I attended an information session this afternoon about the informal concurrent MLIS/MPA degree partnership with the Evans School – many thanks to former coworker-turned-MLIS/MPA-candidate Bo Kinney for running into me on the way out of class.  As it turns out, this is actually the result of this graduate school policy, which establishes that any student can do a concurrent masters informally by applying for admissions to both of the programs they want a degree from:

Informal Concurrent Degree Programs
Students in these programs pursue two degrees from different departments simultaneously.  These programs have not been approved as formal concurrent programs, but students complete the same requirements as in the formal concurrent programs.

To earn two master’s degrees, a student must complete the equivalent of two Graduate School degree requirements of 36 credits each for a minimum of 72 credits. If one or both of the participating programs require more than the minimum of 36 credits, those additional credits may be “shared”, and applied to both degrees. However, the total number of credits completed must total at least 72 and both programs must approve the credits counted toward both degrees.  Up to 12 credits earned toward a Ph.D. degree may be counted toward a Master’s degree in another program with the approval of both degree offering units.

It is the responsibility of the student to submit a written list of courses which apply toward each respective degree at the time he or she files an application for the Master’s degree or schedules the general examination. This list must be approved by both programs.

The Information School and the Evans School has several students (in the MLIS program) doing this joint degree work, and apparently it has been done by MSIM students in the past as well.  Since this isn’t a formal concurrency degree, there’s a lot of flexibility in the arrangement.

As noted in a previous post, I actually already am considering taking courses in the Evans School curriculum series.  I’m actually starting to think about this idea, since it also means that I could potentially get two Masters degrees in three years.  If I were to do it, surprisingly, the Evans School might be a good option, particularly because of their environmental policy and natural resources management policy gateway, which is one of the primary focuses of Evans School researchers.  Other options would include Computer Science and Engineering and Technical Communication.  Interestingly enough, the Law School has an Environmental Law concentration track (Dad, Don – what was that I said about NEVER taking law and the familial limit for lawyers being reached….?).

I would have to formally apply for admissions to the second program, and would start the concurrent degree next year (2008-2009) if I were to decide to pursue it.  That means, though, that I’d have to apply by January or February.  That also means application fees, essays, and recommendations (ugh), though I sort of doubt that I’d have to retake the GRE.  Further communication with program advisers would be necessary to figure out what would be needed for application materials.

I’m considering this, since it makes really good economic sense – three years of debt versus four if I were to return for another Masters degree.  Alas, the other Masters degree that was originally very interesting to me – the MBA in Sustainable Business from Bainbridge Graduate Institute – doesn’t count under this program, since they’re two distinct institutions.  And I’d have to be insane to do three Masters programs.  Hell, I’m almost insane for thinking about doing two…