The following requirements and processes apply to all PhD and most master’s programs with the following exceptions:
Application available: October 2021
PhD application deadline: December 1, 2021 (11:59pm PST)
MA/MS application deadline: January 7, 2022 (11:59pm PST)
Knight-Hennessy Scholars GSE program application deadline: November 15, 2021 (11:59pm PST)
Complete and submit Stanford’s graduation application form. For reference only, here is a PDF sample of last year's application.
Coterm applicants (current Stanford undergraduates): please use the coterminal application. For more information on being a GSE coterm, visit this page: https://ed.stanford.edu/admissions/coterminal
The application fee is $125, is nonrefundable, and must be received by the application deadline.
Application fee waivers are reviewed when the graduate application opens in early October 2021, and are available to GSE applicants in three ways:
GRE fee reduction certificate and diversity program participation waivers are granted by Stanford's central graduation admissions office. School-based waivers are granted by GSE admissions to applicants who do not qualify for the GRE fee reduction certificate or the Diversity program participation-based waiver. School-based waiver applications will be reviewed on a first-come basis. Preference is given to low-income, first generation and underrepresented minority US domestic applicants. Acceptance or denial of your fee waiver application does not affect your likelihood of admission into a graduate program.
GSE Admissions reviews and releases our School-based fee waiver decisions in rounds. Rounds for Fall 2021 will be open for applications starting in October 2021 and are scheduled as follows:
Round 1: October 1 - October 15 @ 12pm PDT (decisions released on October 15)
Round 2: October 16 - October 29 @ 12pm PDT (decisions released on October 29)
Round 3: October 30 - November 12 @ 12pm PST (decisions released on November 12)
Round 4: November 13 - November 19 @ 12pm PST (decisions released on November 19)
Round 5: November 20 - December 10 @ 12pm PST (decisions released on December 10)
Round 6: December 11 - January 5 @ 12pm PST (decisions released on January 5)
If your fee waiver application is approved you will receive a waiver code to enter on the payment page of your graduate admissions application.
If you do not receive a fee waiver, you are instructed to pay the $125 nonrefundable fee.
Your typed, single-spaced statement of purpose should be between one and two pages with 12-point font and regular, one-inch margins. Describe your reasons for applying, your preparation for this field of study, why our program is a good fit for you, your future career goals, and other aspects of your background and interests that might aid the admissions committee in evaluating your aptitude and motivation for graduate study.
If you are applying to the doctoral program, you should include your research interests and the names of two or three faculty members whose work closely converges with yours, to identify potential advisors. DAPS applicants have a specific statement of purpose prompt; please review it below under the program-specific requirements section.
For master's applicants, focus on how your previous work, background, and/or academic experience informs your decision to apply to the program as well as how the program will impact your career goals.
Please keep a copy for your records.
Upload your resume or CV (whichever is most appropriate to your background) in the online application. There is no page limit, though we typically see resumes of one page with 12-point font and regular, one-inch margins.
In the online application, you will be asked to identify your recommenders and their email addresses. Please notify your recommenders that they will receive an email prompt to submit their letters online. You can submit your request for letters of recommendation through the system without submitting your entire application. Stanford GSE only accepts recommendations through the online application system, and cannot accept mailed, emailed, or faxed recommendations.
Your recommenders should be people who have supervised you in an academic, employment, or community service setting. We strongly recommend that at least one of these letters be from a university professor familiar with your academic work. Your letters should directly address your suitability for admission to a graduate program at Stanford GSE.
It is your responsibility to ensure that all three letters of recommendation are submitted through the application system by the application deadline.
Guide for Recommenders
If you are writing a letter of recommendation for an applicant to Stanford GSE, please review our Guide for Recommenders to see what we are looking for in a strong letter or recommendation.
We require transcripts from every college and university you have attended for at least one academic year as a full-time student. Upload transcripts as scanned copies or PDFs (no larger than 10MB) when submitting the online application. Please refrain from uploading a secured PDF/transcript with a digital signature, as our system cannot upload these properly.
If you earned a degree at the institution from which you are submitting a transcript, please ensure that the degree conferred and the degree conferral date are clearly visible on the document. If you are currently enrolled in a degree program and will not have earned the degree by the time you submit your application, submit your most recent in-progress transcript.
