Bryan College announced to students Wednesday that the school will be offering top graduates a tuition-free master's degree upon graduation.
"We have spent the past eight months developing this revolutionary, difference-making program, and it is the first of its kind in the country," Vice President of Enrollment Rick Taphorn said in a written statement.
The new program, dubbed the Bryan Difference Maker, provides current and incoming students who maintain continuous undergraduate enrollment and graduate with a GPA of at least 3.5 the opportunity to earn a master's degree in one of Bryan's three programs. Bryan offers the advanced degree in Business Administration, Education and Arts in Christian Studies.
Students leave Rudd Auditorium after chapel on Bryan College's campus in Dayton, Tenn., in this August 2014 photo.College President Stephen Livesay said Bryan is excited to offer the opportunity.
"As higher education costs continue to rise and often put graduate programs out of financial reach for many families, the Bryan Difference Maker addresses that need providing world-class curricula built on the foundations of a Christian world view," Livesay said in a written statement.
Bryan's director of admissions Joshua Hood told students the school has been working for 85 years to help them "connect the dots between a classroom experience and life after college."
He said Bryan students graduate with a "first-class" bachelor's degree, and this master's degree will provide them an even greater advantage.