COVID-19 Testing & Health Check Guidance for Graduate and Professional Students

In order to maintain a safe, open campus environment during the pandemic, Stanford is focused on efforts that help to identify and prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the earliest possible stages. COVID-19 surveillance testing is a crucial aspect of these efforts to support the health and well-being of our campus community.

All Stanford students with an on-campus presence are required to participate in surveillance testing at their assigned cadence. Testing cadences are determined by multiple factors, including your vaccination status, the frequency that you are on campus, as well as current infection rates and the state of public health in our local communities.

Below you’ll find answers to the following important questions

How do I get started with COVID testing on campus?

Trees Together Test Together Day 0 and Day 5 infographic.

Register for Stanford’s COVID testing program with our campus testing provider, Color. Color testing is provided at no charge to students.

Create a Color testing account using your primary Stanford email address, SUNetID@stanford.edu. Alias Stanford emails will not be accepted and you should use a different password than your SUNet ID password. If you do not know your primary Stanford SUNet email or are not sure how to access it, please contact University IT Services & Support at (650) 725-4357 or by submitting an online ticket. If you have any trouble registering with Color, please submit a ServiceNow ticket.

Student-athletes should check with their administrative units for testing information and should ensure their athlete status is correctly reflected in Axess.

See more information on Color, the type of test provided, and possible test results here.

I just arrived on campus, what are the arrival testing requirements?

All students joining the campus community for the first time, whether that be moving into on-campus housing or arriving on campus for class, are required to submit a COVID test on Day 0 and Day 5 of arrival. After two negative results, you are required to continue with surveillance testing at your assigned cadence. See “How often do I test?” for cadence information.

What should I do after traveling?

Exercise caution. Many of the positive cases we are seeing among students are connected to travel and unmasked social gatherings during travel. Because many students will travel during the Thanksgiving Break, we are updating our policies.

Testing. Effective Nov. 27, 2021, students should test twice for COVID-19 after returning from travel outside California.

Test on the day you return to California (Day 0 test).
Test 3 to 5 days after returning to California (Day 5 test).
Then continue testing once weekly (vaccinated students) or twice weekly (unvaccinated students).

Required restricted activity. Students who are not fully vaccinated and all students returning from international travel on or after Nov. 27, 2021, are required to restrict their activities. Restricted activity means you cannot attend in-person class. There will be no special arrangements in place to accommodate students who cannot attend class because of Thanksgiving travel. For this reason, we discourage international travel during the Thanksgiving Break so that you can continue your studies in week 10. Under restricted activity, you may leave your residence only for the following activities: COVID-19 testing, medical care, laundry and trash, solo outdoor exercise, meal pick-up if you have a Stanford Dining meal plan or pick-up of grocery or prepared food deliveries.

Here are the requirements by vaccination status and destination:

Fully vaccinated, returning from domestic travel: No period of restricted activity.
Not fully vaccinated, returning from domestic or international travel: Restrict activities until receiving a negative Day 5 test result.
Fully vaccinated, returning from international travel: Restrict activities until receiving a negative Day 0 test result. After receiving a negative Day 0 test result but before receiving a negative Day 5 test result, resume in-person activities but refrain from indoor public dining and continue wearing face coverings indoors and in crowded spaces.

Longer trips. If you will be away for more than one full week (Sunday-Saturday) at any time this quarter, complete the Temporary Absence Report to remain in compliance with our COVID-19 surveillance testing requirements.

Where can I pick up and drop off test kits?

Once you have registered with Color testing, visit test kit locations listed here.
Interactive campus map of pick-up and drop-off locations here.

Students can pick up as many as four test kits at a time or pick up a test kit prior to the day they intend to use it. However, be sure to only activate one kit at a time and “Activate, Collect and Drop Off” on the same day. For example, if you pick up a test kit on Monday, but do not want to use it until Wednesday, wait until Wednesday to activate the kit.

Please bring your Stanford University ID when picking up test kits.

How do I activate my kit and self-swab?

Activate your test kit online at color.com/covid/activate.

"Activate, Collect and Drop Off" your kit all on the same day.

You must activate your kit prior to drop-off in order for your sample to be tested and to receive results from Color.

Students who wish to perform a Color self-swab test under the supervision of a Vaden clinician may schedule an appointment.

