Application Checklist
A completed application consists of the following:
- Online Application
- Statement of Purpose
- Letters of Recommendation
- Transcripts
- Test Scores
Please keep your email address current; you will be notified by email with the admissions decision. All correspondence regarding your application and the notification of all admissions decisions are done via email.
Make sure your first and last name remains consistent throughout the application process and in your correspondence with the department.
Application Fee
Visit Graduate Admissions for the current year's application fee and information on the fee waiver process.
Online Application
The online application opens in late September each year. The application and information about admissions requirements and procedures are available at Stanford's Graduate Admissions website.
Technical application questions: use the “Contact Help” link on your application home page.
PhD applicants do not have track choices. You may indicate your areas of academic interest for informational purposes only. Master’s applicants must apply to a specific track, for example, “computational geosciences” under “academic interest”, and the application will ONLY be reviewed for that specific track.
Please do not mail a hard copy of the application form once you submit an application online.
Grade Point Averages (GPA) Calculations
GPA scale varies from institution to institution. It is best to use the scale used by your institution. Information on computing your GPA is available here.
For calculating the GPA, use the maximum for the school as defined on the back of the transcript. If a cumulative GPA is not provided, please calculate one using the same general criteria outlined on the University Registrar's website.
Statement of Purpose
Your Statement of Purpose should identify personal and professional goals. You should also discuss your development to date, and your intentions relative to graduate study and life beyond Stanford. The ICME Graduate Admissions Committee reads your statement of purpose with interest because, along with the letters of recommendation, it offers insight into who you are as an individual. Your statement of purpose should not exceed 10MB in either a PDF or Word file.
Please do not submit a second hard copy of it along with your supporting documents.
Letters of Recommendation
Three letters of recommendation are required; one letter must come from an academic source, although we recommend two. Please have your recommender write candidly about your qualifications, potential to carry on advanced study in the field specified, intellectual independence, capacity for analytical thinking, ability to organize and express ideas clearly, and potential for teaching. Specific examples that describe such attributes as motivation, intellect, and maturity, are more useful than generalizations.
Paper copies of recommendations cannot be accepted.
Transcripts
Scanned transcripts are required to be uploaded as part of the application. You are also required to mail one set of official transcripts (please note ICME only requires one set which differs from other departments' requirements) from all previous colleges or universities that you attended full-time for one year or more directly to ICME.
Please refer to the Stanford Office of Graduate Admissions website for details on official transcripts.
Send transcripts to:
ICME Graduate Admissions
Huang Engineering Center, Suite 053B
475 Via Ortega Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-4042
Secure electronic transcripts should be sent to: icme-admissions@stanford.edu
Test Scores
Information on GRE/TOEFL registration, test centers and dates, can be found on the ETS website.
GRE
All applicants must provide GRE General test scores from an examination taken within the past five years of the application deadline. Your official score report should be sent to the Stanford Graduate Admissions office directly from ETS.
The Stanford score recipient number (also called "Institution Code") is "4704" Department code is not necessary.
Stanford retains score report information only for applicants. If you requested ETS to send your score report to Stanford and you have not followed up with an application to any program at Stanford (not necessarily ICME), you will have to request ETS to resend the scores. All score reports for non-applicants are purged from the system each year.
Note: for applicants who have taken the GRE General test and are expecting the score reports after the deadline for submitting the application, please note that without the score report your application will be considered incomplete. Please schedule to take the test at least 6-8 weeks before the application deadline.
It is highly recommended, although not required, for Ph.D. applicants to take the GRE Subject Test in Math, Physics, or computer science.
*GMAT scores cannot be substituted for the GRE score requirement.
TOEFL
TOEFL scores are required of all applicants whose first language is not English regardless of citizenship status. Individuals who have completed a Bachelor's, Master's, or a doctoral degree in the U.S. or another English-speaking country are not required to submit TOEFL scores.
The complete policy can be found on the Graduate Admissions website.
Scores must be submitted from a test taken within the last 18 months of the application deadline.
TOEFL scores should be reported directly to Graduate Admissions from ETS.
The Stanford score recipient number (also called "Institution Code") is "4704" Department code is not necessary.
Note: University minimum TOEFL score is 89. We recommend, 113 or higher.
*IELTS CANNOT BE TAKEN IN PLACE OF TOEFL
Reapplying
Please note that reapplying after not receiving an admission offer is not recommended and it is very rare that admissions decisions are changed.
Regular Ph.D., M.S., and Honors Co-op applicants interested in reapplying need to submit the following documents to the ICME Graduate Admissions Office by the application deadline:
1. Online Application.
2. Application Fee.
3. Statement of Purpose.
4. Three (3) new letters of recommendation.
5. GRE and TOEFL scores (if applicable).
6. ONE (1) official transcript from any academic institution attended after the previous application was submitted.
Application Status
We are unable to answer inquiries regarding the status of any application. Please refer to your "checklist" on your "Application Activity Status Page" for updates on your supporting material status: Graduate Admissions
We will contact you if your application is incomplete; be sure to keep your e-mail address updated. Please refer to the Application Deadlines for the approximate time when application decisions will be made.
If you do not receive an e-mail from our office by the posted decision date, you may e-mail us and include your first and last names as used on the application, mailing address and a fax number (if available). Please do not call our office with this particular inquiry, as we are unable to provide any applicant information over the phone.
Deferral Policy
In general, ICME does not allow admission to be deferred to a later quarter. The primary reason being that the core courses sequence begins in the autumn quarter. An admitted student can get special permission to start the program in the summer quarter. A yearlong deferral may be approved on a case-by-case review. A Ph.D. student may get a deferral of a year, only if the student has an external fellowship whose sponsor has agreed to the deferral.
