Program Requirements and Expectations

New! CHPR Program Guide 2024-2025

For a comprehensive road map of the CHPR program, see our new Program Guide. The Guide has information about courses and their ratings, a list of all approved courses with their descriptions, thesis information, and resources for getting the most out of Stanford and CHPR - all with photos of life on the beautiful Stanford campus. Download the Guide below!

Program Expectations

The CHPR program is designed to be completed in 4 academic quarters: autumn, winter, and spring full time, with a part time summer or following autumn quarter to finish your thesis.

The CHPR program is a growth experience for all our students, and an important aspect of that experience is building cohort community. While students may take longer than 4 quarters to complete the program, all students begin the program by taking the Foundation Core courses together their first autumn quarter.

  1. See the Curriculum and Subplan Requirements page for a list of the Core Foundation courses.
  2. Attendance in person and participation in all classes is expected.
  3. All students will complete a Preliminary Program Plan form (see the Forms page) early in autumn quarter. 
  4. The program plan must show the courses the student plans to take to meet all program requirements in a timely manner, including 45 units total, of which 30 are CHPR subject code units, 9 units of approved biostats and methods courses, 6 units of CHPR 290 internship, and 4 units of CHPR 399 thesis writing.    
  5. Any remaining courses counting towards the 45 unit requirement must be either pre-approved electives or an elective approved by petition.
  6. Coterms: coterms should plan to start the program with their cohort the autumn quarter after admission. Coterms who are not able to do so due to undergraduate degree commitments should contact the CHPR office after admission at chpradmissions@stanford.edu to discuss.

Minimum Progress Requirements

All CHPR students are expected to be familiar with the minimum progress requirements for the program, and maintain at least the minimum units and GPA required for successful completion of their degree. Students identified as not meeting the requirements for minimum progress and timely and satisfactory completion of requirements are reviewed by the CHPR program to determine whether the problem lies with administrative matters such as reporting of grades or with academic performance. Students have the opportunity to explain any special circumstances. Approval for continuation in the degree program is contingent on agreement by the student and the CHPR program to a suitable program plan to maintain appropriate progress in subsequent quarters.

CHPR Graduate Minimum Progress Requirements are here.

CHPR Coterm Minimum Progress Requirements are here.

Community-Based Research Internship

Students must complete a consecutive two-quarter long community-based research internship under the supervision of an SPRC mentor. Students will receive 6 total units for their internships, which are all unpaid positions. The primary learning goal of these internships is for students to apply their coursework and implementation science in a community or lab setting by engaging community members and faculty to create innovative, research-based, chronic disease prevention solutions addressing community health challenges.

CHPR students will enroll in Community-Based Research Internship (CHPR 290) during the Winter and Spring Quarters.

Important Note about Beginning Your Internship

Students must fulfill the following requirements in order to enroll in Community-Based Curricular Practicum Training (CPT) and Internship (CHPR 290):

  1. Complete Research in the Community (CHPR 220);
  2. Complete or be enrolled in Theoretical Foundations and Design of Behavioral Intervention Trials (CHPR 228); and
  3. Complete or be enrolled in at least 1 approved Biostatistics and Research Methods course.

Master’s Thesis

Students are required to complete and present a master’s thesis. The master’s thesis allows students to demonstrate knowledge, application, and thoughtful scholarly communication of theoretical principles central to community health interventions, study design, research and analytic methods, as well as depth in a substantive area of community health and prevention research. The thesis is intended to be 30 pages in length ("article-length"), double-spaced, including supporting tables, figures, and references. The thesis can take one of the following forms:

  1. Analysis of original data collected via a student’s internship
  2. Comprehensive literature review with meta-analysis of data or critical reanalysis of data
  3. Evaluation of a methodological problem using real data
  4. Comprehensive literature review with a grant proposal (NIH-style format) for a new study to bridge a gap in existing knowledge
  5. Organizational health improvement and evaluation plan written for a student’s internship organization
  6. CHPR mentor approved, independently designed thesis.

We encourage students to use extant data sets for their projects. Students are not limited to quantitative data sets; many CHPR mentors possess qualitative data sets that may be analyzed for an M.S. thesis project. Students also have the option of collecting original data, for example, through the use of surveys. Students will be strongly encouraged to develop their thesis into a manuscript for publication or a credible research grant application, and students will be provided the mentorship to do so.

A master’s thesis committee will evaluate students’ master’s theses. Each student will identify the members of his/her thesis committee, comprising 3 thesis readers. The core reader is typically the student’s CHPR mentor. One co-reader will typically be an SPRC faculty member selected by the student, with approval from their mentor. The core reader and SPRC co-reader share primary supervision of the student’s thesis research and writing. The second co-reader may be a mentor from a student’s community internship placement and/or a faculty member outside of SPRC serving as a "content expert."

Funding

Stanford's central Financial Aid Office (not the Medical School Financial Aid Office) is the appropriate department to contact regarding all aspects of tuition and financial aid.  Below are some links you might find useful:

 

Currently, the Stanford Prevention Research Center has no funding available for M.S. students. To learn more about graduate financial assistance, please visit the Stanford Financial Aid Office.

Undergraduate students who have received financial aid should check with the Stanford Financial Aid Office before applying to determine the impact of enrolling in the coterminal M.S. on their financial aid package. 

Potential Funding Resources

The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans (coterm students not eligible)

Knight-Hennessy Scholars program

Master of Science in Community Health and Prevention Research (CHPR)