Graduate Student Handbook: Answers to All of Your Questions

Whether you’re an incoming student or a student who’s been here a while, the Graduate Student Handbook is an invaluable resource. It contains information pertaining to essentially everything there is to know about graduate life at Stanford. The information is organized into the following categories:

·      Graduate School Contacts

·      University Calendar

·      Useful Stanford Websites

·      Getting Started

·      Computing

·      Academic Resources

·      Graduate Education Resources

·      Graduate Student Advice

·      Life on Campus

·      Life in the Bay Area

·      Day Trips/Weekend Getaways

·      Restaurant Guide

·      Getting Around

·      Maps

As you can see, BioMASS is responsible for the production of the Handbook. Up until two years ago, the Handbook was printed and distributed to every incoming Bioscience class. Due to budget constraints (and concern for the environment), the Handbook is no longer printed. Instead, it’s posted here on the BioMASS website. There are two versions: PDF and HTML. Unfortunately, the latter requires major reformatting (contact me if you’re an html whiz!), so I’d recommend the PDF version.

The MD students have a similar resource, called Medipedia. Information under the “Getting Started” and “Life Outside” headings are relevant to PhD students.

Most Bioscience departments publish or post a handbook relevant to specific PhD program requirements. Check the departmental websites and/or ask your program administrator if you're curious.