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Coterminal Masters

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Coterm Program

ME and all other engineering graduate programs offer coterminal study in their MS programs - the ability to study for a master’s degree and complete their Stanford bachelor’s degree in parallel.  This option is chosen by about 40 percent of the school’s undergraduates, according to recent data. Most engineering coterminal (commonly known as “coterm”) students earn both degrees within five years, and nearly all do so within six years.

Additional information about coterm requirements and applications is available from the Stanford Bulletin.

Coterming gives students an opportunity to pursue advanced studies in an academic interest. Current Stanford students interested in the coterm program should visit the Mechanical Engineering Coterm Admissions information page. For questions, please contact:

Jessica Ray, Graduate Admissions & Events Officer
Email: mechanical@stanford.edu

Graduate student policies apply

For coterminal students, the quarter following completion of 12 full tuition undergraduate quarters is identified as the first graduate quarter for tuition assessment. Beginning with this quarter, coterminal students are subject to graduate student policies and procedures including those described in the "Graduate Degrees" section of the Stanford Bulletin, in addition to undergraduate minimum progress standards. More information on the coterminal program policies is on the Registrar's Office website.

Financial support

Stanford Fellowships are generally not awarded to coterm applicants. We recommend that you apply for external fellowships to fund your graduate program.

Please come by the ME Student Services Office, Building 530 Room 125, if you have questions regarding fellowships.

Assistantships are available to coterm students. These positions are contracts for students to do research or teach in exchange for salary and tuition. In order to secure an assistantship, the student must approach individual faculty and make appropriate arrangements.

Advisor assignment

During the first graduate quarter, a coterminal student is assigned an advisor in the ME department.

Degree conferral

Conferral of each degree is applied for separately (on Axess) by the deadlines on the Stanford Academic Calendar. The MS degree must be conferred simultaneously with, or after, the BS degree.