A five-year bachelors/masters program (JUMP program) is available to highly motivated and qualified students.  In this five-year course of study, students can earn a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology; Environment, Sustainability, and Geographic Studies; or Geolological Sciences; and a Master's Degree in Geoscience. JUMP students take undergraduate coursework that is applied to the B.S. degree and graduate coursework that can be applied to both the B.S. and M.S. degrees.  This program provides highly motivated and qualified students with an excellent opportunity to earn a bachelors and Master’s degree in an expedited time frame.

• Must have completed or be currently enrolled in at least 21 credit hours of Colonnade Foundation and Exploration coursework, including appropriate foundation coursework in the major (i.e., GEOL 111/112/113/114 for the Geology Major; GEOG 110 and 121 for the Meteorology Major; GEOG 103 and 110 for the Geography and GIS majors), or the equivalent of these classes.
• Should have at least a 3.0 GPA overall and at least a 3.2 GPA in the selected Geoscience major, with a minimum of 45 earned hours.
• GRE is not required for JUMP.
• Focused 1-2 page description of research interests, including potential research topics with an identified theme, defined problem, and/or potential questions that demonstrate knowledge of a field of interest within the Geosciences and how these intersect with current faculty expertise within the Department.
• For more information please see the new JUMP policy from the Graduate School here

Admission is competitive and a limited number of applicants will be accepted. 

• Ideally students will apply after the completion of 45 hours but before the completion of 60 hours of undergraduate credit. Students must submit:

  • The Statement of Intent
  • JUMP Application Form
  • One letter of recommendation

  Application deadline is February 1. All application materials should be submitted to Dr. Jason Polk (jason.polk@wku.edu).  For more information, please contact the Department Chair in Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences or your program adviser.