If admitted, we will contact you with instructions for sending official transcripts. Note that the instructions for sending transcripts in the online application and on the Stanford Graduate Admissions Office website differ from this GSE requirement.
If the transcript from your home institution reflects your study abroad coursework and grades, you do not need to submit original transcripts from your abroad institution.
If your institution provides a transcript in a language other than English, we require that you submit a translation, either provided by the institution or a certified translator. Translations must be literal and complete versions of the original records.
If your transcript does not include your degree conferred and your degree conferral date, please submit a scanned copy of your diploma, a conferral statement, or a conferral document in addition to your transcript. If you are currently enrolled in a degree program and will not have earned the degree by the time you submit your application, submit your most recent in-progress transcript.
Due to conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, GSE will not require the GRE for admission for the 2022-2023 academic year. However, some GSE programs (please see list below and under Program-specific requirements) will provide the opportunity to submit GRE scores if you have taken the test and feel that your scores would enhance your application. Not submitting your GRE scores when your program of interest offers you the option to submit them does not affect your application negatively in any way. If your program indicates the GRE as optional and you wish to send scores, please follow the guidelines below.
GRE optional vs. GRE not required
GRE optional: you will be able to submit GRE scores to be considered as part of your application if you wish, though they are not a requirement to submit your application. You will be able to send official scores electronically via ETS and self-report your scores on your online application.
GRE not required: the application will not allow you to submit any kind of GRE scores. No applicant in your same program of interest will have the ability to submit official GRE scores via ETS nor will they be able to self-report scores on the online application.
Stanford University requires the TOEFL from all applicants whose native language is not English. The GSE requires a minimum score of 100 ibT. The Test of Written English (TWE) is not required. Applicants who have completed a four-year bachelor’s degree or a one- or two-year master’s program (or equivalent) in the U.S. or at an institution at which English is the main language of instruction do not need to take the TOEFL. For more information on TOEFL requirements, please refer to the central Stanford Graduate Admissions website.
You should plan to take the TOEFL and have the scores sent electronically to Stanford at institution code 4704 no later than the following dates:
In alignment with ETS policy, Stanford considers TOEFL scores to be valid for two years (counting back from the application deadline).
Please follow our TOEFL flowchart to determine if you are required to take the TOEFL.
If you have earned a degree from an institution in a country outside the U.S., Australia, Canada (except Quebec), New Zealand, Singapore, Ireland, or the UK but the language of instruction was only English, then you may submit a TOEFL waiver request form to the central Stanford Graduate Admissions Office. Because the central office needs up to 15 business days (three weeks) to review the request, then please plan to submit your GSE application 3 weeks BEFORE the application deadline, and then submit a TOEFL waiver request form to the central Stanford Graduate Admissions Office.
If approved, you do not need to take the TOEFL. If not approved, you need to take the TOEFL.
GRE: Not required for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: The admissions committee might contact you for an interview in order to get additional information.
Writing sample: Not required.
Other program-specific requirement: None.
NOTE: The History/Social Science Education program will not admit students for the 2022-2023 academic year. Please check back in July 2022 for information on AY 2023-2024.
GRE: Optional for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: The admissions committee might contact you for an interview in order to get additional information.
Writing sample: Not required.
Other program-specific requirement: DAPS Statement of Purpose must include the following (2,000 word maximum):
GRE: Not required for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: The admissions committee might contact you for an interview in order to get additional information.
Writing sample: Not required.
Other program-specific requirement: None.
GRE: Not required for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: The admissions committee might contact you for an interview in order to get additional information.
Writing sample: Required. Please submit a piece of writing that helps us understand your perspectives on education as they relate to race, inequality, and/or language. The piece could include a blog post, an op-ed, a reflection on a lesson you have designed, an essay, or a more formal research paper. There is no minimum or maximum page limit requirement, however 1,000 to 5,000 words is preferred.
Other program-specific requirement: None.
GRE: Not required for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: Not required.
Writing sample: Required. Please submit one research-oriented writing sample written in the context of your employment or education. The writing sample should be at least 10 pages in length; submitting the work in its entirety is acceptable.
