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Admissions FAQ

EWS course listing

Contents

Which program will I be admitted to: MS or PhD?
What are the requirements for admission?
What is the minimum acceptable TOEFL score?
What are the requirements to obtain an MS degree?
How long will it take to obtain an MS degree?
How much will it cost to obtain my MS degree?
How much will it cost to obtain my PhD degree?
Should I come the summer beforehand to get started on research or get ready for the courses?
Where will I live?
How long will it take me to obtain a PhD degree?
Can I obtain financial aid (TA, RA or fellowship) for my MS?
How do I apply to the PhD program?
Do I need to reapply for the PhD once I am admitted to the MS program?
Can I obtain a TAship, RAship, or a fellowship to support my PhD?
What are the requirements to obtain a PhD degree?
Can or should I do research during my MS?
Who will be my advisor?
Where do EFMH graduates work?

​If you still have questions after reviewing this page, please email efmh-admissions@lists.stanford.edu

Which program will I be admitted to: MS or PhD?

All students are admitted to the MS program unless they already have an MS degree. Students with an MS degree are admitted to the PhD program. Please clearly state your interest in pursuing a PhD in your application.

 

What are the requirements for admission?

All components of the application (GRE scores, reference letters, GPA, statement of purpose) are weighted equally when making admissions decisions. We recommend that students take courses covering material in the following classes prior to enrolling in the EFMH program. For a description of these classes, please see explorecourses.stanford.edu

  • Undergraduate fluid mechanics (CEE101B)
  • Watersheds and wetlands (CEE166A)
  • Statistics and probability (at the level of CEE203, STATS110, or STATS116)
  • Calculus, including Math41, Math42, Math51
  • Engineering economy (at the level of CEE146A)
  • Programming methodology (at the level of CS106A)

Please note that this is only a suggested list of courses and we encourage applications from a broad range of disciplines. In many cases, some of these can be taken during your MS degree study.

 

What is the minimum acceptable TOEFL score?

We do not consider applications with overall TOEFL scores of 89 or lower.

 

What are the requirements to obtain an MS degree?

To obtain the MS degree in EFMH, the following is required. Please note that one course is typically 3 or 4 units:

  • 45 units of coursework
  • ​At least 24 units must be offered by the School of Engineering
  • At least 36 units must be 200-level or higher (Typically 100 = undergraduate, 200 = MS, 300 = PhD)
  • No more than 6 units of credit/no-credit if course offers a letter grade
  • No limit on satisfactory/no-credit if that is the only option
  • GPA 2.75 or higher

For a list of recommended courses please, see EWS course listing. There are no specific course requirements, although the study list must be approved by the MS academic advisor. The academic advisor does not need to be the research advisor (i.e. the advisee can pursue research with other faculty), nor is the student committed to working with the MS academic advisor for a PhD.

 

How long will it take to obtain an MS degree?

The typical load is 15 units per quarter for three quarters (nine months) to obtain the requisite 45 units for the MS. Depending on financial constraints, some may elect to spread the degree out over four or five quarters with a smaller load per quarter. If possible, we recommend spreading the load out over five quarters as this allows students to focus more on fewer classes each quarter. However, since most MS students complete the degree in three quarters, this is also encouraged because a closely-knit cohort of students is formed that will take many of the same classes and graduate with their MS degrees at the same time in following nine months of intense study.

 

How much will it cost for me to obtain my MS degree?

For information on costs please refer to http://financialaid.stanford.edu/grad/budget/index.html

 

How much will it cost for me to obtain my PhD degree?

It is extremely rare for students to fund their own PhD since PhDs are typically funded by fellowships, RAships, or TAships.

 

Should I come the summer beforehand to get started on research or get ready for the courses?

There is no specific advantage to coming early unless your prospective advisor has a research project that you can work on the summer prior to your arrival.

 

Where will I live?

Many graduate students live on campus given the cost-effectiveness of on-campus housing. Please refer to http://www.stanford.edu/dept/rde/cgi-bin/drupal/housing/housing/housing-options for more information on housing.

 

How long will it take me to obtain a PhD degree?

It typically takes five years after completion of the MS to complete the PhD degree.

 

Can I obtain financial aid (TA, RA, or fellowship) for my MS?

Departmental and university financial aid is very competitive. We typically grant aid that may cover all or part of tuition and stipend for the MS to four to five students each year. This aid can be in the form of a research assistantship (RA), teaching assistantship (TA) or fellowship. TAships for MS students are rare because preference is given to PhD students or to students who have taken and performed very well in the course.

Outside fellowships that are exclusively for the MS degree are very rare, although it is possible to obtain an outside PhD fellowship that funds the MS degree (assuming no prior MS degree) since that is a requirement for the PhD degree.

 

How do I apply to the PhD program?

Most students enter the EFMH program as MS students. On average, five of these students stay on for a PhD each year. Students with MS degrees seeking to enter the EFMH PhD program are strongly encouraged to contact faculty directly prior to applying. Admissions decisions for PhD applicants are typically made by individual faculty members with whom the prospective PhD student wishes to work.

 

Do I need to reapply for the PhD once I am admitted to the MS program?

No. Once a student is admitted to the MS program, admission to the PhD program is contingent upon finding a faculty member who agrees to be the PhD advisor. No formal application to the PhD program is required other than submission of a Graduate Program Authorization Petition via Axess http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/registrar/students/grad-auth-pet. A faculty member will typically require a prospective PhD student to work on an independent study project for a few quarters to assess performance in research prior to taking on the student.

Upon admission to the PhD program, students are given a formal admission letter from the advisor stating the terms of funding for the PhD, which may be in the form of RAships, TAships, fellowships or a combination of the three.

 

Can I obtain a TAship, RAship or a fellowship to support my PhD.?

Yes. Students are typically not admitted to the PhD program unless a faculty advisor agrees to support them for the entirety of the PhD. Support can be in the form of RAships, TAships or fellowships, or a combination of the three.

Students are strongly encouraged to apply for outside fellowships even if aid is granted for the PhD. National fellowships are extremely competitive. The DOE CSGF, for example, received over 700 applications in 2012 and awarded 21 (3% acceptance rate). A list of common national fellowships is given below.

 

What are the requirements to obtain a PhD degree?

The PhD requires a minimum of two years of study (including one year of course work, which includes a course in TA training) beyond the MS degree, and PhD students are required to TA at least one course. Typically during the second year of the PhD, students take their qualifying examination. The exam entails submission of a dissertation proposal that consists of a detailed literature review and outline of proposed work. The proposal is presented at an open session, which is followed by a closed exam roughly two hours in length, typically during the second year of the PhD. After passing the exam, students typically take three more years to complete their dissertation.

 

Can or should I do research during my MS?

If you are interested in a PhD, then you are strongly encouraged to pursue independent study as part of your MS coursework by seeking out research opportunities with faculty members. Faculty members must agree to a research project before the student can enroll in research units. There are two possible courses students can enroll in to obtain credit for independent study:

  • CEE299 Independent Study in Civil Engineering — Can be taken only for satisfactory/no-credit and can be repeated for 1-5 units.
  • CEE365(A,B,C,D) Advanced Topics in Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology — Can be taken for a grade and can be repeated for 2-6 units.

If you are not interested in a PhD, then you should discuss the option of taking independent study units with your academic advisor.

 

Who will be my advisor?

You will be assigned an academic advisor upon admission to the EFMH MS program.

 

Where do EFMH graduates work?

We are strongly committed to ensuring that our MS and PhD graduates obtain employment after graduating from our program. Below is a list of organizations where many of our former graduates have been employed or are currently employed:

EWS Course Listing