BIOE-PHD - Bioengineering (PhD)
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Program Overview
Bioengineering is jointly supported by the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine. The facilities and personnel of the Department of Bioengineering are housed in the Shriram Center, James H. Clark Center, the William F. Durand Building for Space Engineering and Science, the William M. Keck Science Building, the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building, and the Richard M. Lucas Center for Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Imaging. The departmental headquarters is in the Shriram Center for Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering.
Students are expected to enter with a series of core competencies in mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, computing, and engineering. Students entering the program are assessed by the examination of their undergraduate transcripts and research experiences. Specifically, the department requires that students have completed mathematics through multivariable calculus and differential equations, completed a series of undergraduate biology courses and completed physics, chemistry, and computer sciences courses required of all undergraduate majors in engineering.
Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply for predoctoral national competitive fellowships, especially those from the National Science Foundation. Applicants to the Ph.D. program should consult with their financial aid officers for information and applications.
The deadline for receiving applications is December 1, 2020. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required for admission to the M.S. or Ph.D. program in Bioengineering.
Further information and application instructions for all graduate degree programs may be obtained from Graduate Admissions.
Free Form Requisites
The University’s basic requirements for the Ph.D. degree are outlined in the Graduate Degrees section of this bulletin.
A student studying for the Ph.D. degree must complete a master’s degree (45 units) comparable to that of the Stanford M.S. degree in Bioengineering. Up to 45 units of master’s degree residency units may be counted towards the degree. The Ph.D. degree is awarded after the completion of a minimum of 135 units of graduate work as well as satisfactory completion of any additional University requirements. Students admitted to the Ph.D. program with an M.S. degree must complete at least 90 units of work at Stanford. The maximum number of transfer units is 45.
On the basis of the research interests expressed in their application, students are assigned an initial faculty adviser who assists them in choosing courses and identifying research opportunities. One of the most important goals of the first year is to identify a primary research adviser. The department does not require formal lab rotations, but students are encouraged to explore research activities in three or a maximum of four labs during their first academic year.
Prior to being formally admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, the student must demonstrate knowledge of Bioengineering fundamentals and a potential for research by passing a qualifying oral examination before the end of the second year.
In the beginning of the second year, the student is required to select a quantitative topic and a biology/medicine topic on which to be examined. Approximately one month before the exam, the student must submit an application containing items including a curriculum vitae, 2-3 page research project proposal, and transcript to the student services office. The exams are taken during a two-day period in Spring Quarter for all students. More information about the exam may be obtained from the student services office.
Successfully passing the qualifying exam, as well as completing the master's degree requirements, is required for students to advance to candidacy. Advancement to candidacy by University requirements must occur by the end of the Summer of the second year. Thus, all required master's degree coursework must be completed during the first two years of graduate study. Students who transfer master’s degree residency units to the Bioengineering Ph.D. degree are still required to fulfill the core course and core seminar requirements. In cases where students have already completed an equivalent course as part of their master’s degree, they may submit a petition to the graduate studies committee to have their previous coursework applied to the core bioengineering course requirement.
In addition to the course requirements of the M.S. degree, doctoral candidates must complete a minimum of 15 additional units of approved formal course work (excluding research, directed study, and seminars). Finally, serving as a teaching assistant for two courses is a requirement for the Ph.D. in Bioengineering. Both the 15 additional units and the teaching assistant requirement must be completed before the end of the 3rd year.
Dissertation Reading Committee
Each Ph.D. candidate is required to establish a reading committee for the doctoral dissertation within six months after passing the department’s Ph.D.. qualifying exams. Thereafter, the student should consult frequently with all members of the committee about the direction and progress of the dissertation research, no less than once per year.
A dissertation reading committee consists of the principal dissertation adviser and at least two other readers. Reading committees in Bioengineering may include faculty from another department. It is required that two members of the Bioengineering faculty, including primary and/or courtesy faculty be on each reading committee. The initial committee and any subsequent changes must be officially approved by the Department Chair.
University Oral and Dissertation
The Ph.D. candidate is required to take the University oral examination after the dissertation is substantially completed (with the dissertation draft in writing) but before final approval. The examination consists of a public presentation of dissertation research, followed by substantive private questioning on the dissertation and related fields by the University oral committee (four selected faculty members, plus a chair from another department). Once the oral has been passed, the student finalizes the dissertation for reading committee review and final approval.