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In light of the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, Stanford reaffirms its commitment to perform individualized, holistic review of each applicant to its graduate and professional programs. We recognize that students may have faced significant challenges during the period of disruption caused by the pandemic, and we will take such individual circumstances into account during application review. Importantly, we will respect decisions regarding the adoption of Credit/No Credit and other grading options during this unprecedented period of COVID-19 disruption, whether they are made by institutions or by individual students. Our goal remains to form graduate student cohorts that are excellent and encompass a diversity of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences that enrich the graduate educational experience.

Admitted students: see our special instructions for submitting transcripts. We are aware of some school closings in areas impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, and that it may delay some courses of study as well as the reporting of official school documents. If you are impacted by this, please contact our office to request an extension: gradadmissions@stanford.edu. We will do our best to work with you and your department.

Selecting a Program

Graduate study is offered in more than 60 departments and programs. Since you may submit only one application per academic year, it is essential that you carefully review the available programs and choose the one that is most appropriate for your academic goals.

Important Considerations in Selecting a Program

When considering which program is right for you, keep these things in mind:

  • You may apply to only one degree program per academic year. 
  • Most departments only admit students for autumn quarter.
  • Some departments admit students who are seeking only a master’s degree.
  • Other departments award master’s degrees only to students working toward other degrees in that department.
  • A number of departments admit students for doctoral study directly from a bachelor’s program, while some require completion of a master’s degree before approval for doctoral work.
  • See  "Search Programs" in the tab above for program information and links to the departments' web sites.