Applying Transfer and Masters Units to your Doctoral Residency

ELIGIBILITY:

The Ph.D. has a residency requirement of 135 units. A maximum of 45 units for graduate work completed at another institution or completed at Stanford towards a master's degree may be applied to the doctoral residency requirement. Applications for transfer credit are reviewed only after successful completion of at least one quarter of graduate work at Stanford. The following criteria are used for awarding transfer residency credit for graduate level work done at another institution:

• Courses should have comparable Stanford counterparts. A maximum of 12 units of courses with research units or no Stanford equivalents may be granted transfer residency credit. On rare occasions when a department would like to recommend more than 12 units of transfer residency work in this category, a memorandum should be submitted with the application which explicitly describes the relevance of the work to the graduate program at Stanford.

• The student must have been registered in a student category which yields graduate credit at the other institution. The maximum amount of credit given for extension and non-matriculated coursework is 12 quarter units of residency. No transfer credit is given for correspondence work.

• Courses must have been taken after conferral of the bachelor's degree. The only exception is for work taken through programs structured like the Stanford co-terminal bachelor's/master's program.

• Courses must have a letter grade of "B" or better. Pass grades are accepted only for courses where letter grades were not an option. The conversion of credit is based on the value awarded by the other institution. Semester units may be converted to Stanford quarter units on a 1 to 1.5 basis.

• Courses must have been taken at a regionally accredited institution in the U.S. or at an officially recognized institution in a foreign country.

• Courses taken at foreign institutions must have been at the level of study comparable to a U.S. graduate program.

TO APPLY:

Generally, the completion of a master's degree allows for an even transfer of 45 units unless your program consisted of fewer than 45 units. It is recommended that you submit this application by the end of your first year.

•  First, Download the "Application for Graduate Residency Credit" form from the Registar's Office forms page and complete all sections except departmen signatures. You do have to find Stanford equivalents, but take the "big-picture" approach, meaning don't spend too much time on this! Ensure that Stanford equivalent courses total 45 units.

•  Have either the Associate Director or your Lead Advisor sign as the "Graduate Advisor and/or Committee Chair."

•  Submit the signed form and an attached transcript (unofficial is fine) to the Assistant Director. The Assistant Director will sign as the "Student Services Officer." The Registrar's Office signs as the "Graduate Degree Progress Office."

Within two weeks, the credit will appear on your unofficial Stanford under the heading "transfer credit".