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Find the official policies that govern our student and academic community.
The Office of Graduate Admissions oversees the processing of applications, admissions, and matriculation for graduate programs. To be eligible for admission to graduate study, applicants must have a bachelor's degree or its equivalent and demonstrate sufficient English proficiency. The university reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission under certain circumstances, including misrepresentation in the application process or a serious lack of judgment or integrity.
The Office of Graduate Admissions opens in a new tab administers university-wide policies and systems to process the application, admission, and matriculation of applicants into graduate programs.
This policy applies to all admissions for Stanford graduate degree programs, except: all programs in the Graduate School of Business; all programs in the School of Law; and M.D. and M.S. program in Physician Assistant Studies in the School of Medicine. For those schools and programs, see the relevant school or program website under Admission to Professional Programs. Applicants to the Master of Liberal Arts (M.L.A.) degree and the Honors Cooperative Program opens in a new tab are not exempt from the required elements of the application described below.
To be eligible for admission to graduate study, applicants must hold, or expect to hold before enrollment at Stanford, a U.S. bachelor’s degree or its international equivalent from a college or university of recognized standing. To demonstrate proof of English proficiency, applicants must submit official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System Academic Test (IELTS Academic) unless they meet one of the following criteria:
The applicant is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
The applicant’s first language is English.
The applicant earned a U.S. bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, or international equivalent from a university where all instruction was conducted in English.
The applicant has two or more consecutive years of professional or educational experience in English, in the past 10 years.
A full listing of degree programs available on the application maintained by Graduate Admissions may be found on the Explore Programs opens in a new tab page of the Graduate Admissions website. Of the programs listed, applicants may submit no more than one application per academic year (September to August) to be considered for admission to a single program. The only exception is within the Biosciences PhD programs, where applicants may apply for two programs within a single application. Violation of this policy will result in the administrative withdrawal of all subsequent applications submitted during the same academic year. The application fee will not be refunded for the withdrawn application(s).
Application deadlines and supplemental requirements vary by program. Each graduate program administers the review of applications, makes admission decisions, and issues offer letters to applicants, including offers of financial support. Application materials, once submitted as part of the application, become the property of Stanford University.
Stanford reserves the right to investigate the authenticity, accuracy, and authorship of materials submitted, information provided and assertions made in connection with the application, and to require from the applicant additional information and authorizations to allow additional information to be obtained. The university reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission under certain circumstances, including misrepresentation in the application process or a serious lack of judgment or integrity.
Student and Academic Services is the functional owner of the administrative systems that support this process. Working with Stanford’s information technology infrastructure, they will maintain these applications for use by the campus community.
Both Graduate Admissions and the individual offices of graduate degree-granting programs are responsible for accurate data entries in the electronic application system. Graduate Admissions, in partnership with Student Information Systems, monitors the flow of data from the electronic application system to the Student Administration database.
The admissions application process is described at the Graduate Admissions website opens in a new tab.
Upon receipt, applications are available to the admitting degree program. In addition, individual applicants are responsible for providing the necessary transcripts, test scores and recommendations for use by degree program admissions personnel and committees.
All decisions regarding admission and financial aid (other than loans) are made by the admitting degree program, subject to verification of university admission requirements such as completion of the bachelor’s degree, if applicable, official English Proficiency test scores, etc. by Graduate Admissions.
The admitting degree program is responsible for communicating admissions decisions to applicants through the electronic application system. In no event should an admitting degree program offer unconditional acceptance to an applicant until Graduate Admissions has confirmed the verification of academic credentials and English proficiency.
Applicants who are interested in combining a graduate degree with a professional degree (M.D., J.D., or M.B.A.) should contact those admissions offices directly to determine the appropriate application process. To enter a joint degree program, applicants must be admitted separately to both participating Stanford degree programs, as well as to the joint degree program.
Stanford University will award joint degrees where the requirements of both programs have been met. In most cases, the applicant applies initially to only one program, applying to and adding the second program using the Graduate Authorization Petition after arrival at Stanford.
Coterminal degree programs permit matriculated Stanford undergraduates to study for a Master of Arts (M.A.) or Master of Science (M.S.) degree while completing their bachelor's degree(s) in the same or a different department.
For eligibility requirements and application information, see Coterminal Admissions.
For the purposes of this policy, “professional programs” refers to:
All degree programs in the Graduate School of Business and School of Law
The MD program and the MS program in Physician Assistant Studies in the School of Medicine
Business | Law | Medicine |
Stanford University will not normally waive the one-time graduate application fee. An exception is permitted for applicants who are eligible for a reduction in GRE fees; who participate in particular programs; or who are eligible for a fee waiver from certain Stanford Schools. More information about these fee waiver options is available on the Graduate Admissions website opens in a new tab.
Applicants who have been accepted for admission, and who wish to delay the start of their academic program for up to one year, may do so at the sole discretion of the admitting degree program. Applicants should communicate with the admitting degree program, and, if deferral is agreed upon, the admitting degree program should submit a term change request in the graduate admissions system. This must be done before the first day of the original admission starting term.
Departments and programs may approve deferral requests to start graduate study up to one year after the original admit term (e.g., deferral from autumn 2023-2024 to autumn 2024-2025). If an applicant requests to delay the start of the graduate program for more than one year, departments and programs should consult with the relevant school’s dean’s office to evaluate the request. Typically, such requests should be granted only in exceptional circumstances.
If an admitted student contacts the admitting degree program to reverse an earlier acceptance, i.e., to turn down an offer of admission after having accepted admission, the admitting degree program should initiate a withdrawal request to Graduate Admissions, who will process the cancellation of the student’s admission at Stanford.
If an admitted student does not arrive on campus and submit a timely study list for the first quarter of the academic program, the Registrar's Office will discontinue the student’s program plan and Graduate Admissions will process the cancellation of the student's admission at Stanford.
Applicants should refer to the corresponding website for instructions to apply to their graduate program of interest:
Graduate School of Business: MBA opens in a new tab | MSx opens in a new tab | PhD opens in a new tab
School of Law: JD opens in a new tab | Advanced Degrees opens in a new tab
School of Medicine: MD opens in a new tab | MS in Physician Assistant Studies opens in a new tab
All remaining graduate programs: Graduate Admissions opens in a new tab
Department administrators responsible for graduate admissions (non-professional programs) should refer to the resources on the Inside Student Services Intranet opens in a new tab (web-auth required).
Graduate Admissions
https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/about#contact opens in a new tab
Stanford admits a diverse, highly qualified undergraduate class from around the world based on intellectual vitality, achievement, and potential, without quotas or preference for background, while maintaining need-blind admissions (for U.S.
Stanford undergraduates with strong academic records can apply for admission to a Master of Arts (M.A.) or Master of Science (M.S.) program through a coterminal admission process, provided they meet certain conditions.
Stanford requires all international students to obtain and maintain appropriate visa status—primarily F-1 or J-1—supported by university-issued eligibility documents and proof of financial resources.
Stanford University reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission in situations where there was a significant drop in academic performance, misrepresentation in the admissions process, or a display of inappropriate behavior prior to the first
For each Stanford advanced degree, there is an approved course of study that meets university and department requirements. The University's general requirements, applicable to all graduate degrees at Stanford, are described below.
