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Resources at Stanford University
Resources at Stanford University
Please contact Stanford staff representatives directly regarding your specific questions. This page is not exhaustive as resources are located across multiple offices and is meant to provide preliminary point of contacts for graduate student families. There may be specific departmental or school resources that may be available, please contact your department/school officials for more information. If you would like to add additional resources to this page, please email them to parents-in-academia@lists.stanford.edu
The Graduate Family Grant provides up to $15,000 for families with 1 child and up to $20,000 for families with 2+ children each year. Currently enrolled students with dependent children and household income <$150,000 are eligible to apply (pregnant students cannot apply until child is born). Funds may be used flexibly as needed to cover expenses such as childcare, healthcare and rent. Awards will be disbursed via the student’s account and are considered taxable income. To apply, fill out this form. If you have questions about whether you may be eligible, PLEASE APPLY.
“If your yearly income is less than or equal to 400% of the current Federal Poverty Guideline (for a family of four, that’s anything below $128k!!!), you may not have to pay your bill" Source. If your family is living off a graduate student stipend (or otherwise low income), you can apply for financial aid from Stanford Medicine for ALL healthcare services (e.g., ER visits, labor and delivery, hospital stays, specialist appointments). After you receive your bill from Stanford, instead of paying it immediately, first contact Financial Assistance. Contact information is provided on Stanford bills, MyHealth app, or here.
Covered California and Medi-Cal are sources for health insurance for yourself or dependents. Covered California is marketplace insurance. Medi-Cal is California's version of Medicaid and is available for pregnant women and children with low income, or for individuals with extremely low income. Qualifications are based on household income. See image on the left for cut-offs, and remember that a pregnant person counts as 2 individuals. If you qualify based on income, you may be able to get free healthcare for your children regardless of Visa status, length of time in the U.S., etc. Under current U.S. law (as of 2/8/25), just getting government funded benefits for you or your children does NOT make you a public charge (i.e., cannot be used against you during greencard and citizenship application). (This is not legal advice.) Apply for both here https://www.coveredca.com/
SGWU completed negotiating a collective bargaining contract, which included provisions for employee benefits. However, childcare services did not make it into the final agreement. Hopefully in 2028. Union members in good standing (i.e., paying dues) may contact their union representatives by emailing contact@sgwu.us.
Please note SGWU frequently has openings and uncontested elections for union representatives. If you are interested in advocating for student parent well-being, running for office may be a great way to do that.
Leave of Absence: up to 4 quarters for birth parent, 1 quarter for non-birth parent. Not enrolled, no financial support from the university, may remain enrolled in Cardinal Care but must pay full cost, may petition to remain in housing.
Childbirth/Academic Accommodation: up to 2 quarters for birth parent, 1 quarter for non-birth parent. Students continue with academic progress and are funded as usual but are exempted from TA/RA duties. Can be taken in combination with a leave of absence.
Note: In practice, some students in biosciences research programs work with their advisors to arrange time away from the lab—such as for parental leave—without formally changing their enrollment status. While not an official policy, this has been a common informal arrangement. Students should consult with their advisor and program administrator to understand available options and any potential implications.
SURPAS Family Committee (last updated 2/8/2025)
SURPAS Family Committee (last updated 2/8/2025)
SURPAS has compiled many resources for postdocs with families also useful for student parents. The SURPAS family committee also hosts monthly events for grad students and postdocs with children.
Website https://surpas.stanford.edu/postdoc-committees/family/
Coffee and Parenting events 2nd Thursday of each month @ Alway Courtyard. Subscribe to notifications here: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/parents-in-biosci
All resources https://surpas.stanford.edu/resources/family-resources/
Recommendations by Stanford Parents
Daycare and Camp Recommendations - home daycare, daycare centers, summer camps
Community Classes for Kids Recommendations - cooking, music, gymnastics, swimming, baby sign language
Doctor Recommendations - pediatrician, pediatric dentist, family physician, dentist, OB/GYN, optometrist
Bay Area Family-Friendly Activities Calendar - Disclaimer: Please double check event information on the event website as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors can occur.
Tips for Families
Timesaving Tips for Families with Kids - compiled at 9/8/22 Parenting and Coffee Event
Financial Assistance Programs for Postdoctoral Scholars - curated by the Family Committee and Parents in Biosciences
Child Care Assistance Grant Program - for postdoc families with an annual household income of $150,000 or less
Family Grant Program - for postdoc families with an annual household income of $150,000 or less
WhatsApp PostDoc Groups
Playground Playdates - join this group to coordinate playdates with other postdoc families
Family Committee Events - join this group to connect with other postdoc families participating in family committee events and share information about activities in the Bay Area
Expecting Families - join this group to meet other expecting postdoc families
Families New to Stanford - join this group to share experiences with new postdoc parents
Financial Aids Application - join this group to discuss questions related to the financial aid applications
LGBTQIA+ Families - join this group to connect with queer families
Single Parent Families - join this group to connect with single parents
Pet Parents - join this group to connect with pet owners
Slack Channel: If you are interested in talking to other Stanford parents in real-time, join our Slack channel here: http://stanfordparents.slack.com/
Mailing Lists:
To keep up to date with resources and events from the SURPAS Family Committee, subscribe to our listserv here: surpas-family@lists.stanford.edu
"surpas-announcements" <surpas-announcements@lists.stanford.edu>
"postdoc-exchange" <postdoc-exchange@lists.stanford.edu>
"parent-net" <parent-net@lists.stanford.edu>
If there are other resources that may be useful to your family, or if there are resources that you would like to help build for other Stanford families, please contact us at surpas.familycommittee@gmail.com. Thank you!
