INPOL-MA - International Policy (MA)

Per university policy, students enrolled in this MA program may not apply external credits toward their degree requirements. The university’s general requirements, applicable to all graduate degrees at Stanford, are listed in Graduate Degrees.

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 for Coterminal students. No courses taken before the first quarter of the sophomore year may be used to meet master’s degree requirements. Please visit the Coterminal Course Transfer webpage for additional details.

MIP 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.

Each student in the MIP program is assigned a faculty advisor, program advisor, and career advisor. The faculty advisor, assigned in September of the student’s first quarter of enrollment, is identified based on a student’s interests and subplan. The expectation is that students meet with their faculty advisors every quarter. Note that it is the student’s responsibility to schedule the advising meetings. In addition to the faculty advisor, the program advisor (i.e., MIP Assistant Director for Academic and Student Services) advises all students in the program by providing guidance and support on degree requirements and progress, academic policy interpretation and enforcement, degree program support, personal support, and other matters as needed. The career advisor (i.e., MIP Career Development and Alumni Engagement Manager) supports internships, careers, and professional development.

To expand, faculty advisors guide students in critical areas such as exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways, understanding and interpreting the university ecosystem, and identifying ways to pursue one’s interests at Stanford. MIP students should view the faculty advisor as an entry point to their interests and are actively encouraged to meet broadly with other faculty. 

The MIP Assistant Director for Academic and Student Affairs and MIP Program Coordinator monitor academic progress and student completion of program requirements and milestones. Students must submit the MIP Program Proposal to the department during spring quarter of their first year of enrollment in the program (Note: this time frame is different from general university policy). The program proposal, a formal milestone, establishes a student’s program of study to meet university and department degree requirements. Students must also submit the MIP Graduation Program Proposal no later than the quarter they apply to graduate. This is also a formal milestone that must be completed to be approved to graduate. The proposal forms are available on the MIP website. 

More detailed information on advising is available in the MIP Student Handbook. Additional information on graduate student forms is included in the handbook and under Degree Requirements on this website.

The program adheres to the advising guidelines and responsibilities listed by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (VPGE) and in Graduate Academic Policies (GAP).