UC Exchange-Out Programs

Overview

Stanford participates in exchange-out programs with the University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley), and the University of California San Francisco (UC San Francisco). This program allows active Stanford graduate students to enroll in course(s) at a participating UC institution to earn in-house Stanford credit (i.e., credit that is not considered external). Students enroll concurrently at Stanford (the home institution) and the University of California campus (the exchange institution), and are assessed tuition at the  home institution based on total enrollment across both campuses. Students interested in participating should contact their graduate program advisor(s). Non-Stanford students interested in participating in an exchange-in program should refer to the GAP (Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures) Handbook for information about policies and instructions on how to apply.

Eligibility and Enrollment Requirements

• Must be an active graduate student at Stanford
• Must submit an application to participate (links to application are below):
  • Application for Exchange Program at UC Berkeley or UC San Francisco
• Students must obtain approval from their Stanford graduate program advisor(s) and the UC institution's department and course instructor(s). Students who have an F-1 or J-1 visa must also get approval from the Bechtel International Center
• Students must enroll in at least 4 units at Stanford, and no more than 18 quarter units total across both institutions (unless TGR, in which case students should not enroll in more than 3 quarter units total between both institutions)

Deadline

The Application for Exchange Program should be submitted to the Stanford University Registrar's Office by the Preliminary Study List Deadline of the quarter they are applying their exchange units towards.

Note for UC Berkeley exchange applicants: UC Berkeley is on a semester system, so its dates do not align with Stanford's calendar. Therefore, any student wishing to participate in a UC Berkeley exchange must obtain approval by the UC Berkeley's Registrar's Office by the first day of the UC Berkeley semester (please visit the UC Berkeley Registrar's website for more information).

Tuition Assessment

Stanford students are assessed Stanford tuition based on their total enrollment across both institutions. Students attending a semester calendar exchange institution (such as UC Berkeley), should be cognizant that their units are converted to quarter units for tuition assessment. For example, if a student is enrolled in 4 quarter units at Stanford, and enrolls in a 6 unit course at UC Berkeley, the student would be assessed at the 11-18 unit tuition rate, because 6 UC Berkeley semester units are equivalent to 9 quarter units. Students on an approved TGR status are able to participate in an exchange out program, but will only receive the TGR tuition rate if enrolled in no more than 3 quarter units (TGR students enrolled in more than 3 units will be assessed per unit, based on the Stanford tuition table).

For students completing courses during UC Berkeley's Spring Quarter: since UC Berkeley's quarter overlaps with Stanford's Winter and Spring Quarters, the UC Berkeley units (and tuition charges) will be applied towards Stanford's Winter Quarter tuition, unless a student requests otherwise. Students needing the units applied to Stanford's Spring Quarter must submit a support request via Service Now to request this. Please note that UC Berkeley exchange units cannot be 'split' between multiple Stanford quarters because tuition is assessed by quarter at the home institution (Stanford), so students should plan their enrollment accordingly.

Your Stanford Record

While the course is in progress

Participation in the UC exchange program is documented on the Stanford transcript (listed under the corresponding Stanford term) while the course is in progress. However, because the UC course credit is posted to the Stanford record in a way that treats the coursework as 'completed' so as to not count as external transfer credit, the UC course information (i.e., the course code/title and units) does not appear on the Stanford transcript while the course is in-progress. If an enrollment certification is required, the email notification that the Stanford Registrar's Office sends to the student will list the number of units, tuition, and enrollment status, can be used for that purpose.

After the course is completed

The UC Registrar's Office will automatically send Stanford a copy of the transcript (students do not need to submit a transcript request). Once received, the Stanford Registrar's Office will post the UC course, grade, and credit information to the Stanford transcript, which will be listed on the upper left hand corner of the first page. Students should contact the UC Registrar's Office if interested in having a proof of enrollment at the UC campus.

More information about exchange programs can be found in the GAP (Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures) Handbook.