MS | Overall Requirements

Overview

While formulating your program sheet, students should take into consideration the overall requirements below.

• Minimum GPA requirement. In order to receive your MS CS degree, your GPA in the courses you submit on your program sheet must be at least 3.0, which corresponds to a B in Stanford’s grading scale. Note that you need not get a B in every course. All the requirement states is that the overall GPA, which is simply the average of the numeric grade weighted by the number of units in each course, must be at least a 3.0. The GPA is computed only for the courses you submit on your program sheet. If you do poorly in several courses, it may be wise for you to eliminate those courses from your program sheet and substitute other courses in which you have done better. Such substitutions may require you to take more than 45 units, but it is important to know that a single disastrous grade will not necessarily doom your entire program.
• Letter-grade requirement. At least 36 of your 45 units, including your significant implementation course and all of the breadth and depth units submitted for your specialization, must be taken for a letter grade*. The remaining units may be taken on a credit/no credit basis if you so choose. This means that foundations courses and non-breadth electives courses can be taken CR/NC. Courses which are offered on an S/NC basis are not letter-graded courses.
• Course requirement. All courses on your MS CS program sheet must be numbered 100 or greater.
• Coterm students. Units that you are applying toward undergraduate requirements can not be double-counted towards your MS CS program. Your MS program sheet must include 45 units that are unique to your MS degree.

* Courses taken for an S or CR grade in Spring 2019-20 or Autumn, Winter or Spring 2020-21 can be used to satisfy MS requirements as if taken for a letter grade.