The Economics, BS + Economics, MA Spartan Accelerated Graduate Education (SAGE) Scholar Program  enables qualified students in the Bachelor of Science in Economics  program to simultaneously complete the requirements for both the baccalaureate and master’s degrees. Students can progress from undergraduate to graduate status seamlessly, with a simplified application process and no application fee, and complete both degrees in a year’s less time as compared to completing them separately. This will provide significant cost savings to the student. 

Total SAGE Program Units (BS + MA) 140

For more information, contact the SAGE Program Coordinator​: Rui Liu.

Admission Requirements

Most students will become eligible to apply for the SAGE program in the Fall semester of their Year 3 and enter the pathway during the Spring semester of Year 4. To be eligible, students must: 

1. Completed a minimum of 75 units towards the BS degree (but no more than 120 units); 
2. Completed ECON 101 , ECON 102 , ECON 103A , and ECON 100W  with a grade of B or better in each course; 
3. Have an institutional or college cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, or GPA of 3.0 or better in the last 60 semester units; 
4. Completed all lower division GE requirements; 
5. Completed all lower division courses (1-99);
6. Students must submit a personal statement that explains how they arrived at their decision to continue with the Economics, MA degree.

Graduate Standing Requirements

Requirements for program continuation and advancement to candidacy in the graduate program, include:

• Students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher, with no individual grade below a C. Students not maintaining these standards will be placed on probation initially, followed by disqualification if the grades are not improved within two semesters.
• Meeting every semester with an academic advisor to plan and track coursework and graduate status. Once the BS degree is conferred, students meet every semester with their graduate advisor to plan a formal course of study.
• The proposed graduate program must be approved by the graduate coordinator before the student may be considered a candidate for the MA degree.

Culminating Experience

Plan A (Thesis)

The thesis must meet university requirements as stipulated in this catalog and in the SJSU Master’s Thesis and Doctoral Dissertation Guidelines. It will be written under the guidance of the candidate’s thesis committee chair with the assistance of the thesis committee. It is the candidate’s responsibility to find an Economics Faculty member to Chair the thesis committee, and work with the Chair to determine the other members of the committee and the thesis topic.

Plan B (Comprehensive Examination)

Most students complete a final written comprehensive examination. The exam covers three subjects: microeconomic theory, macroeconomic/monetary and econometrics. Students register once for one unit of ECON 298E in the semester they plan to take the examination. Students not passing the exam may take it a total of three times. Policies concerning Probation and Disqualification for failure to complete the exam are available online and in the Economics Office.

Plan B (Project)

A student may complete an academically rigorous research project by enrolling in ECON 298P - Master’s Project. In ECON 298P the student will complete a substantial paper under faculty supervision to complete the project component of Plan B. The student is responsible for securing the commitment of a full-time tenured or tenure-track economics faculty member who agrees to serve as project supervisor.

Offramps

For SAGE students who opt out of or fail to complete any portion of the SAGE program, the following will apply:

• Students will be returned to their respective stand-alone undergraduate degree program and allowed to complete the degree.
• All university policies will be followed regarding probation and disqualification.
• Credit earned for graduate coursework and used to complete the Bachelor’s degree may not be used to satisfy unit requirements of the Master’s degree. Thus, if a student returns to the stand-alone Master’s degree, graduate courses already used in the undergraduate degree cannot be used towards the stand alone Master’s degree. If the course is required for the program, credit can be given for taking the course, but another course must be substituted to fulfill unit requirements. Subject to University Policy F19-1.
• Credit earned for graduate coursework, and not used towards the undergraduate degree may be counted toward the Master’s degree, and shall be available for application to an SJSU graduate program upon subsequent approval by the program and subject to University Policy S17-7, graduate course revalidation. 

When a student chooses to opt out or is disqualified from a SAGE program, the process depends on whether the student has fulfilled all requirements for the undergraduate degree. If all requirements are met, the student can proceed to apply for the undergraduate degree. However, if the student has not fulfilled all requirements for the undergraduate degree, any credits earned for graduate coursework that were used to fulfill the undergraduate degree may not be applied toward meeting the unit requirements for the Master’s degree. Consequently, the program initiates an Advisor Request to the Registrar’s Office, and the student is transitioned back to the regular undergraduate program. During this phase, the advisor collaborates with the student to formulate a plan for completing any remaining undergraduate requirements. Once all prerequisites for the undergraduate degree are fulfilled, the student is eligible to submit an application for the undergraduate degree.