After accepting admission to this coterminal master’s degree program, students may request a transfer of courses from the undergraduate to the graduate career to satisfy the requirements for the master’s degree. Transferring courses to the graduate career requires review and approval of both the undergraduate and graduate programs on a case-by-case basis.

In this master’s program, courses taken three quarters before the first graduate quarter or later are eligible for consideration for transfer to the graduate career. No courses taken before the first quarter of the sophomore year may be used to meet master’s degree requirements.

Course transfers are not possible after the bachelor’s degree has been conferred.

Coterminal master’s degree candidates are expected to complete all master’s degree requirements as described in this Bulletin.

Please refer to the GSE Masters Student Handbook.

See Graduate Advising for a statement of university policy on graduate advising.

For specific advising expectations for the GCE/IEPA, POLS, and STEP MA Programs, please see below.

Global and Comparative Education/International Education Policy Analysis (GCE/IEPA) Advising

Purpose

All GCE/IEPA students are advised by the GCE/IEPA MA Program Director and an additional GSE faculty member. GCE/IEPA MA advisors serve several purposes, particularly supporting students' learning through the Master's Paper project. In addition, the Program Director offers counsel as students navigate their graduate school experience.

Providing assistance and accountability helps students and advisors share similar expectations regarding the outcomes, intentions, and schedule of advisee meetings. Having a system of collective accountability supports overall support and engagement.

Expectations

• Meeting Regularity

  • Every student meets with the MA Program Director once by the end of week two of Autumn quarter.

  • We recommend a minimum of weekly office hours meetings throughout the year, alternating among the MA Program Director, faculty advisor(s), and teaching assistant (TA). More meetings are required of those collecting their own data for the MA Paper, particularly in Winter and Spring quarters.

• Accountability Structure

  • Students are expected to initiate meeting scheduling via email.

  • Students should come to advising meetings prepared with questions and/or topics to discuss.

  • The MA Program Director will collect and post advisors' office hours on a quarterly basis.

  • Advisors will respond promptly to identify and schedule a mutually agreeable meeting time.

Suggested Meeting Topics

• With MA program director

  • Autumn:

    • MA Paper (topic ideas, readings, theories, data and methods, etc.) (and with teaching assistants)

    • Expertise you seek to develop

    • Experiences you hope to have while at Stanford

    • Course selection and other opportunities to develop that expertise and experience

    • Short- and long-term goals and plans (e.g., career, further graduate studies)

  • Winter:

    • MA Paper (feedback on pre-proposal; data and methods; readings and theories, etc.) (and with teaching assistants)

    • Preparing for the CIES annual conference

    • Course selection and other opportunities to develop expertise and experience

  • Spring:

    • MA Paper (feedback on proposal; data analysis, findings, discussion, policy recommendations, etc.) (and with teaching assistants)

    • Course selection and other opportunities to develop expertise and experience

    • Post-grad plans and building a professional network

  • Summer:

    • MA Paper (feedback on drafts; deciding next steps, e.g., publishing) (and with teaching assistants)

    • Post-grad plans

• With faculty advisor(s)

  • Autumn:

    • MA Paper (topic ideas, readings, theories, data and methods, etc.)

  • Winter:

    • MA Paper (feedback on pre-proposal; data and methods; more readings and theories, etc.)

  • Spring:

    • MA Paper (feedback on proposal; data analysis, findings, discussion, policy recommendations, etc.)

  • Summer:

    • MA Paper (feedback on drafts; deciding next steps, e.g., publishing)

    • Post-grad plans

Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies (POLS) Advising

Purpose

POLS advisors serve two primary purposes: to assist students in designing their program of study and to serve as a sounding board for students as they navigate their field project and coursework. All POLS students are advised by both the POLS program director and a GSE faculty member.

Expectations

• Every student meets each quarter with the POLS program director and separately with their faculty advisor; students are matched with a faculty advisor early in the autumn quarter.

• Students are expected to initiate the scheduling of advisory meetings.

Suggested Meeting Topics

• Autumn:

  • What are the student's goals for their time in POLS?

  • What knowledge, skills, and expertise does the student want to develop?

  • What sequence of courses (content and methodological) and graduate school experiences (e.g., POLS field project) might contribute to the student’s goals?

  • How is the student thinking about using the field project experience to make progress toward their goals?

  • How can the student make the most of the Stanford experience?

• Winter:

  • How is their program experience going?

  • What are the student’s aims/goals for participating in the field project?

  • What does the student want to learn from this project? In what ways is the project designed to support that learning?

  • Check-in on spring course selection. Is there a particular topic/area where students want to deepen or expand their knowledge/understanding?

• Spring:

  • How will the POLS field project wrap up? What final deliverables will the student produce?

  • What is the student taking away from their experience in POLS and at Stanford?

  • What would the student like to do after graduation?

Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP) Advising

Purpose

Providing assistance and accountability helps students and advisors hold similar expectations about the outcomes, intentions, and organization of the advising relationship and advisee meetings. Having a system of collective accountability supports overall support and engagement.

Advising Norms

• Provide intellectual guidance

  • Help students develop academic and professional skills expected by their discipline and the profession.

  • Encourage collaboration and collegial relationships

  • Encourage students to be open about any problems in their work relationships, including with an advisor, and actively help to resolve those problems

  • Be aware of and direct students to university resources to support students

• Assist students with knowledge of Stanford and GSE policies and practices

  • Be familiar with relevant policies; consult with the Student Handbook and Academic Services Office

  • Review students’ graduate study programs and help students with course selection

  • Help students understand the degree program’s requirements and timely progress to the degree

• Demonstrate care for student wellness

  • Check in with students to see how they are experiencing the program

  • Create space for students to share challenges

  • Refer students to campus resources as needed

• Assist students in preparation for the job market

  • Discuss the norms and expectations of the field students are entering

  • Guide students in acquiring the professional skills necessary for expert teaching practice

• Demonstrate professional academic behavior

  • Maintain timely communication with advisees

  • Set and consistently honor professional commitment and meetings promptly

  • Support students’ progress toward the degree and employment

  • Model appropriate interaction with students, staff, and faculty

Advising Structure

Advising in STEP is structured through individual meetings with the faculty directors and support provided through the program’s supervisory system.

• Advising meetings

  • Every student meets with the STEP assistant director once by the middle of autumn quarter. Students schedule their meetings using a sign-up sheet in Google Docs

  • Additional advising meetings are scheduled, as needed, during the assistant director's office hours or by appointment

• Supervisory system

  • Every student has one to two cooperating teachers and a university supervisor; together, they provide ongoing support for the student’s development and provide information to the faculty directors regarding each student’s progress

  • Students work with their cooperating teachers in the field every day for approximately four hours.

  • Students are observed by and receive feedback from- their university supervisors at least three times each quarter; students meet with their supervisors in small groups for an hour each week.

  • Both cooperating teachers and supervisors provide the faculty directors with feedback about each student’s progress each quarter on the Quarterly Assessment