General Program Requirements

To qualify for admission to the Transcultural Studies program, undergraduate students must be currently enrolled in the College of LSA and have completed five semesters of course work towards a bachelor’s degree. Per Rackham Academic Policy, students earning dual bachelor’s degrees (including those of LSA) are not eligible for the AMDP.

Students must complete all requirements for their undergraduate major and the College of LSA degree in order to be awarded their BA/BS. Students may apply for their undergraduate degree at the end of the term in which their degree requirements are met. Students may participate in the appropriate graduation ceremony for the undergraduate degree and then again, after the fifth year, for the master’s degree.

TCS students do not enroll in the Rackham Graduate School until their fifth year of study, and must be within 6 credit hours of completing the undergraduate degree at that time. Students may apply for their BA/BS degree at any time once the requirements are completed.

For the master’s degree, students must complete 24 credits at or above the 500 level that are approved for graduate credit. These courses can be taken at any time prior to or following completing the undergraduate degree. Qualifying credits must include at least one course from at least three participating departments, and at least one course from each of the three major conceptual rubrics (Connectivity, Comparison, Translation) used in the list of approved courses.

With the permission of the Program Director, up to six credits used to meet the requirements of the LSA undergraduate degree may be double-counted to meet the master’s degree requirements.

Students may transfer up to six semester-hours of graduate-course credit from other institutions or from non-Rackham University of Michigan graduate programs in accordance with the conditions stated in Rackham’s policy for the transfer of graduate credits.

During their fifth year of study, students must enroll in and complete two full terms (with 9 or more credits each term) as a Rackham Graduate student for the master’s degree. TCS students must pay Rackham fees for all classes taken during the two terms they are classified as graduate students.

Program students must make satisfactory progress toward their master’s degree, and maintain a minimum Rackham cumulative grade point average (GPA) of “B” (3.00 on a 4.00 point scale).

The AMDP is intended and designed for students to complete in three semesters. Students who need more than three semesters to complete the master’s will be assessed tuition at the graduate level.