The University of Georgia’s Double Dawgs program is now being offered on the UGA campus in Griffin. The program allows students to simultaneously work towards a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree and complete both degrees in five years or less. The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is the first to bring the Double Dawgs program to Griffin, Georgia.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 18 percent of all jobs will require a master’s degree by 2022. The Double Dawgs program is designed to help students reach that goal sooner.

“Double Dawgs programs give students the opportunity to earn a valuable second degree in about the same amount of time it would take to earn a bachelor’s degree, in most cases,” said Melissa Gordon, assistant director of academic affairs. “Basically, you start working on your master’s degree while you are finishing your bachelor’s degree. It’s amazing that you can get two UGA degrees in such a short length of time.”

More than 100 Double Dawgs programs are now available to UGA students at the university’s main campus in Athens, Georgia.

Students at the Griffin campus who are working toward a bachelor’s degree in environmental resource science from CAES can enter the Double Dawgs program to earn a master’s degree in plant protection and pest management. 

Double Dawg students are equipped with a program-specific advisor for students. The advisor is in place to explain the admission requirements and process to students and guide them through their undergraduate coursework.

Interested students may apply to the graduate school during their junior year of college and start taking graduate level classes in place of undergraduate classes during their senior year at UGA.

“Students are permitted to count 12 hours of graduate-level coursework towards both the undergraduate degree and the graduate degree,” Gordon said. “The Double Dawgs program is a great opportunity for students to graduate with two University of Georgia degrees in a time span of three years after starting classes at UGA-Griffin.”

Students who are interested in applying for the spring semester can apply online at www.griffin.uga.edu/prospective-students/apply.  The deadline for UGA-Griffin spring admissions is Nov. 15.

For more information about the Double Dawgs program offered at UGA-Griffin, contact CAES Program Coordinator Kathleen Freeman at [email protected] or (770) 228-7314.