BIOE-PHD - Bioengineering (PhD)

Please see the BioE Intranet for information about transferring in external units.

The Department of Bioengineering is committed to providing academic advising in support of graduate student scholarly and professional development. When most effective, this advising relationship entails collaborative and sustained engagement by the advisor and the advisee. As a best practice, advising expectations should be periodically discussed and reviewed to ensure mutual understanding. Both the advisor and the advisee are expected to maintain professionalism and integrity.

Graduate students are active contributors to the advising relationship, proactively seeking academic and professional guidance and taking responsibility for informing themselves of policies and degree requirements for their graduate program.

Graduate Advising provides a statement of university policy on graduate advising.

Faculty advisors guide students in critical areas such as selecting courses, designing and conducting research, developing teaching pedagogy, navigating policies and degree requirements, and exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways. The department’s graduate handbook provides information and suggested timelines for advising meetings in the different stages of the doctoral program.

PhD students are initially assigned a program advisor based on the interests expressed in their application. This faculty member provides initial guidance in course selection, exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways, and identifying doctoral research opportunities.

Students identify their doctoral research/thesis advisor before the first year of study ends. The research advisor assumes primary responsibility for the student’s future direction, taking on the roles previously filled by the program advisor and ultimately directing the student’s dissertation. Most students find an advisor from our department’s primary faculty members. However, the research advisor may be a faculty member from another Stanford department who is a member of the Academic Council, familiar with supervising doctoral students, and able to provide both advising and funding for the duration of the doctoral program. When the research advisor is from outside our department, the student must identify reading committee members from the BioE faculty.

MCL faculty may not be the primary advisors of students. Although a co-advisor from the MCL line is permissible in some situations, the primary advisor must provide at least 50% of the mentoring for the student. Evidence that a student is receiving greater than 50% of mentoring from the primary advisor includes full attendance of lab meetings, regular one-on-one meetings, dedicated space in the primary advisor’s lab, funding provided by the primary advisor, and research being performed in an area that is of current relevance to the primary advisor. Advising situations that do not meet these criteria are subject to review by the graduate studies committee.

Throughout the PhD, each student must complete an annual Individual Developmental Plan (IDP), usually in the Summer. The IDP is then discussed with the research advisor as a way to facilitate: advising the student, both during and beyond the PhD; establishing clear expectations on both sides concerning degree progress and timely graduation; and emphasizing the importance of wellness in graduate school, together with access to university wellness resources.

The Faculty Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) is also available during the academic year by email and during office hours. The department’s student services office is also an essential part of the doctoral advising team: they inform students and advisors about university and department requirements, procedures, and opportunities, and they maintain the official records of advising assignments and approvals. Students are encouraged to talk with the DGS and the student services office as they consider advisor selection or for guidance in working with their advisor(s).