Policies

Students must maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average.

Students may receive credit for previous courses subject to approval by the DGS in their subplan.

• ESoS PhD students must register for 8-10 units per quarter and 3 units during the summer quarter, unless otherwise required by the program. 

• Students must pass at least 6 units per quarter. 

Time to Completion of Degree:

The departmental PhD should be accomplished within five years. To achieve this, students, together with their advisor(s) and committee members, need to set realistic milestones throughout a student’s graduate program. Extension to a sixth year will be considered, but only due to extenuating circumstances.

Residency Requirements:

Per university regulations, graduate students are expected to maintain a significant physical presence on the campus where their main advisor(s) is based, unless the degree program has granted an exception (for example, to conduct field work). This applies to each quarter a student is enrolled.

Funding:

PhD students in good standing will be funded for five academic years, consistent with the funding policies of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability (SDSS). Funding past five years is not guaranteed.

Professional Development:

Environmental Social Sciences students will be offered occasional seminars and workshops to help navigate their time in graduate school and prepare for careers beyond it. Topics of these seminars will include, but not be limited to: orientation to Stanford and departmental resources, professionalism, scholarship, scientific ethics, well-being and mental health, service, career paths, navigating interpersonal relationships in academia and other professional environments, working in teams, open science, leadership, and effective practices for mentor-mentee relationships.

Departmental/School Service:

Graduate students in the Department of Environmental Social Sciences are expected to be active community members. This includes, but is not limited to, serving on ESoS, SDSS, and university committees as well as dedicating time to department, SDSS, and university-wide events. Graduate students are, first and foremost, students and thus expected to prioritize their scholarship and academics; thus, they should discuss with their advisor(s) the appropriate amount of time and effort dedicated to service-related engagements.