Admissions & Aid

Diversity Profile

Stanford Graduate School of Education believes that the best learning environment is a diverse one, inclusive of students of a multitude of identities, experiences, and perspectives. Each year’s cohort reflects this belief with its wide range of backgrounds. Though each student has a unique story, they share a commitment to equitable, accessible, and effective learning for all.

Each year, our entering class profile is unique, differing from the year before and not predictive of a future cohort. We hope this profile gives you a sense of our broad definition of diversity, and of who makes up our newest community members.

2020-2021 by program

As our applicant pool changes each year, so does our entering class. While we strive to have a consistent number of students in each incoming cohort, each student’s personal, academic, and professional background is different.

Total applicants
1,477

Entering class
114

Students by program¹

¹ Due to the impact of COVID-19, these numbers are smaller than in a traditional year. A typical PhD class is 25-30, while ICE/IEPA, LDT, and POLS master’s cohorts are about 20. STEP Elementary typically sees a cohort size of 25 while STEP Secondary is about 65. The EDS master’s program plans to have 8-10 in its inaugural cohort.

Demographics

The GSE embraces the diversity of our student body. In sharing details about our students, our goal is to be transparent about the composition of our newest community members.

Sex²

Female

Male

Age

Average age
26

Age range
20 - 50 years

² Currently only data on binary sex assigned at birth is available

Domestic / International

US Domestic³

International⁴

U.S. students

64
Students of color⁵
62% of U.S.
56% of total

34
First generation⁶
33% of U.S.
30% of total

³ Includes U.S. citizens and permanent residents
⁴ Includes foreign nationals as well as DACA and undocumented students
⁵ U.S. students of color include U.S. citizens, dual citizens, and permanent residents who identify as American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander; Asian American; Black / African American; Hispanic / Latino; or Multiethnic.
⁶ First generation in their family to graduate from a four-year college or university

U.S. states and countries represented

18
States represented

10
Countries represented

States

California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington

Countries

Armenia, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey

U.S. student demographics

Educational background

GSE students have a variety of educational backgrounds, some within the field of education, some outside the field in areas such as social sciences, humanities, and engineering. There is no minimum GPA requirement for admission to our doctoral and master’s programs, nor is there a preferred educational background.

Undergraduate majors (all)

3%	Business/marketing
6%	Education
9%	Engineering
26%	Humanities
4%	Math
11%	Natural sciences
41%	Social sciences

Advanced degrees

14%
Hold advanced degrees (total)

54%
Hold advanced degrees (doctoral students)⁷

3%
Hold advanced degrees (master's students)

Undergraduate institution

Attended U.S. institution

Attended non-U.S. institution

Private

Public

⁷ Of those who do not already hold an advanced degree, such as a master’s degree, the majority of our doctoral students have several years of work experience before applying.

To learn more about GSE student diversity overall, as well as the composition of our faculty and staff, visit our Diversity and Inclusion page.