Policies

An incoming student with a relevant Master of Science degree may apply for up to 12 units of residency credit that will count toward the 135 units of graduate study. The transfer credit cannot be used to waive course requirements or the breadth requirement. The director of graduate studies must review and approve all transfer credit requests.

The following policy governs Graduate Residency Transfer Credit for graduate students who follow their faculty advisor from another institution to the Stanford Geophysics department when that faculty member joins the Geophysics department. Up to 45 course credit units can be transferred following the Graduate Residency Transfer Credit policy opens in a new tab. With approval from the director of graduate studies, courses with Stanford equivalents can be used to fulfill degree requirements, including, but not limited to, the “How we study” and “What we study” requirements.

Adding the Geophysics MS Degree

Geophysics PhD students can add the Geophysics MS after speaking to their faculty advisor and the Assistant Director of Student Services. The process is explained in GAP 5.1 Changes and Additions of Degree Programs opens in a new tab. This can be done any quarter and does not require review by the admissions committee.  The Geophysics MS requirements are purposefully designed as a subset of the PhD requirements, and up to 45 units can be double counted for both MS and PhD degree requirements, as explained in  GAP 4.9.1 opens in a new tab: “Up to 45 units completed at Stanford toward a master’s or Engineer degree may be used toward the 135 required for the doctoral degree (Ph.D. or D.M.A.).” Students must complete all MS degree requirements, listed here. This includes the “Research presentation and report” requirement, and this research can be the same as the student’s PhD research; it does not have to be a separate project.