Doctor of Philosophy

Select three or more Biology & Technical electives from the pre-approved list of 200+ Technical Elective courses, which can include more of the Lab or Quantitative courses.

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of Bioengineering, some courses are offered directly through the Bioengineering Department, but many are available through other departments. See respective ExploreCourses for course descriptions.

All lecture and lab-based BioE courses at the 200+ level and above are considered Technical Electives.

Directed research units (e.g., BIOE 391, BIOE 392) and BIOE 296 do not count toward the Biology & Technical electives for the PhD requirements.

One of these courses may be an ethics course from among BIOE 131, BIOE 177, CS152, CS182, CS184, CS256, CS278, or CS281.

Degree milestones indicate progress toward a degree. They are listed on unofficial transcripts and document satisfactory and timely completion of various events, such as securing research advisors, candidacy examinations, submission of completed degree progress forms, dates of reading committee meetings, and assisting with teaching BIOE courses.

Doctoral candidates should submit forms as appropriate to departmental student services. Students approaching a milestone should be aware of intradepartmental communications and support, and students with questions or concerns should discuss them with student services staff. Additional information regarding Degree Milestones can be found in the graduate handbook.

Based on the research interests expressed in their application, students are assigned an initial faculty advisor who assists them in choosing courses and identifying research opportunities.

One of the most important goals of the first year is to identify a primary research advisor. Students are strongly encouraged to explore research activities in three or a maximum of four labs during their first academic year.

Students who do not confirm a research advisor, and thus a thesis lab, by the end of the 4th quarter of study at Stanford are subject to dismissal from the program.

The Bioengineering Department believes that teaching is integral to graduate-level education in Bioengineering. Consequently, serving as a teaching assistant for two courses is a requirement for the PhD in Bioengineering. Students serve as teaching assistants for one course during the second and third years of graduate study. The TA requirement may only be satisfied by TA-ing Bioengineering courses assigned by the Bioengineering department. Students on full fellowships, such as the NSF, may hold a concurrent teaching assistantship up to a maximum of 25% with no additional hourly employment.

In preparation for the TA requirement, students are encouraged to enroll in BIOE 296 (Promoting Effective and Equitable Teaching in Bioengineering) during their first or second year.

BioE PhD students TA'ing to fulfill their academic requirement will be appointed to a 25% TA during the assigned TA quarter. If the PhD student is fully funded by fellowship support they will not be appointed to a 25% TA and instead will enroll in BioE teaching practicum units during the assigned TA quarter. 

Before being formally admitted to candidacy for the PhD degree, the student must demonstrate knowledge of Bioengineering fundamentals and potential for research by passing a qualifying oral examination before the end of the second year. Potential for success in research is demonstrated by completing an outstanding bioengineering research proposal, the testimony of the student’s research advisor of their research potential, and a detailed evaluation.

Students must be admitted to candidacy by the end of the second year of the student’s PhD Program. Being admitted to candidacy signifies that the department considers the student capable of completing the requirements for earning a PhD degree. Candidacy is valid for five calendar years (through the end of the quarter in which candidacy expires) unless terminated by the department for unsatisfactory progress.

For information regarding candidacy extension request, please see Stanford GAP 4.6.1. All extension requests must include the BioE Path to Graduate Form and are reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies.

The PhD candidate is required to take the university oral examination after the dissertation is substantially completed (with the dissertation draft in writing) but before final approval. The examination consists of a public presentation of dissertation research, followed by substantive private questioning on the dissertation and related fields by the university oral committee (four selected faculty members, plus a chair from another department). Once the oral has been passed, the student finalizes the dissertation for reading committee review and final approval. 

Dissertation Reading Committee

Once the oral has been passed, the student finalizes the dissertation for reading committee review and final approval. 

Each PhD candidate is required to establish a reading committee for a doctoral dissertation within six months after passing the department’s PhD Qualifying exams. After that, the student should at least annually convene with all committee members about the direction and progress of the dissertation research.

Students must have at least three faculty members who read and certify their dissertations. At least two members must be on the Stanford Academic Council (see GAP 4.8.1 for membership requirements). Two members of the reading committee are also required to be Bioengineering faculty.