Graduate Programs in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Admission—To be eligible to apply for admission to the department, a student must have a bachelor's degree in engineering, physical science, mathematics, or an acceptable equivalent. Students who have not yet received a master's degree in a closely allied discipline will be admitted to the master's program; eligibility for the Ph.D. program is considered after the master's year (see "Doctor of Philosophy" below). Applications for admission with financial aid (fellowships or assistantships) or without financial aid must be received and completed by December 4 for the next Autumn Quarter.

Information about admission to the Honors Cooperative Program is included in the "School of Engineering" section of this bulletin. The department may consider HCP applications for Winter or Spring quarters as well as for Autumn Quarter; prospective applicants should contact the department's student services office.

Further information and application forms for all graduate degree programs may be obtained from Graduate Admissions, the Registrar's Office, http://gradadmissions.stanford.edu.

Waivers and Transfer Credits—Students may receive departmental waivers of required courses for the M.S. degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics by virtue of substantially equivalent and satisfactorily performed course work at other institutions. A waiver petition (signed by the course instructor and adviser) should be submitted to the student services office indicating (1) the Stanford University course number and title, and (2) the institution, number(s), and title(s) of the course(s) wherein substantially equivalent material was treated. If a waiver is granted, the student must take an additional technical elective, chosen in consultation with their adviser, from graduate courses in Aeronautics and Astronautics. The total 45-unit requirement for the master's degree is not reduced by course waivers.

A similar procedure should be followed for transfer credits. The number of transfer credits allowed for each degree (Engineer and Ph.D.) is delineated in the "Graduate Degrees" section of this bulletin; transfer credit is not accepted for the M.S. degree. Transfer credit is allowed only for courses taken as a graduate student, after receiving a bachelor's degree, in which equivalence to Stanford courses is established and for which a grade of 'B' or better has been awarded. Transfer credits, if approved, reduce the total number of Stanford units required for a degree.

Fellowships and Assistantships—Fellowships and course or research assistantships are available to qualified graduate students. Fellowships sponsored by Gift Funds, Stanford University, and Industrial Affiliates of Stanford University in Aeronautics and Astronautics provide grants to several first-year students for the nine-month academic year to cover tuition and living expenses. Stanford Graduate Fellowships, sponsored by the University, provide grants for three full years of study and research; each year, the department is invited to nominate several outstanding doctoral or predoctoral students for these prestigious awards. Students who have excelled in their master's-level course work at Stanford are eligible for course assistantships in the department; those who have demonstrated research capability are eligible for research assistantships from individual faculty members. Students may also hold assistantships in other departments if the work is related to their academic progress; the criteria for selecting course or research assistants are determined by each hiring department. A standard, 20 hours/week course or research assistantship provides a semi-monthly salary and an 8-10 unit tuition grant per quarter. Research assistants may be given the opportunity of additional summer employment. They may use their work as the basis for a dissertation or Engineer's thesis.