For Prospective Students

Thank you for considering graduate study at Stanford University.

Stanford offers post-baccalaureate study in a wide range of fields, organized into more than 65 departments and programs in seven schools: Business, Earth Sciences, Education, Engineering, Humanities and Sciences, Law, and Medicine. Prospective graduate students have the opportunity to pursue a number of different master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.

Stanford has a strong emphasis on collaborative, multidisciplinary teaching and research that crosses boundaries between departments. Many students earn more than one degree, either through a joint degree program or simply by undertaking a second degree.

Graduate Study at Stanford

Responsibility for graduate studies, including admission, resides with each specific department and program. Regardless of your field of study or degree goal, every student faces a few common questions. This information supplements specific information from the schools, departments, and programs.

• Graduate life links to some services necessary for all graduate students
• Financing graduate study
• Choosing among Stanford's schools and degree programs
• Diversity in graduate education

Special Information

• International students are served by the Bechtel International Center
• Postdoctoral scholars are served by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
• Newly arriving students can participate in new graduate student orientation and use the Graduate Student Information Center

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Applying for Graduate Admission

The first step in applying for graduate study at Stanford is to identify your area of interest and research programs to find one that is right for you.

• Are you interested in a professional degree: medicine (M.D.), Law (J.D.), business (M.B.A.)?
• Do you want to develop your research skills in a Ph.D. program?
• Do you want to explore an area more deeply with a master’s program?

When evaluating graduate programs, at Stanford or elsewhere, look for a fit between your interests and the emphasis of the program. Focus on the research being performed by individual faculty members, not the department name. Don’t assume—investigate and ask.

The Application

You should apply to the department most closely related to your field of study. Keep in mind that you may only apply to one Stanford program per academic year (except in the Biosciences, in which you may choose up to three).

The Graduate Programs Web site has links to each school’s website, as well as an alphabetical list of all degree programs offered.

Once you have found the program that is right for you, apply to it directly. For graduate application materials to:

• Nearly all programs, excluding those below
• Graduate School of Business
• School of Law
• School of Medicine's M.D. program

Application Fee Waivers

Don't let finances prevent you from applying for admissions. Stanford graduate admissions offices honor some application fee waivers. For more information about fee waivers, please contact each school or department.

• Application Fee Waiver information from Graduate Admissions
• Fee Waivers in the School of Humanities and Sciences
• For School of Business, Law and M.D. program in the school of Medicine fee waiver policies, contact those admissions offices.

 

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