Skip to main content Skip to secondary navigation

Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) Status

Main content start

Eligibility

In order for a TGR status to be approved, you must meet all eligibility requirements by the Preliminary Study List deadline of the applicable term:

  • Meet the residency requirement for all graduate programs in Active and Completed status (see Minimum Residency Requirements for Graduate Degrees). Please note that any outstanding units (ex: GNR grades) preventing you from meeting your minimum residency requirement must be resolved prior to the deadline.
  • Enrolled in your designated department TGR course (801 for master's and Engineer students or 802 for doctoral students). This course must be taken for zero units, in the appropriate section for your advisor.

For doctoral students:

You may request Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status to complete your dissertation under the following special conditions:

  • Admission to candidacy
  • Completion of all required courses and degree requirements other than the university oral exam and dissertation
  • Completion of 135 units or 10.5 quarters of residency (if under the old residency policy)
  • Submission of a Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee form

Engineering students

If you are pursuing an engineering degree, you may apply for TGR status under the following special conditions:

  • Admission to candidacy
  • Completion of 90 units or six quarters of residency (if under the old residency policy)

Master’s students

If you’re enrolled in a master's program with a required project or thesis, you may apply for TGR status under the following special conditions:

International Student’s 

  • Please review the “TGR Summer” page for additional information

How to Apply

To apply for TGR status, fill out and submit the eForm via Axess (navigation steps). The eForm is then routed to all appropriate offices for approval and processing.

Deadline

You must submit the Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) Request eForm by the Preliminary Study List deadline of the quarter the status is requested. 

If the eForm portal is closed for submission and you wish to petition retroactive TGR status, please submit a help request

Note: Students need to be enrolled by the time of submission of the eForm. If you are requesting TGR but are not enrolled in the TGR course by the Final Study List deadline of that term, there will be additional forms to file to correct enrollment or your eForm will be denied.

TGR Grades

To maintain registration privileges, you must receive an “N” grade (signifies satisfactory progress) each quarter.

An “N-” grade indicates unsatisfactory progress. The first “N-” grade constitutes a warning. A second consecutive “N-” denies you from further registration until a written plan for completion of degree requirements has been approved by your department. Subsequent “N-” grades are grounds for dismissal from the program.

Approval and Enrollment

Once TGR status is approved, you are registered at a special tuition rate (see Tuition and Fees for additional information regarding tuition rates). 

You are certified as enrolled full-time if you are enrolled in a course numbered 801 or 802. To maintain TGR status, you must enroll in your designated TGR courses each term. This does not include the Summer Quarter (even if you plan on taking a course over the Summer) unless your department requires year-round enrollment or you are on an approved research/teaching assistantship (please refer to GAP for more information regarding Summer enrollment). Please look at the TGR Summer page for additional information

You may enroll in up to three units of coursework per quarter at the special tuition rate. The additional coursework cannot be applied toward degree requirements as all degree requirements must be complete to enter TGR status. Enrolling in more than three units of coursework results in assessing the per-unit tuition rate for each additional unit.

If you request and are approved for another special registration status, your TGR Status will be deactivated. You may only be placed back on TGR if your department's Student Services Officer (SSO) requests reinstatement.

See Minimum Progress Requirements for Graduate Students in the Stanford Bulletin for information about satisfactory progress requirements for TGR students.

Requesting TGR Reinstatement

If you wish to reactivate your TGR status (after initial approval) due to any of the following circumstances, you may request to do so by having your department's Student Services Officer (SSO) submit a help request.  

  • Going on an approved Graduation Quarter status which results in failure to graduate
  • Applying to graduate while on TGR and later withdrawing that application

For faculty and staff information on TGR, visit Inside Student Services.