East Bay Falcon Accelerated Success Track (FAST) programs

Complete your bachelor’s and master’s in one accelerated pathway

• Start your master's program while an undergraduate student.
• Complete graduate courses that double-count toward both your undergraduate and graduate degrees.
• Pay undergraduate tuition for graduate courses (until you meet the units needed for your bachelor's degree).
• Avoid the Cal State Apply master's application and its fees.

Our East Bay FAST programs merge existing baccalaureate and master's degree programs in similar disciplines into a single pathway. We will double count a specified number of units (no more than 12) in both programs so you can earn your graduate degree faster and with less cost! Across the U.S., programs like our East Bay FAST programs are known as 4+1 or Blended programs.

Twelve departments across all four colleges offer FAST programs. Up to 12 graduate units double-count between the two degrees, set by the program; some programs double-count fewer. All courses applied toward the master’s degree, double-counted courses included, must lead to a program GPA of at least 3.00. You can take graduate courses required for the master’s before finishing your bachelor’s.

Eligibility

You can apply to a FAST program if you:

• are a matriculated undergraduate at East Bay in a state-side program (students in self-support programs aren’t eligible);
• have completed at least 60 units and no more than 90;
• have met your major-specific requirements;
• have completed all lower-division GE;
• have completed all lower-division major courses;
• aren’t a double major;
• have a minimum GPA of 2.50.

Programs set thresholds above these and may add requirements such as a letter grade in a particular course. Second bachelor’s students aren’t eligible. If you’re transferring to East Bay, wait until the semester begins to apply.

How to apply

Contact the FAST program advisor for your program about the process, deadlines, and requirements. The advisor verifies your eligibility and submits the application on your behalf.

The application period opens at the beginning of the semester and closes at the end of the seventh week. For Fall 2026 the dates are August 18 through October 2. By the deadline you must have submitted a departmental interest form, if your program uses one, or met with the FAST program advisor. Some departments set earlier deadlines.

Cost

FAST students pay undergraduate tuition while classified as undergraduates, and graduate tuition once they satisfy the requirements for the bachelor’s degree and are classified as graduate students. The higher graduate professional degree fee, where it applies, starts with graduate classification. Undergraduates move to graduate status the semester after completing 120 units applicable to the bachelor’s degree, double-counted units included.

Financial aid

FAST students are eligible for financial aid. Submit the FAFSA or CADAA each year with your current student status, undergraduate or graduate. Funding allowances differ between the two, so contact the Financial Aid Office when you transition to graduate status to ask whether adjustment paperwork applies.

How the degrees are awarded

You apply to graduate separately for each degree. Apply for the bachelor’s upon earning 90 timely graduation units toward it; the degree is awarded on completion of its requirements, double-counted courses included. Latin honors for the bachelor’s are evaluated on the first 120 units regardless of graduate courses taken before graduate status. Apply for the master’s when eligible, and it’s awarded on completion of its requirements.

Advising

Two people advise FAST students. The FAST graduate program advisor is the coordinator for the master’s portion, a faculty member who can tell you the eligibility requirements for that program, when to apply, how to apply, and which graduate courses to take as an undergraduate and as a graduate student. Contacts are on the graduate program coordinators page.

The college undergraduate program advisor is the faculty or staff member in your college who handles GE and major advising: which lower-division GE and major courses you still need, how many units you’ve completed given transfer unit limits, and which undergraduate courses to avoid because a graduate course in the FAST program will replace them.

Programs

Every FAST program admits in Fall and Spring. Degree roadmaps show which courses to take each semester across the undergraduate and graduate years, with courses counting toward both degrees in green. Program descriptions list the course requirements for the whole pathway. Admission requirements, the courses that double-count, and program deadlines come from the FAST graduate program advisor.

The M.B.A. General Business concentration is offered both fully online and face to face, so international students in a pathway leading to it should work with their advisor to make sure the courses they take meet visa requirements. The M.S. in Hospitality, Recreation, and Tourism is fully online and won’t meet the requirements for certain visas; check with the Center for International Education.

Information sessions

The Office of Graduate Studies holds information sessions for interested students. Slides from the most recent session are available, and recordings follow.

• Presentation Slides, Fall 2026
• Presentation Recording, Fall 2026

Upcoming sessions appear on the graduate events page.