ACCEND BS & MS in Cosmetic Science Hybrid

The UC James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy and the UC College of Arts and Sciences have jointly developed a new 4 + 1 program in which a student can graduate with a BS degree in Chemistry, Biology, or Chemical Engineering and a Master of Science in Cosmetic Science in a total of 5 years. 

The UC James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences have jointly created a new ACCEND-BS-MS program in which a student can graduate with a BS degree in Chemical Engineering and a MS degree in cosmetic science in a total of 5 years.  Since the Chemical Engineering program itself is a five year program, in principle, a student joining this program can complete both BS-MS degrees at about the same time.

The above outlined accelerated dual degree programs have been made possible since students can begin to take some cosmetic science relevant courses during their undergraduate years. 

This program also includes a COOP for the undergraduate students during their junior and senior years.  The Chemical Engineering students have COOPS as part of their BS degree and those can be guided towards cosmetic science to meet the cosmetic science requirements.  

The MS in Cosmetic Science portion of the program is essentially an online program.

Benefits of the dual degree program with BS in Chemistry, Biology, or Chemical Engineering and MS in Cosmetic Science:

• Cosmetic Science is an interdisciplinary area. It is grounded in multiple pure science areas. These include, but are not limited to bioscience, materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering and colloid science. It also is grounded in toxicology regulatory awareness, clinical, and consumer and measurement science. Applied disciplines such as statistical methods and project management are also important for this field.
• Traditional programs do not bring together such a diverse group of disciplines required to support the needs of quality education for the cosmetic and personal care industry. The graduate program in Cosmetic Science at the University of Cincinnati covers a wide variety of cosmetic and personal care relevant subjects under one umbrella. It powerfully offers and trains students to be the future quality scientists and industry leaders in the field.
• When entering the job market, students graduating with our dual degree will have an edge over those with degrees in pure sciences such as chemistry or biology alone.
• Companies will have to spend less time, money and effort in training their new hires from our Cosmetic Science program as they are industry-ready on day one.

The various steps students can take to enroll in the BS-MS track are outlined below:

1. During the sophomore year, the student, even before they officially enter the track, has the opportunity to get an idea of the scope of the cosmetic science field, potential areas for specialization and various career opportunities from an introductory course titled, "Survey of cosmetic science and technology." This course will provide an overview of the field including potential opportunities in the cosmetic science area and will help students in making their decision to join the cosmetic science track.
2. The student interested in joining the BS-MS track is advised to contact their undergraduate advisor regarding their interest and obtain approval to join the track.
3. The full benefits of the BS-MS program can be achieved by enrolling in the track during the junior year. Students will be taking three courses during the junior year. These are: (1) Introduction to colloid, surface and membrane science (spring), (2) Introduction to Surface, Colloid and Membrane Science Lab (1 credit course) and (3) Introduction to the Co-op program. Students should also contact the Office of Experience Based Learning & Career Education - Cooperative Education regarding their Co-op opportunities.
4. During the senior year, the students will take the course titled, "Advanced surface, colloid and formulation science" and participate in the Co-op program.
5. During the senior year, students should apply for the Master of Science in Cosmetic Science (Online) at the UC James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. Even though the students are on this BS-MS track, they will still have to apply for admission into the MS program. Admission to the program will be based on the requirements listed separately.

Chemical Engineering Students:
The ACCEND BS-MS Chemical Engineering students, should apply for the program during their sophomore/junior years by contacting their academic advisors and completing the necessary paperwork.  Since the students in the ACCEND program will be doing both BS and MS concurrently, they can officially apply for the MS degree program by completing the online MS application while in their junior year. 

A plan of study (POS) will be developed for the students as soon as they get accepted into the MS degree program.  The initial courses the chemical engineering students will be taking from the cosmetic science program will be similar to the ones listed above for the Chemistry and Biology students.