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Engineer Degree Progress


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   Requirements    Application for Candidacy for the Degree of Engineer    Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR)

The Engineer degree is offered under the general regulations of the University as set forth in the Stanford Bulletin. This degree is recommended for students who expect to engage in a professional career in industry. The program is rigorous and should be undertaken only by students with the ability for independent work. It requires a minimum of two years of full time graduate study, or a minimum of 90 units beyond the BS degree. Students must be admitted to candidacy and must complete a thesis.

Graduate students who lack adequate background in their area of specialization (e.g. lack of a prior degree I civil engineering, if required in their program) or who, for whatever reason, are not full-time students should expect to be enrolled for more than two years. Engineer degree candidates should develop individually tailored expected-progress timetables in consultation with their program advisors.

New Graduate Admission
For graduate students not currently attending Stanford, admission to study for the Engineer degree in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering begins with the office of Graduate Admissions, see http://www.stanford.edu/home/admission/index.html.

Graduate Program Authorization
If you are currently pursuing a graduate degree at Stanford, submit an Application for Post-Masters Study [PDF] (available in the Department office). This form is typically filed during your second quarter of graduate study, preferably before January 1, so that your application may be reviewed during the normal admissions cycle. You may apply at a later date if your advisor feels that it is appropriate to do so.

Submit the completed form to the Department Office. Your application form will be forwarded to the appropriate faculty members for evaluation, and you will be notified by mail of their decision. If you are accepted for Engineer degree study, the next step is to submit a Graduate Program Authorization Petition [PDF], requesting a “Change of Primary Graduate Degree Program”. Turn in this document to the Department office, for approval by the department chairperson.

Note: As a student actively seeking a graduate degree at Stanford, it is suggested that you defer any degree conferral until you know whether or not you have been accepted for continued study (i.e., for the Engineer or PhD degree) at Stanford. Not having the new degree program added before your current degree is conferred will inactivate the student status and you must reapply for graduate admission.

Requirements

The minimum number of units required for the Engineer degree is 90. Students with a master’s degree in Civil Engineering (either from Stanford or an acceptable school elsewhere) can normally satisfy the requirements for an Engineer Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering by completing a minimum of 45 units of study at Stanford after the Master’s degree, subject to the following conditions:

  • The 45 units includes both course work and thesis preparation. The 45 units must include at least 30 units of course work, i.e. excluding independent study and thesis preparation. The 45 units may include up to 15 units of CEE 299, or CEE 300.
  • All units must be in courses at or above the 100 level and at least 50 percent of those must be at the graduate level (numbered 200 or above).
  • Up to six units of Post-MS course work may be taken for student-elected Credit/NC, with advisor’s permission.
  • Your program of study must be approved by your advisor and the department chairperson, on the Application for Candidacy for the Degree of Engineer [PDF].

Residency
A minimum of 90 quarter units of full-time graduate study (or equivalent part-time graduate study) is required for the Engineer degree. For most students, the master’s degree supplies 45 of these units.

Academic Performance
In order to be recommended for the Engineer degree, you must achieve an average Letter Grade Indicator (LGI) of at least 3.0 in the Stanford courses (excluding thesis) listed in the 45 units of Post-MS Study on your Application for Candidacy for Degree of Engineer [PDF].

The LGI is calculated as follows: A=4, B=3, C=2 and D=1; a plus (+) modifier adds 0.3 and a minus (-) modifier subtracts 0.3.

Submission of Thesis
The acceptance of the thesis the department and the university will be the final step. Plan to consult with the graduate degree progress officer in the Registrar’s Office, to review format requirements, prior to submission. Pick up a copy of Directions for Preparing the Engineer Thesis: http://registrar.stanford.edu/shared/publications.htm.

  • 12 to 15 units (CEE300) are typically allowed for thesis preparation; these units may be included in the department’s 45 post-MS unit requirement.
  • Your thesis research must be conducted at Stanford and normally should begin during the first quarter of study after the master’s degree.

Submit all copies, ready for binding, to the office of Graduate Degree Progress in the Registrars Office by the posted deadline.

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Application for Candidacy for the Degree of Engineer

Review the requirements for the degree then meet with your advisor during your first quarter of Post-MS study to agree upon a proposed program of study. Before the last week of the second quarter of study, complete an Application for Candidacy for the Degree of Engineer [PDF]. The submittal of this form is a University requirement and admits the student into candidacy.

Application for Candidacy for Degree of Engineer

Changing your Academic Program
If your actual course work changes after submitting the Application for Candidacy for Degree of Engineer [PDF] (and it probably will), you must submit an Academic Program Revision.

This form is typically submitted only once, by the end of the third week of the final quarter of your program of study, when all changes to the proposed course work have already been made. With approval from your principal advisor and the chairperson, the revised list of courses becomes your official program for the Engineer degree.

Extension of Candidacy
If you will be unable to complete the requirements of your Engineer degree program of study within five years, you must complete an Application for Extension of Candidacy.

This form may be used to extend the time limits for completion of your Engineer degree program for up to one year. Extensions require a review of your academic progress and approval from the department chairperson.

After obtaining your advisor’s signature, submit all forms to the department’ Student Services office, for the Chairperson’s signature and processing.

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Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR)

Graduate students in the School of Engineering normally must be registered as full-time students and must be carrying a full load of course and/or thesis work. The only students eligible for less than full-time registration are honors cooperative enrollees.

As soon as you qualify, you’ll want to apply for TGR status to reduce your tuition payments. To be eligible you must have:

When you’ve fulfilled all requirements, complete a Request for TGR Status [PDF]. Be sure to file this request before the start of the first quarter of TGR. After obtaining your principal advisor’s signature, submit the form to the department’s student services office, for the chairperson’s signature.

NOTE: students with “required” or “strongly recommended” remedial English courses may not include those credits in the 45 degree program units; however these units may be part of the overall total units. These requirements must be met or waived before the TGR status is requested.

TGR Registration
Students who register for TGR should enroll in the course CEE801 Thesis Project using the section number assigned to their principal advisor. Continue to enroll in CEE801 every quarter until conferral of the degree.

Each quarter, your principal advisor will evaluate your thesis work as a measure of continued academic progress, and you’ll receive either:

  • “N” or “S” indicating satisfactory progress, or
  • “N-” or “NC” indicating unsatisfactory progress (no credit).

If you receive “NC grades for two consecutive quarters, you should meet with your advisor and work out a satisfactory plan for completing degree requirements. Subsequent “NC” grades may be grounds for dismissal.

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