Coterm Student Graduation Checklist

Enroll in Classes

Students are required to have an active registration status by the Preliminary Study List deadline in the quarter in which they are conferring a degree. Students must either enroll in a full-time course load or apply for a special registration status.  Coterms are only eligible for a Graduation Quarter status if conferring both the undergraduate and graduate degrees simultaneously. Once the undergraduate degree is conferred, students are considered graduate students and may be eligible to apply for graduate special registration statuses, such as Terminal Graduate Registration or the Graduate Petition for Part-Time Enrollment. See the Special Registration Statuses for Graduate & Professional Students page for more information regarding eligibility requirements and the application process. Please refer to the Academic Calendar for a list of the Preliminary Study List deadlines for each quarter.

Review Degree Plan(s)

Confirm that your degree plan(s) and type(s) are correct in Axess before applying to graduate. If any changes need to be made to your degree plan(s), then please contact your student services officer to request those changes. It is best to have your degree plan(s) in order prior to starting your terminal quarter.

• To declare or change a graduate field of study (subplan), students should submit a Declaration or Change of a Field of Study for Graduate Students form (log in to Axess, and click on the Student eForms link in the mega menu to access this form).

• If conferring the undergraduate degree, please see the Conferring the Undergraduate Degree section below.

Review Transcript and Course Placement

Confirm that all of your coursework is being applied towards the correct undergraduate or graduate career. Students can easily review their course-career placement by visiting the 'View My Grades panel in Axess (in the Student Snapshot menu). For more information about the View My Grades panel, please visit the Coterm Course Transfer page.

Coterm Course Transfer

If any courses must be moved between the UG and GR careers, students must submit a Coterm Course Transfer form to make this change. While the official deadline is the Late Application to Graduate, it is best to submit this form prior to applying to graduate. Once the undergraduate degree is conferred, no courses can be transferred between careers. Please see the Coterm Course Transfer page for more information about course transfer policies and instructions for submitting the course transfer request.

Apply to Graduate

After confirming your degree plan(s) and type(s) are correct, and that your courses are being applied towards the correct academic careers, you can apply to graduate in Axess. Coterm students conferring both the undergraduate and graduate degrees in the same quarter must submit a separate application to graduate for each degree. Please see the Applying to Graduate webpage for detailed instructions on how to submit your application to graduate.

Students who apply to graduate by the application deadline (see the Academic Calendar) may do so without being assessed a fee. After that deadline, students may still apply to graduate via Axess, but will be charged a $50 fee. Note that this fee is assessed for each application to graduate, so students will be assessed $100 if they submit a late application to graduate for both the graduate and the undergraduate degrees.

No applications to graduate are accepted after the late application to graduate deadline. Additionally, if an application to graduate is submitted and then later withdrawn, students will be unable to re-apply to graduate for the same quarter they withdrew their application to graduate.

Complete the Senior Survey

The Senior Survey is part of the application to graduate process. The Senior Survey is required for the undergraduate degree application to graduate, but is optional for the master's degree.

Check Completion of University Degree Requirements

If conferring the undergraduate degree: Ensure that you will complete the University requirements for the undergraduate degree by the end of the quarter. Please refer to the Stanford Bulletin for a detailed list of undergraduate degree requirements. Any issues should be resolved by the Application to Graduate deadline for the quarter. The basic requirements for undergraduate degrees are:

• completion of the minimum required number of units for the degree. Students should refer to the Undergraduate Degrees and Programs section of the Stanford Bulletin for more information about what their unit requirements are for their degree(s). Run your Undergraduate Degree Progress report in Axess to view these University Requirements. Verify progress towards University degree requirements with an Academic Advising advisor. 

• monitor activity units, repeated courses, and credit/no credit courses. 

• completion of the General Education or Ways requirements

• completion of the writing requirement

• completion of the language requirement

If conferring the graduate degree: Ensure that you will complete the University requirements for the master's degree by the end of the quarter.  See the Stanford Bulletin for a detailed list of the master's degree requirements. Any issues should be resolved by the Application to Graduate deadline for the quarter. The basic requirements for the master's degree are:

• completion of the minimum residency requirement (45 units, for most programs), where 50% of these units are designated primarily for graduate students (typically 200-level or above),

• all courses are at 100-level or above,

• the submission of the Program Proposal, and

• completion of the master's thesis or project 

If Conferring the Undergraduate Degree:

• Major-Minor and Multiple Course Approval: If you are conferring your undergraduate degree, and you have applied to graduate with a minor or a multiple-major or dual degree, you must submit a Major-Minor and Multiple Major Course Approval Form (electronic) form. If you have a dual degree, multiple major, or a minor and do not submit the form, you will be denied graduation. This form verifies that you did not overlap ("double count") courses for completing major(s) and minor(s) requirements. This form should be submitted by the Final Study List deadline of the quarter.

• Transfer Credit and/or AP Credit: If requesting transfer credit, submit the Transfer Credit Evaluation Request form in Axess via the Student eForms link in the mega menu. Requests for AP credit can be submitted via Help Ticket to the Student Services Center. See the Transfer Credit and Advanced Placement page for more information about Transfer and AP Credit policies and procedures.

• Monitor To-Do Items: To-Do's are placed in Axess after the Final Study List Deadline for students who have applied to graduate, and will indicate which requirements are outstanding. 

Check Department Requirements

Confirm with the student services administrator in your department(s) or school(s) that you have completed, or are on track to complete, all program requirements for your degree, including milestones such as the maser's thesis/project and doctoral dissertation. Please note that departments may have earlier deadlines for milestones.

Complete Milestones

Complete outstanding milestones such as submitting the master's thesis or project. These milestones should be completed no later than the last day of classes, but students should check with their departments to confirm the deadline (departments may have an earlier deadline).

Resolve Outstanding Grades

Work with your instructor(s) and/or departments to resolve any and all outstanding grades (e.g., GNRs, incomplete grades) from previous quarters as soon as possible before degree conferral. Outstanding grades may cause students to fall below minimum unit requirements and ultimately prevent degree conferral.

Confirm Diploma Distribution

Students must indicate their preferred diploma distribution method when applying to graduate. Please refer to the Obtaining Your Diploma page for information about diploma distribution, distribution options, and requesting changes to a diploma distribution selection.

Withdrawing the Application to Graduate

If after applying to graduate, it is determined that the degree requirements will not be successfully completed, students should submit a Withdrawal of Application to Graduate form (no fee). Students should be advised that, once an application to graduate is withdrawn for the quarter, students will be unable to re-apply to graduate in the same quarter.

Clear Diploma Holds

Students should resolve current holds and prevent future holds. If you have an unmet financial obligation to the University, you will not receive a diploma or transcript until the obligation is fulfilled.

Update Contact Information

Since your Stanford email will be discontinued 120 days after degree conferral, set up email fowarding at StanfordYou. Please also update your contact information (e.g., email, mailing address) in Axess. Direct Deposit information may be updated in ePay.