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Find the official policies that govern our student and academic community.
Undergraduates with strong academic records may apply for admission to a Stanford Master of Arts (M.A.) or Master of Science (M.S.) program that offers coterminal admission via the process outlined below. Any master’s degree granting program may elect not to offer coterminal admission. Coterminal admission to a master’s program is limited to those departments specified as offering such in this bulletin.
An undergraduate is eligible to apply for admission to a coterminal program once all of the following conditions have been met:
completion of 120 graded units towards graduation as shown on the undergraduate transcript, including credit earned from transfer credit, and external test credit,
completion of six non-summer quarters at Stanford; or two non-summer quarters at Stanford for students admitted as transfers,
declaration of an undergraduate major,
and a minimum of one quarter overlap between the student’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
A coterminal student has met the minimum overlap requirement if the undergraduate degree is conferred at the conclusion of the quarter of matriculation into their coterminal program, or at the conclusion of any subsequent quarter. If this is not possible, students should consider applying as an external candidate via the Graduate Admissions process. Such applicants are not coterminal students and coterminal policies do not apply.
Undergraduates who wish to pursue a coterminal master’s degree may apply to only one master’s program at a time. Once the application process has been completed and the student has responded to an offer of admission (if admitted), the student may then apply for admission to another master’s degree program. Departments may adopt local policies that are more restrictive.
To apply for admission to a coterm master’s program, students must follow the process described on the Coterm Application opens in a new tab page. Additional requirements may be specified by the prospective program, and may be found on degree program websites and/or their respective Bulletin pages.
Application cycles and deadlines vary by degree program, students should plan accordingly to ensure they meet the requirements for admission and bachelor's degree progress and conferral.
The coterm application process is the only path to admission, students with an open undergraduate career are not eligible to add a coterminal program via the Graduate Authorization Petition.
Students who accept an offer of admission and are matriculated into the graduate degree program are assessed a $125 coterm application fee.
Eligibility for a coterm graduate application fee waiver is based on the Financial Aid Office’s evaluation of your need-based aid application. Those from families with income below $125,000 and typical assets for that income range will qualify. The waiver is automatically applied and no special request is necessary.
If a coterm program allows it, students may defer admission to the coterm program and the first graduate quarter to a future quarter, as long as such a request is made prior to matriculation and the new admit quarter still overlaps appropriately with the undergraduate career. Students must initiate the deferral with the academic department, who will facilitate the request with Graduate Admissions. Deferring a coterm matriculation may require that the student postpones the conferral of their undergraduate degree.
The first graduate quarter is the quarter in which the coterm student first matriculates into their master’s degree program. The first graduate quarter may not necessarily correspond to the first quarter in which a student enrolls in a course in the graduate career, nor is it affected by course transfer ( see Coterm Course Transfer opens in a new tab for additional information).
Prior to undergraduate degree conferral, admitted students must have at least one quarter of overlap in the undergraduate and graduate career.. For example, if the first graduate quarter for the coterm degree is spring quarter, then the earliest that the undergraduate degree may be conferred is the spring quarter. Once matriculated, students may enroll in graduate courses but enrollment in graduate courses is not required in the overlapping quarter. Students work with their department to complete a Program Proposal opens in a new tab that outlines the graduation/program completion plan by the end of the first graduate quarter.
Students who wish to change their coterminal master’s program prior to matriculation as a coterm student must do so prior to submitting acceptance of admission into the original program to which they applied. Active coterminal students who wish to change their master’s program should refer to the policy on Coterminal Program Changes.
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Stanford admits a diverse, highly qualified undergraduate class from around the world based on intellectual vitality, achievement, and potential, without quotas or preference for background, while maintaining need-blind admissions (for U.S.
The Office of Graduate Admissions oversees the processing of applications, admissions, and matriculation for graduate programs.
Stanford requires all international students to obtain and maintain appropriate visa status—primarily F-1 or J-1—supported by university-issued eligibility documents and proof of financial resources.
Stanford University reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission in situations where there was a significant drop in academic performance, misrepresentation in the admissions process, or a display of inappropriate behavior prior to the first
By the end of their first graduate quarter, coterm students must be assigned a master's advisor and submit a program proposal for a master's degree.