The purpose of this document is to informally centralize knowledge of current Stanford families who are interested in advocacy and/or building community as parents.
It is not just for women, it is for parents too: The Women's Community Center exists to facilitate growth and engagement for Stanford students around issues of gender, equity, identity, and justice. If all else fails, walk in the door, sit on a couch, and talk to someone. You will find a solution.
Stanford Solidarity Network (last updated 2/3/2025)
Stanford Solidarity Network (last updated 2/3/2025)
The Stanford Solidarity Network is a coalition of students, post-docs, and staff from every part of the university, working to coordinate and plan joint activism on campus and beyond: on hold while SGWU reorganizes under a new constitution.
A Stanford Daily news article that covers many of the issues that face parents on The Farm (last updated 9/18/2019)
A Stanford Daily news article that covers many of the issues that face parents on The Farm (last updated 9/18/2019)
Student parents say Stanford can do more for them
For new moms (last updated 3/8/18):
For new moms (last updated 3/8/18):
BABBLE: Back After Baby Bonding Leave Ends (run by WorkLife). While it is for staff, the organizers are open to having students & postdocs. Email Caitlin Azhderian directly for details: caitlina@stanford.edu
Other local groups:
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (LPCH) offers a FREE Mother-Baby class on Monday mornings. Details here.
Sequoia Hospital offers a FREE New Parents Support Group on Wednesday mornings. Details here.
Under the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education, the policy details "an Academic Accommodation Period for registered and matriculated women graduate students anticipating or experiencing a birth."
On Cardinal at Work's page, this lists Stanford's "eight on-site early education and child care centers that serve children in the Stanford community ranging in age from infants to eight years old."
WorkLife
WorkLife
Three flyers from WorkLife.
1. Supporting Resources for Working Parents (all external links), not student-specific.
2. WorkLife Assistance Programs for Students (updated 1-24-17).
3. WorkLife email lists (updated 2016): ParentNet, SeniorNet, Over the Rainbow, WorkLife
The Financial Aid Office has limited funds available to help graduate students dealing with difficult financial situations.
Graduate Student Aid Fund
The Graduate Student Aid Fund has been established to assist a limited number of graduate students with University fees such as the Campus Health Service Fee and Cardinal Care Insurance when those fees cause a significant hardship. Students who demonstrate need will be eligible for small amounts to cover specific charges.
Emergency Grant-In-Aid Funds
Emergency Grant-in-Aid Funds assist graduate students who experience a financial emergency or unanticipated expenses (e.g., medical or dental) causing financial hardship.
Graduate Housing Loan
New for the 2016-17 academic year: Graduate and professional students may apply for loan funds from the University to help with move-in costs for off-campus housing, such as first and last month's rent and security deposit.
Stanford subsidizes the Cardinal Care premium for graduate students who are employed in Research or Teaching Assistantships, and for graduate students receiving an equivalent level of fellowship support. Contact Financial Aid office or email cardinalcaresubsidy@stanford.edu for more information.
On Cardinal at Work's page, they provide a list of lactation spaces at Stanford.
Managed by Residential & Dining Enterprises, this page details out enrollment requirements and eligibility for maternity leave, and students with children housing.
As described by GLO representative (4/17/17):
Graduate Housing Advisory Committee "(GHAC) is jointly run by Housing and GLO. There are no official notes taken in meetings, as they are "advisory" in nature. We had family rep in most meetings but not all. The GLO Dean who works with families are in meeting as well and I believe that family matters and interests are well represented."
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex (gender) in educational programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. Title IX makes it illegal to discriminate because of sex, which includes discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, or related conditions, including recovery. Additional details concerning your rights under Title IX can be found here.
The center often hosts family-friendly events open to the Stanford community. For international students, this center would have the most expertise in navigating family-related issues.
External resources
External resources
An online toolkit for university students, faculty, and administrators on pregnancy and parenting. In early 2015, Professors Mary Ann Mason (University of California, Berkeley) and Joan C. Williams (University of California, Hastings College of the Law), with support from the National Science Foundation, launched this project to boost the support and protections for pregnant and parenting students and postdocs. By providing resources to educate and empower university communities, this project seeks to ensure the effective implementation of Title IX’s protections for pregnant women and parents and help mend the critical leak in the STEM pipeline.
Book by Mary Ann Mason, N.H. Wolfinger, and M. Goulden, 2013
Summary from Amazon:
"Do Babies Matter? is the first comprehensive examination of the relationship between family formation and the academic careers of men and women. The book begins with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, moves on to early and mid-career years, and ends with retirement. Individual chapters examine graduate school, how recent PhD recipients get into the academic game, the tenure process, and life after tenure. The authors explore the family sacrifices women often have to make to get ahead in academia and consider how gender and family interact to affect promotion to full professor, salaries, and retirement. Concrete strategies are suggested for transforming the university into a family-friendly environment at every career stage.
The book draws on over a decade of research using unprecedented data resources, including the Survey of Doctorate Recipients, a nationally representative panel survey of PhDs in America, and multiple surveys of faculty and graduate students at the ten-campus University of California system."
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