Overview of the Graduate School of Education Master's Programs

On this page:

Programs Offered
Credentials Offered
Coterminal Degree

Changing Programs
Advising
Timetable For The Master's Degree

Programs Offered

Students in the Stanford Graduate School of Education pursue Master's degrees in the programs listed below. These programs are commonly referred to with the abbreviations noted in parentheses.

Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education (CTE)
Education Data Science (EDS)
Individually Designed MA (for current Stanford doctoral students)
International Comparative Education (ICE)
International Education Policy Analysis (IEPA)
Joint Degree with the Graduate School of Business (MA/MBA)
Joint Degree with the Public Policy Program (MA/MPP)
Joint Degree with the Stanford Law School (MA/JD)
Learning Design and Technology (LDT)
Policy, Organization and Leadership Studies (POLS)
Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP)

The Graduate School of Education is authorized to recommend candidates who complete STEP for the California Preliminary Single Subject and Preliminary Multiple Subjects Teaching Credentials. For more information about STEP, please see https://ed.stanford.edu/step.

Coterminal Degree

All master's programs (except the Individually Designed MA, Joint Degree with the Graduate School of Business, Joint Degree with the Stanford Law School, and STEP) accept coterminal students. Coterminal master's students fulfill the same Graduate School of Education program requirements as other master's students, but there are additional University unit and residency requirements for the coterminal degree. Coterminal students should refer to the Stanford Bulletin for complete policy information governing their degree status and requirements.

Coterminal students who have completed graduate coursework at Stanford in previous quarters and received approval to count those units toward the Master's degree in Education may be approved to take a reduced course load but may not drop below 8 units during Autumn, Winter and Spring quarters. While undergraduates are allowed to enroll in up to 20 units and coterminal students are allowed to enroll in up to 24 units by University standards, Master's programs in the Graduate School of Education limit the number of units in which a student may enroll to no more than 18. Coterminal students who wish to enroll in fewer units than required by their programs or more than 18 units during a given quarter should discuss their request with their Program Director and the Associate Director of Degree Programs by the preliminary study list deadline. Students in the coterminal graduate student group will be charged additional tuition for each unit above 18 units, if approved.

Changing Programs

Students are admitted to a specific program, but occasionally students may wish to change their program. Transfer into a new program is subject to the approval of the new program. Fulfillment of the new program's requirements may result in delay of degree completion beyond the typical timeframe.

Students who wish to change their program must submit a Program Transfer Application, available here or from the Associate Director of Degree Programs. Requests to transfer to a new Master's program must be approved by the student's faculty advisor, both the current and new programs' Program Directors, and the Associate Dean for Educational Affairs.

Approval of transfer requests are granted on a case-by-case basis. In the review of the request, program directors, faculty advisors, and the Associate Dean will consider information provided by the student, the student's individual circumstance, and the capacity and resources available in the proposed transfer program. In all cases, approval of the request is at the discretion of the program directors and the Associate Dean for Educational Affairs.

Advising

Master's students will work with their Program Director throughout the year in addition to a faculty advisor who is assigned to each student. The Program Director and advisor assist the student in planning a program of study. Students are encouraged to have at least 2 advising appointments during the course of their program and many students meet with their advisors once every quarter. Students are encouraged to look to any member of the Graduate School of Education faculty for additional advising or mentorship, regardless of the official advisor assigned. Either the student or the faculty may request a change in assignment for any reason. To change advisors, students submit the Change of Advisor Form available here or from the Associate Director of Degree Programs. The Program Director and the new advisor must both sign off on this form. Students typically select and initiate contact with a new advisor but in cases where this is not possible, the Program Director will assign a new advisor. The Associate Director of Degree Programs is available for questions regarding University academic policy and progress toward the degree.

Timetable For The Master's Degree

The Master's degree requires at least three quarters of full-time study. Students working toward advanced degrees at Stanford University must enroll for the three main quarters of each academic year (Autumn, Winter and Spring) from the time of matriculation until receipt of the degree. The ICE/IEAPA and LDT programs require an additional quarter of summer enrollment. EDS is a two-year program. Study at Stanford is on a full-time basis. The only exception to this requirement is for formally approved leaves of absence and for students admitted through the LDT Honors Co-op Program.

Below is a list of tasks and milestones master's students complete each quarter.