Dual and Joint MS Overview

Dual Degrees

In the dual degree program, students obtain two graduate (usually MS) degrees concurrently or consecutively, completing all of the course requirements for each department. A total of 90 units is required to complete two master degrees.

Students doing a PhD degree, may also complete one MS degree (in the same or in a different department) and one PhD minor, without needing to take any additional units.

Admission
Students must apply and be admitted to each program separately. Students may apply to only one department initially. After the first quarter at Stanford, students may apply to be admitted to the second department.

Advising
Every student has one adviser in each degree program.

Joint MS&E and law degrees

The School of Law and the Department of Management Science and Engineering offer joint degree programs leading to a JD degree and an MS degree in MS&E, or to a JD and PhD in MS&E. These programs are designed for students who wish to prepare for careers in areas relating to both law and to the decision making, policy making and problem-solving knowledge and skills developed in the MS&E program. Students interested in either joint degree program must apply and gain admission separately to the School of Law and the Department of Management Science and Engineering, and, as an additional step, must secure consent from both academic units to pursue degrees in those units as part of a joint degree program. Interest in either joint degree program should be noted on the student’s admission applications and may be considered by the admission committee of each program. Alternatively, an enrolled student in either the Law School or MS&E may apply for admission to the other program and for joint degree status in both academic units after commencing study in either program.

Joint degree students may elect to begin their course of study in either the School of Law or MS&E. Students are assigned to a joint program committee composed of at least one faculty member from Law and one from MS&E. This committee plans the student’s program jointly with the student. Students must be enrolled full-time in the Law School for the first year of law studies, and it is recommended that students devote exclusively one autumn quarter to the MS&E MS program to initiate their MS&E work. After that time, enrollment may be in MS&E or Law, and students may choose courses from either program regardless of where enrolled. A candidate in the joint JD/PhD program should spend a substantial amount of full-time residency in MS&E. Students must satisfy the requirements for both the JD and the MS or PhD degrees as specified in the Stanford Bulletin or by the School of Law. The School of Law may approve courses from MS&E or courses in the student’s MS&E program from outside of the Department of Management Science and Engineering that may count toward the JD degree, and MS&E may approve courses from the School of Law that may count toward the MS or PhD degree in MS&E. In either case, approval may consist of a list applicable to all joint degree students or may be tailored to each individual student’s program. The lists may differ depending on whether the student is pursuing an MS or a PhD in MS&E.

In the case of a JD/MS program, no more than 45 units of approved courses may be counted toward both degrees. In the case of a JD/PhD program, no more than 54 units of approved courses may be counted toward both degrees. In either case, no more than 31 units of courses that originate outside the School of Law may count toward the law degree. To the extent that courses under this joint degree program originate outside the School of Law but count toward the law degree, the law credits permitted under Section 17(1) of the Law School Regulations are reduced on a unit-per-unit basis, but not below zero. The maximum number of Law School credits that may be counted toward the MS in MS&E is the greater of: (a) 18 units in the case of the MS, or (b) the maximum number of hours from courses outside the department that an MS candidate in MS&E is permitted to count toward the applicable degree under general departmental guidelines or under departmental rules that apply in the case of a particular student.

Tuition and financial aid arrangements are normally through the school in which the student is then enrolled.

Joint MS&E and Master of Public Policy degree

MS&E MS students who wish to apply their analytical and management skills to the field of public policy can simultaneously pursue a master's degree in MS&E and a master's degree in Public Policy. The MPP is a two-year degree program, but MS MS&E students who pursue the joint program can earn both degrees in a minimum of two years, depending on prior preparation and elective choices, by counting up to 45 quarter units of course work toward both degrees. After admission to the Department of Management Science and Engineering, incoming or current MS students request that their application file be forwarded to the MPP program director for review.

Students in the joint program normally will spend most of their first year taking MS&E core and concentration courses. The second year is typically devoted to the MPP core, concentration, and practicum. The joint degree requires 90 quarter units.

Tuition for the first year of study is paid at the Graduate Engineering rate, the remaining time at the Graduate rate.