master’s degree in HS with a concentration in ESMS that may satisfy some of its degree requirements.

For students who work closely with their advisors in planning their course of study in the College of Health Sciences, this option offers the opportunity to simultaneously satisfy partial degree requirements for a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in an accelerated program of study. Upon completion of the undergraduate degree with a satisfactory undergraduate grade point average and a grade of “B” or better in all graduate courses completed, the student may move to full graduate student status, and the preapproved graduate courses taken as an undergraduate may be applied toward the pre-specified graduate program of study.

Students may use up to 12 credit hours of designated courses in meeting the requirements of both the HS/ESMS bachelor’s and HS/ESMS master’s degrees. Courses considered for this purpose may include 4000/6000-level cognates and/or 7000-level courses. Undergraduate students will register for the 6000- or 7000-level courses, but fees will be levied at the undergraduate rate. Students applying for this program must:

1. Have completed at least 18 hours of course work at UM before taking courses as part of the ABM program
2. Have a UM GPA of 3.25 or better
3. Be within 40 semester hours of graduation
4. Have written approval of the program coordinator(s) of both the respective undergraduate and graduate programs, the CHS Assistant Director of Student Services, and the CHS Director of Academic Programs for specific graduate courses to be acceptable for dual credit in the undergraduate and master’s degree programs
5. Meet all requirements for admission into the specified graduate program (except for the GRE and completion of the undergraduate degree)
6. Apply for admission to the ABM Degree Program including all necessary admissions documentation to the Graduate School by the deadline dates listed below.

A maximum total of 12 semester hours of preapproved graduate coursework may be considered for dual credit in the undergraduate and graduate degree programs and a maximum total academic load of 15 hours during the semester in which any of the graduate courses are taken.

Students interested in this option must meet in person with the program coordinator(s) for the respective undergraduate and graduate programs in question, the CHS Assistant Director of Student Services, as well as the CHS Director of Academic Programs; and receive their written approval of the application. Final acceptance into the ABM program is contingent upon approval by the Dean of the Graduate School. Approvals apply only for the specific programs and courses designated in the application. Stipulated graduate courses for the ABM program are the only ones for which students in the undergraduate program are eligible to enroll, and completion of all allowable graduate courses is optional.

For application materials, contact the CHS Assistant Director of Student Services at 901-678-5037 or go to https://www.memphis.edu/healthsciences/students/admission_advising.php. Submit application materials to the College of Health Sciences no later than the following dates for optimal admission consideration, after which CHS-approved applications will be submitted by the College to the Graduate School for consideration:

April 15 for fall term admission

October 15 for spring term admission

April 15 for summer term admission

Subsequent to admission into the ABM program and satisfactory completion of stipulated coursework approved for the designated programs of study, a maximum of 12 credit hours from the following graduate courses may be applied to the respective programs of study for both the undergraduate and graduate levels as follows:

• ESMS 6000 - Exer Test Interp Lab or ESMS 6603 - Adv Meth Strength Cond
• ESMS 7010 - Research Methods in HS
• ESMS 7020 - Pub/Prop in Health & Biomed
• ESMS 7800 - Internship in ESMS