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Overview

This 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 GAP handbook provides background and rationale for Stanford's academic policies related to graduate students, defines certain university-wide requirements, and offers implementation guidance to describe how the various functions within the university work together to support the graduate student's academic progress. While recognizing that faculty are critically important as teachers, advisers and mentors, this handbook is designed primarily for university staff -- in school, department and program offices, and in the several central organizational units that support student administration. It should also be helpful to Department Chairs, Directors of Graduate Studies and others with responsibilities in this area.

Within schools, departments and programs, some of the processes described here may be carried out differently depending on local circumstances and the particular facts of individual students' cases. The information contained here is university-wide in its scope, however, and should provide a starting point for local implementation.

Using the GAP

Background information is contained in a box on the right side of each individual document in this collection, including information about the source of the policy and its applicability, related policies and other resources. You will also find links to the current, applicable sections of the Stanford Bulletin. Where the current Stanford University Bulletin includes coverage of these topics, the current Bulletin is the governing policy. Stanford University reserves the right to make changes to its applicable policies, procedures and other materials contained here at any time and without prior notice.Links to the various chapters and documents within this GAP handbook will open in this browser window.

Links to any resources outside of this GAP handbook, e.g., Bulletin sections or forms, will open in a separate browser window.

The Table of Contents of this handbook is available as a pdf file.

A NOTE ABOUT PRINTING: There is a "Print this page" link in the upper right corner of each document in this collection, providing a "printer-friendly" file. If you experience printing problems, we recommend using a different web browser. Printing from Internet Explorer has been a problem for some users; any other browser should work.

Sources of Information

The information contained here is drawn from several sources, including:

  • the Stanford Bulletin, containing university and degree-specific requirements
  • various forms provided by the Stanford University Office of the Registrar
  • documentation related to the PeopleSoft Student Administration (SA) and Graduate Financial Support (GFS) applications
  • the record of actions taken by the Academic Senate and its Committee on Graduate Studies.

Where the current Stanford University Bulletin includes coverage of these topics, the current Bulletin is the governing policy. Stanford University reserves the right to make changes to its applicable policies, procedures and other materials contained here at any time and without prior notice.

Development and Maintenance

As these documents are updated with new information, those updates will be highlighted on this home page. See the list below.

Questions and comments can be sent to the office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education from any page in this collection.

As you explore the information contained here, we encourage you to use those links. The office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education is grateful to the many individuals and offices who helped in the development of this handbook, in particular to the Office of the Registrar, to the Committee on Graduate Studies, and to staff in the schools who read and commented on earlier versions of these documents. We are committed to working closely with individuals and offices across the university to maintain this handbook as a reliable source of information. We also expect that this handbook will evolve and improve with use. For that to happen, we will rely on the feedback and suggestions of those who use it.

What's New

GAP documents updated within the last 12 months are listed below.  For questions about the derivation of any GAP documents or changes made more than a year ago, contact the VPGE office.

In February, 2015, the following GAP documents were updated:

In September, 2014, the following GAP document was updated:

  • GAP 5.8 Exchange Programs
    The UCSC Exchange Program for students studying the ocean was added.

In August, 2014, the following GAP document was updated:

  • GAP 2.4 Students of New Faculty
    New versions of the Affiliation Agreement, Attachment, and Biodemographic Form uploaded.

In July, 2014, the following GAP documents were updated:

In May, 2014, the following GAP documents were updated:

On February 26, 2014, the following GAP document was updated:

In January, 2014, the following GAP document was updated:

  • GAP 5.3 Leaves of Absence
    Health insurances policies for students on leave of absence were clarified.

In November, 2013, the following GAP document was updated:

In October, 2013, the following GAP documents were updated:

  • GAP 4.2 Coterminal Degrees
    Policies for course transfer and academic progress were updated.
  • GAP 5.3 Leaves of Absence
    The name of the Involuntary Leave policy was changed to the Mandatory Leave policy.

In September, 2013, the following GAP documents were updated:

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