The GW School of Business is expanding its 4+1 combined degree program to undergraduate students in four of GW’s other academic schools, according to a University release.

Students from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the Elliott School of International Affairs, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Milken Institute School of Public Health can now apply for GWSB’s 4+1 program, which allows students to earn both a bachelor’s degree and an accelerated master’s degree in five years, the release states. Anuj Mehrotra, the dean of GWSB, said officials expanded the 4+1 program in response to “employers’ call for multidisciplinary education” as the job market becomes more competitive.

“We are thrilled to extend this combined degree offering to B.S. and B.A. undergraduate students in CCAS, the Elliott School, GW Engineering and Milken Institute SPH,” Mehrotra said.

Officials “encourage” undergraduates to apply for the 4+1 program during their junior year, according to the release. Once undergraduates are accepted to the program, they are able to register for graduate-level courses, which are included in their undergraduate tuition.

The release states that the GWSB 4+1 program provides students with “financial benefits” like the ability to apply for the Grad2Grad program, which awards current undergraduates who pursue a master’s degree or a graduate certificate at GW with a 10 percent discount on tuition.

GWSB will also offer students 25 to 50 percent discounts on graduate classes they take outside of the ones that apply to their undergraduate degree in their 4+1 program, according to the release.

Victoria Abril, an alumna who completed GWSB’s 4+1 program in 2020, said enrolling in the program gave her more time to take electives at the University. She said she took one “meaningful” government accounting elective that gave her skills needed for her current job as a federal audit senior associate at KPMG, a professional services firm and accounting organization.

“Having taken those elective courses really gave me the opportunity and kind of the leg up in my current role,” Abril said in the release. “Everything that I’ve learned in the classroom at GW I’ve been able to put into action during my time at KPMG.”