The BA/MA, offered in conjunction with the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GRS), gives high-performing undergraduate students the opportunity to earn a graduate degree during their time at Boston University. Many students find the MA an asset in their post-graduation career plans. Through additional study, students develop a coherent program with the following objectives: a knowledge of the major historical periods of specialization, of the critical approaches applicable in the study of the principal literary genres, and of some of the methods of analysis of linguistic phenomena, as well as a high level of proficiency in oral and written expression.