Coterminal MS in Biomedical Informatics

The Biomedical Informatics program offers a coterminal Masters program for Stanford undergraduates.

Policies and Degree Requirements

The Registrar's webpage on Coterminal Degree Programs is here. Graduate Education website on coterminal degrees is here.

The MS curriculum is described here. Coterminal Masters students are not required to perform research rotations or submit a research project, although they are welcome to do so.

Prerequisites

Please see the prerequisites page. In addition, we recommend (but do not require) that you take at least one BMI core course before applying.

Application Instructions and Deadlines

We accept applications to the coterminal Masters program quarterly. These application instructions are for the Coterminal Masters only. The deadlines to submit your applications are listed in the table below. Letters of recommendation are required by the deadline.

Undergraduates must complete 120 units before they can apply for the coterminal program. The last quarter for application is the quarter prior to your anticipated quarter of graduation.

If you lose your undergraduate status prior to the completion of the application for the coterminal MS, you must apply as a regular candidate to the BMI program.

Application Procedure

Fill out the Coterm on-line application. The application will ask you for:

• A Stanford transcript
• GREs: Applicants to BMI's Coterminal MS program are not required to submit GRE scores. GRE scores may help, especially if you have relatively little prior coursework in quantitative and computational areas. For those reporting GREs, official test scores must be reported directly to Stanford from Educational Testing Service (ETS). Stanford’s ETS institutional code is 4704; an individual department code number is not necessary. Please be sure to list Stanford University as a Score Recipient in addition to listing it as your Graduate Institution (GI).
• TOEFL: The TOEFL is not required.
• Personal Statement (1-2 pages). See here.
  
• An optional Diversity statement. "Stanford University regards the diversity of its graduate student body as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the university. We encourage you to share unique, personally important, and/or challenging factors in your background, such as work and life experiences, special interests, culture, socioeconomic status, the quality of your early educational environment, gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity. Please discuss how such factors would contribute to the diversity of the entering class, and hence to the experience of your Stanford classmates."
• Your curriculum vitae. If you listed Awards and Publications on your CV, then you can skip the Awards and Publications question on the application.
• Two letters of recommendation; you may submit more if you feel this enhances your chances of admission. The letters should come from faculty or others who are familiar with your academic/research activity.
• Prerequisites: Applicants are not required to have completed all of the prerequisites for entry into the program but it does help. The Registrar's package contains the Preliminary Program Proposal Form; it is better to list all the proposed courses on the BMI Flow Sheet, and then just write "see flow sheet (attached)" on the Proposal Form. Please make sure you have a clear set of classes and schedule that will complete your prerequisites, your undergraduate degree requirements and graduate degree requirements. If you are uncertain, make your best estimate. These instructions (for current students) are also likely to be of use when applying.
• If you are submitting any additional materials, send them directly to the BMI program at our Contact Address.

Decisions and Acceptance

In general, you will be notified by the end of the month in which you apply. If offered admission, you should reply by email to the offer.

Getting an Advisor

Upon acceptance into the program, you will be assigned a course advisor. You will revise your Program Proposal at this time. Please contact the BMI program office if you need advice about coterminal status between acceptance and your first appointment with your course advisor.

Funding Sources

Access to financial aid and other options is very different for coterminal students and depends on the number of units and quarters as a registered student at Stanford.

Coterminal students have full access to undergraduate sources of financial aid until their twelfth quarter or four years of study. Coterminal students who have completed 180 units of are eligible for University fellowships and assistantships. However, many federal and private fellowships and assistantships are awarded only to students who have received the bachelors degree. Even after the conferral of the bachelors, there is no guarantee that a coterminal student will be awarded financial support via a RAship, TAship or fellowship.

Upon completion of the requirements for the bachelors, coterms may choose to obtain their bachelors degree early. However, all classes after conferral of the degree may only be counted towards the graduate degree. Please note, part of the strategy which allows coterms maximal flexibility in their course of study is their dual status as both undergraduates and graduate students.

Frequently Asked Questions

You should definitely look at our page for current coterm students. Also, It is highly recommended that you review our Frequently Asked Questions page.