PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania and Haverford College are launching a new program that will allow undergraduates at Haverford to gain early admission into a master’s degree program offered by Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science.  The arrangement effectively allows Haverford students to obtain their bachelor’s degree in four years and then, through Penn, obtain their master’s degree with just one additional year of study.

Called the Four Plus One partnership, the agreement was finalized last week at a signing ceremony with Eduardo Glandt, dean of Penn Engineering, and Linda Bell, provost of Haverford. Rising junior and senior students at Haverford will be eligible to apply.

"Penn Engineering is excited to work with our colleagues at Haverford in offering this new program," Glandt said. "We are always searching for ways to expand access to our excellent engineering education and are looking forward to welcoming our first class of participants."

After their sophomore year, Haverford students with necessary backgrounds, majors and a strong academic record may apply, via Four Plus One, to a master’s program at Penn Engineering.

"This new program is tremendously exciting as it allows our students to expand the frontiers of their liberal arts undergraduate training and advance their expertise through well integrated specialization in a specific engineering field related to their undergraduate major," Bell said.

As part of the Quaker Consortium, students at Haverford may already take classes at Penn that count toward their undergraduate degrees at no additional cost. This new program expands on that relationship. In addition to providing access to appropriate undergraduate prerequisites, the Four Plus One partnership will allow Haverford students to take graduate-level courses that will count towards their prospective master’s degree work in engineering.