For more assistance with kit activation and self-swab directions, see how-to videos and step-by-step diagrams (in multiple languages) by Color here.

How often do I test and submit Health Check?

Vaccinated graduate and professional students with a regular on campus presence

COVID test on Day 0 and Day 5 of arrival and once per week thereafter. Please make an effort to separate your weekly tests by three days.
Submit Health Check if you miss a weekly test and submit a new one, have a positive test result, or have been exposed to high-risk close contacts who have tested positive.

Unvaccinated graduate and professional students with a regular campus presence

COVID test on Day 0 and Day 5 of arrival and twice per week thereafter. Test once within each testing window, Sunday-Tuesday and Wednesday-Saturday. Please make an effort to separate your tests by three days.
Submit Health Check daily.

All graduate and professional students with an infrequent on-campus presence (less than once per week)

Submit form for infrequent campus members linked, here.
COVID test on the same day you come to campus, at least once in the week you are present.
Submit Health Check the same day you come to campus, have a positive test result, or have been exposed to high-risk close contacts who have tested positive.

What does a green or red Health Check badge mean?

Your Health Check onsite access badge can have a status of green “CLEARED” or red “NOT CLEARED”, based on your adherence to the COVID testing policy and your reported health status.

A green onsite access badge provides you full access to Stanford’s communal spaces on campus.

A red badge means you cannot access dining halls, dining spaces in Row houses, libraries, recreation centers or other communal areas that require a green badge for entry. A red badge may lock you out of most campus buildings that require key card access, besides your residence hall. Students with red badges can still pick up food from dining halls; for more information see the R&DE COVID-19 Dining webpage.

Please note campus employees such as dining hall staff and faculty DO NOT have access to change your badge to green. In order to change your onsite access badge to green you must submit a COVID test. Your green badge will be restored within 24 hours of taking your next test and submitting a Stanford Health Check.

For support with a red onsite access badge or missed COVID tests, submit a ServiceNow ticket.

I have symptoms, should I test?

Take a Color test immediately
While waiting for your test results, call Vaden Medical Services at 650.498.2336 if you need immediate medical advice
Keep away from others, and wear a face covering around roommates, apartment mates and family members
Do not go into the dining hall, classes, and indoor gatherings
Rest in your room
Request academic support if needed via your Undergraduate Advising Director or, for grad and professional students, your program's student services staff person, faculty advisor, or director of grad studies
Prepare to move to a temporary isolation space. Not everyone is moved.

What do my test results mean?

My test results were negative...
- No further action is required. Continue to practice healthy campus behaviors, wear a face covering, and continue to maintain your testing cadence.
My test results were positive…
- Professional medical staff will be reaching out to you as soon as possible, generally between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. While you wait, please review your immediate next steps and important positive COVID test protocol here.
My results were inconclusive or unsatisfactory…
- On the rare occasion that you receive an “unsatisfactory sample” or “inconclusive” result notification from Color you will need to repeat the test, immediately.

I tested positive for COVID outside of Color testing, what should I do?

Students who have tested positive for COVID in the past three months through a provider other than Color and Vaden should send a copy of their positive COVID test results (attached to a message with the subject line "secure: test results") to Dr. Robyn Tepper through the VadenPatient portal. You will not be asked to retest for 90 days. The CDC does not recommend retesting within 90 days because reinfection is uncommon during this period and a positive PCR test without new symptoms more likely represents persistent shedding of viral RNA, rather than an active infection.

Have you tested positive in the past 3 months?

How do I inform the university of my time away from campus and COVID testing?

Students who expect to be away from campus for a duration of 7 days or more, are required to notify the university by submission of a Temporary Absence Report in order to remain in compliance with the testing policies.

Additional Questions & Support

Submit a ServiceNow Ticket for questions about student COVID compliance, including red onsite badge access, missed tests, and 90 day testing exemptions.
Submit a ServiceNow Ticket for general COVID-19 campus inquiries, including Color registration, student services and policy.

Student spouses, partners and children COVID Testing

Spouses and partners who are living with students in R&DE-assigned housing are eligible to test at no cost with Color Genomics. Testing information is here. Vaccination resources are here. For testing information for children under the age of 18, please check in with the child's primary care physician.

Data Collection and Privacy

Learn more about COVID-19 data collection and protection here.

Help Keep Our Campus Safe