The 4+1 Option lets eligible Â鶹ԭ´´ undergraduates take up to three graduate-level courses during their senior year at no additional tuition cost, then complete their master’s degree in a single year after they graduate.

This means they can complete a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in as little as five years, instead of six or more. It’s a meaningful savings in both time and tuition.

Program Options

These are the master’s degree programs that you can connect to your bachelor’s program:

Important: You do not need to be a current or accepted student in these programs to apply for the 4+1 option. In fact, you’ll need to apply for this option before you begin your undergrad senior year.

Am I Eligible for the 4+1 Program?

  • Are you currently a Cal Lutheran undergraduate pursuing your first bachelor’s degree, or about to enroll as one?
  • Are you still a year or more away from your senior year at Cal Lutheran?
  • Are you considering the MBA, MS in Information Technology, Master of Public Policy and Administration, MS in Quantitative Economics and Predictive Analytics or MS in Sport Management?

If you answered yes to all three, you may be eligible for this program. Contact the Graduate Admissions Office at 805-521-9856 or clugrad@callutheran.edu to learn how to apply.

Please note: this option is built for undergraduates completing their first bachelor’s degree on a standard four-year timeline. It is not available to students in the Bachelor’s Degree for Professionals program.

How Does the 4+1 Option Work?

During Undergrad

During your senior year, you can take up to three graduate-level courses alongside your undergraduate work. Those courses count toward both your bachelor’s degree and your eventual master’s, and as long as you stay between 12 and 18 total credits per semester, they’re included in your regular undergraduate tuition.

During Grad School

After you graduate, you continue at Cal Lutheran as a full-time graduate student, and the remaining coursework takes about a year. You’ll pay the regular graduate tuition rate for those credits.

How Does the Option Save Tuition?

The savings come from two places. You spend a year less in graduate school, which is a year you spend earning instead of paying tuition. And the graduate courses you take during your senior year cost nothing beyond your undergraduate tuition, which represents a real reduction in total program cost.

What Students Have to Say

“I would tell someone interested in the 4+1 program to do it. It creates an opportunity to make yourself different from others. Also, now as everyone in my class is graduating, a lot of people have told me they wish they had known about this program because they would have done it.”

Amara Gwyn, 4+1 Alum (BS in Business Administration ’16, MBA ’19)

“The 4+1 program is very flexible and since I was able to take graduate-level classes as an undergraduate student, it sped up the timeframe of obtaining my MBA. The class options the MBA program offers, including weekend and online courses, made it easier to progress in the program even when work became more demanding.”

Alexander Cervelli, 4+1 Alum (BS in Business Administration ’19, MBA ’20)

If You’re Eligible, Here Are Your Next Steps

  1. Meet with your academic advisor. They’ll confirm that you’re eligible and help you choose the right graduate courses for your senior year and confirm you’re on track for the application. Make an appointment here.
  2. Apply to the 4+1 Option before your senior year begins. Eligibility requires senior status and a minimum 3.0 GPA.
  3. Start your graduate coursework in fall or spring of your senior year. You’ll take up to three graduate courses during the year, then continue into the full master’s program after you graduate.

For application details and current deadlines, contact the Graduate Admissions Office at 805-521-9856 orclugrad@callutheran.edu.

4+1 Program FAQs

Admission is based on submitting and completing a graduate application (typically as you finish your junior year at Cal Lutheran) as well as fulfilling the eligibility criteria (having senior status at Cal Lutheran in your first bachelor's degree and a minimum GPA of 3.0).

To start, you'll need to meet with your academic advisor to verify whether you are eligible to participate in the 4+1 program.

You can start taking graduate courses (up to three) during the fall or spring semesters of your senior year.

You must be registered in a minimum of 12 undergraduate credits each semester you participate in the 4+1 program, and not exceed 18 total credits with graduate courses included

If you continue attending the graduate program as a full-time student after completing your undergraduate degree, you can earn your degree in as little as one year.

During your senior year, graduate courses will be included in your normal tuition as long as you take 12-18 total credits (undergraduate and graduate combined) per semester

Once fully admitted to the graduate program, the cost is the regular tuition per credit for your graduate program