Program Overview

When you join Stanford Biosciences, you join a collaborative network tackling some of the world’s toughest questions.

The Stanford Biosciences Home Programs comprise nine departments and five interdisciplinary programs, which span the School of Medicine and the School of Humanities and Sciences. These Home Programs are the foundation of our collaborative culture, offering students the opportunity to tailor their graduate education by working within an entire network of faculty, labs, and approaches to pursue their research.

Each student is admitted to a particular Home Program and initiates training with a core group of faculty, students, and postdoctoral fellows who share scientific interests. Many Home Programs host annual retreats—facilitating the exchange of ideas between Stanford colleagues and fostering team-building—as well as seminar series that invite outside speakers.

In addition to that intimate setting, all Biosciences students have access to faculty in every Home Program for laboratory rotations and potential thesis work. One of Stanford Biosciences’ biggest strengths is the physical proximity of programs and labs, encouraging face-to-face collaboration and feeding an environment of interdisciplinary innovation. Indeed, the Biosciences PhD Programs combine the supportive atmosphere of a small program with the many opportunities afforded by a large umbrella program—the best of both worlds.

A closer look

The 14 Home Programs in Stanford Biosciences’ collaborative network:

Related programs