PhD FAQ's
Q. Can I enroll in Autumn quarter courses before Orientation?
Yes, new CS Ph.D. students will need to pre-enroll in CS300 and in CS499. There are multiple sections of CS499. Be sure to enroll in the section being offered by the faculty member that you will be rotating with in Autumn Quarter. You can enroll as early as August 1st and must enroll by 5:00 pm on September 23rd. You must be enrolled in 8 - 10 units to maintain student status. CS Ph.D. students should enroll in 10 units. You will have the option of adding and dropping classes until Friday, October 12th, at 5:00 pm. Course enrollment and units will be discussed in greater detail at the orientation.
Q: Is there a graduate handbook or something similar with more details about graduate student policy?
Yes, the Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures handbook (the GAP handbook) is a compilation of university policies and other information related to the academic progress of Stanford graduate students -- from their application and admission, to the conferral of degrees and retention of records. The direct link to GAP is http://gap.stanford.edu/.
Q: How can I find out more about course requirements for the Ph.D. program?
See the Stanford University bulletin for program requirements or visit http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/bulletin/.
Q: Where can I find information on the CS Ph.D. program requirements?
CS Ph.D. program policy can be found at https://cs.stanford.edu/degrees/phd/Main/AcademicRequirements.
Q: Does the CS department offer a MS/Ph.D. program?
No, the MS program and Ph.D. program are two separate programs. The MS degree also does not automatically lead into Ph.D. degree. Applicants planning to pursue a Ph.D. degree should apply directly to that program. For more information about the MS & Ph.D. programs, see the MS versus PhD section of the graduate admissions web page.
Q: How am I assigned an advisor?
Each Ph.D. student spends the first few months becoming better acquainted with the various faculty and their research areas before aligning with a faculty member to pursue their doctoral research.