A Letter from the Vice Provosts

Dear Prospective Stanford Graduate Students,

We are delighted that you have been offered admission to graduate study at Stanford University, and we look forward to welcoming you to our community. Graduate education has been central to Stanford’s mission since its founding. The achievements of our graduate students have contributed immeasurably to making Stanford a world-class university, renowned for its academic excellence and intellectual innovation.

Our offices—Graduate Education and Student Affairs—collaborate with your department so that you can make the most of all that Stanford has to offer. The staff of the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education works to enhance the quality of graduate education across the seven schools of the University. The staff of the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs supports students in the pursuit of their academic goals by cultivating a welcoming and inclusive environment and helping students manage their personal concerns. Together with our colleagues across the campus, we are committed to creating an environment in which each of you will grow and thrive. So, please use the resources we offer to get advice and help as you progress through your academic programs.

As a graduate student, you are an important part of the Stanford community. In fact, Stanford graduate students—doctoral, master’s, and professional students—are more than half of the student population. This is an exciting time to begin a program of graduate study at Stanford. We are exploring new, innovative ways to reach across the boundaries of our many programs, while maintaining the excellence of those individual programs. We hope, as a result of your experiences here, that you will be prepared to excel as effective leaders in your field of study and more broadly in our complex global society.

You will find that Stanford University has exceptional resources. On campus there are world-class libraries, studios, laboratories, and computer facilities. During your time here we encourage you to explore the full range of educational opportunities: attend lectures, take courses from other departments, talk with people from other disciplines and other parts of the world. You can also venture off campus and explore the ocean, the mountains, the Bay Area’s redwood-studded open spaces, and the dynamic cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. Most importantly, you will be part of an energetic community of fellow students, faculty, and staff. Their intellectual vitality and imagination, combined with the University’s tangible assets, will foster your intellectual growth and professional development in ways you may not yet expect.

In particular, we want to draw your attention to the Graduate Community Center, a hub for graduate student life on campus. Overseen by the Graduate Life Office, it is a place to meet new people and engage with new ideas. It is one of the many locations where students from various backgrounds come together, collaborate in research and scholarship, learn from one another, and engage in cross-disciplinary conversations.

We look forward to meeting you in the fall, when we can personally welcome you to this wonderfully vibrant place we affectionately call “The Farm.”