Students applying to Jewell during their senior year of high school as first-year students are eligible. Students who have finished high school but have fewer than 12 hours of college-level credit awarded since high school graduation may also apply for an accelerated bachelor’s degree in Kansas City by indicating this intent on the Application for Admission and Scholarship.
3-Year Degree Options
Finish your bachelor’s degree in just three years to jumpstart your career with reduced cost.
Accelerated Bachelor’s Degree in Kansas City
Education on Your Timetable
If you’re coming to college with existing credits, such as dual enrollment or AP credits, then you might be a great candidate for an accelerated bachelor’s degree in Kansas City. At William Jewell College, we offer many programs with three-year degree options to help you graduate on a faster timeline.
Other Resources
What to Expect From a 3-Year Degree
As an incoming student, simply check the three-year option box in the application for admission. Your admission counselor will call you to go over the program in more detail and encourage you to come for a campus visit to speak with a faculty advisor.
Or if you decide you’re interested in an accelerated bachelor’s degree after admission, discuss your options when you meet with your advisor before the start of the school year. A three-year degree requires careful planning from the first year of college, so you’ll need to have your academic plan mapped out as soon as possible.
Some candidates have college credits coming into college, but others without credits may be willing to complete a more intensive workload with summer classes in order to finish their accelerated bachelor’s degree. It depends on your individual circumstances, so be sure to discuss your plan with your advisor.
Participating Programs
Accounting
Business Administration
Communication
Economics
Engineering Physics
Nursing
Political Science and Philosophy
Psychology
Why Consider a 3-Year Degree at Jewell?
Reduced Cost
Getting an accelerated bachelor’s degree means you spend less on your education while earning more after graduation.
Faster Graduation
A three-year degree is ideal for those who are looking to graduate faster, whether it’s because they want to enter postgraduate education sooner or because they want to get back into the workforce quickly.
Focused Education
Because of the condensed timeline, students who complete a three-year degree have a much more focused education on their area of interest.
Find Your Place at Jewell
3-Year Bachelor's Degree Frequently Asked Questions
The requirements for admission consideration are the same as for the four-year bachelor’s degree at William Jewell College.
Students who have successfully taken dual-credit courses at the college level during their high school career may see a reduction in their credit count during some semesters at Jewell, which may have several benefits to the student in managing a curriculum that is necessarily faster paced than its four-year counterpart. Taking classes at the college level during high school provides valuable experience and training for the expectations of college-level coursework.
College credit hours can be achieved at William Jewell College by transfer of credit from dual-credit coursework completed successfully during high school or from attending other colleges during the student’s tenure at William Jewell College. Any courses taken at other schools after matriculation at Jewell should be approved in advance by the student’s advisor and the Office of the Registrar.
Three-year students typically attend classes during fall, spring and summer terms. It may be possible to work directly with an advisor at Jewell to eliminate some summer coursework, but generally, students will include at least one summer term in their course planning.
The required qualifications for this program are no more selective than any other traditional major at Jewell, but the academic workload is more intensive. To be successful, students planning to attend in this manner should prepare for a higher level of academic engagement, including requesting tutoring (provided at no additional expense in most cases at Jewell) when needed, meeting with professors, spending time on homework outside of class, or attending classes over the summer.
This program was designed in response to student requests for a three-year path to graduation. Despite the shorter timeline, graduates will leave Jewell equipped with sharpened critical thinking skills and the market’s preferred entry-level education without having sacrificed depth or quality of learning.
Many institutions have responded to this need by prioritizing online resources at the expense of hands-on, interpersonal, experiential learning. At Jewell, students who choose our accelerated degree program need not make these sacrifices. Primarily because of the small campus and close-knit academic community at William Jewell College, students who choose our accelerated bachelor’s degree in Kansas City are able to enjoy the same number of in-person and clinical experiences as a four-year program.