Master of Science

Candidates for M.S. degrees at Stanford must satisfactorily complete a program of study that includes 45 units of graduate course work and research.

Courses taken to meet program requirements must be taken for a letter grade and students must earn a minimum grade of at least a 'B' in every individual course. Students must also maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 by University policy. Failure to maintain the required grades and grade point average is taken as evidence of unsatisfactory progress in the program.

Students should complete their required courses within the first two years of study. Exceptions may be made in cases where it was impossible to schedule courses because they were not offered within a student’s first two years. Students may petition the MCP graduate committee for variances in the specific courses required, and such petitions may be granted in special circumstances, in cases where a student’s progress is otherwise exemplary.

Students should have basic competency in molecular biology. 

This requirement can be met based on undergrad curriculum/research. If not met, then the Stanford undergrad course BIO 83 can be taken to meet the requirement, but the units will not be applied toward the 45-unit minimum for the MS.

Advanced graduate courses or minicourses for a minimum of 6 units total. These courses do not need to be MCP courses but must be in a relevant scientific topic and approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. 

In addition to the course requirements detailed above, a student is expected to complete laboratory rotations during the first year - completing MCP 299, or an equivalent course. 

While students typically explore three rotations, a student may opt to do a greater number of shorter rotations, as long as the rotation process is completed by May 15 of the first academic year of study.

The first two of these rotations must be in a laboratory within the Department, while subsequent rotations may be in any laboratory within the Stanford Biosciences Program.

The first rotation should last 8 to 10 weeks and each subsequent rotation shall last no longer than 8 weeks. Shorter rotations are encouraged, as long as the total length of the rotations is between 20 and 26 weeks.

MCP requires a lab rotation evaluation to be completed by faculty member and student at the end of the rotation. Continuation of rotations beyond May 15 will require the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.

Additional rotations and/or time for rotations will be considered in special circumstances, but in all cases, students should plan to join a dissertation lab no later than the beginning of Fall Quarter of the second year.

All students in the program must pass a qualifying examination to advance to candidacy for the Ph.D., or to earn the M.S. degree, if unable to complete the PhD.

Students earning the M.S. degree instead of the PhD are required to complete the written section of the Qualifying Exam.

It is expected that students take the qualifying examination by the end of the Autumn Quarter in the second year of study. Failure to take the qualifying exam by the end of Autumn Quarter of the second year of study is taken as evidence of unsatisfactory progress in the program. In any case, where a student thinks they need additional time to schedule and take their exam, a request must be submitted in writing to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) by November 15 of Autumn Quarter. The DGS may opt to grant additional time in compelling circumstances that do not indicate poor progress or may refer the matter to the graduate committee for further action.

Students are given two chances to unconditionally pass the qualifying examination. Failure to achieve an unconditional pass of the qualifying examination by the end of the Spring Quarter of the second year is grounds for dismissal from the program.

Students form a qualifying examination committee consisting of at least 3 faculty members (members of the academic council, including the dissertation advisor), at least one of whom must be a member of MCP. This committee should be formed by the end of Spring Quarter of the first year of study. The composition of this committee should be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students should also check with the department's student services office to make sure to file all required paperwork by the end of Spring Quarter. The University maintains certain deadlines for filing for candidacy, and it is the student’s responsibility to be aware of these deadlines.