Other program-specific requirement: None.
GRE: Optional for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: The admissions committee might contact you for an interview in order to get additional information.
Writing sample: Not required.
Other program-specific requirement: You will be asked to respond to these essay prompts on the SHIPS Economics of Education supplemental application (page 13).
GRE: Optional for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year
Interview: The admissions committee might contact you for an interview in order to get additional information.
Writing sample: Required. Please submit a research-oriented writing sample, e.g., master's or honors thesis, senior or capstone research paper, a class research paper or proposal, or a study written in the context of your employment.
Other program-specific requirement: You will be asked to respond to these essay prompts on the SHIPS EDS supplemental application (page 13).
GRE: Not required for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year
Interview: Not required
Writing sample: Required. Please submit one research-oriented writing sample written in the context of your employment or education. The writing sample should be at least 10 pages in length; submitting the work in its entirety is acceptable.
Other program-specific requirement: None.
GRE: Optional for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year
Interview: The admissions committee might contact you for an interview in order to get additional information.
Writing sample: Not required.
Other program-specific requirement: You will be asked to respond to these essay prompts on the SHIPS Educational Policy supplemental application (page 13).
GRE: Optional for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: The admissions committee might contact you for an interview in order to get additional information.
Writing sample: Required. Applicants must submit a research-oriented writing sample, e.g., master's or honors thesis, senior or capstone research paper, a class research paper or proposal, or a study written in the context of your employment.
Other program-specific requirement: You will be asked to respond to these essay prompts on the SHIPS Higher Education supplemental application (page 13).
GRE: Not required for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year
Interview: Not required
Writing sample: Required. Please submit one research-oriented writing sample written in the context of your employment or education. The writing sample should be at least 10 pages in length; submitting the work in its entirety is acceptable.
Other program-specific requirement: None.
GRE: Optional for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year
Interview: Not required
Writing sample: Required. Please submit one research-oriented writing sample written in the context of your employment or education. The writing sample should be at least 10 pages in length; submitting the work in its entirety is acceptable.
Other program-specific requirement: None.
GRE: Optional for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: The admissions committee might contact you for an interview in order to get additional information.
Writing sample: Required. Applicants must submit a research-oriented writing sample, e.g., master's or honors thesis, senior or capstone research paper, a class research paper or proposal, or a study written in the context of your employment.
Other program-specific requirement: You will be asked to respond to these essay prompts on the SHIPS Organizational Studies supplemental application (page 13).
This program will not admit students for the 2022-2023 academic year. Please check back in July 2022 for information on the 2023-2024 academic year.
GRE: Optional for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year
Interview: The admissions committee might contact you for an interview in order to get additional information.
Writing sample: Required. Applicants must submit a research-oriented writing sample, e.g., master's or honors thesis, senior or capstone research paper, a class research paper or proposal, or a study written in the context of your employment.
Other program-specific requirement: You will be asked to respond to these essay prompts on the SHIPS Sociology of Education supplemental application (page 13).
The CTE master's program will not admit students for the 2022-2023 academic year. Please check back in June 2022 for information on the 2023-2024 academic year.
GRE: Optional for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: Not required.
Writing sample: Not required.
Other program-specific requirements:
GRE: Optional for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: Not required.
Writing sample: Required. Please submit one research-oriented writing sample written in the context of your employment or education. The writing sample should be at least 10 pages in length; submitting the work in its entirety is acceptable.
Other program-specific requirement: None.
GRE: Not required for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: Not required.
Writing sample: Not required.
Other program-specific requirement: You will be asked to respond to these essay prompts on the LDT supplemental application (page 13).
GRE: Optional for admission to the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interview: Not required.
Writing sample: Required. Please submit a writing sample of no more than 10 typewritten pages. This may be a paper written for a course, a section of an undergraduate thesis, a report submitted in the context of your employment, or a piece you write in response to a current event or something you have read. This writing sample should show evidence of your ability to evaluate an issue or problem, use evidence, and offer an informed opinion or solution.
Other program-specific requirement: You will be asked to respond to this additional essay prompt on the POLS supplemental application (page 13):
Still have questions? Our FAQ page might have what you are looking for.
For information not covered in our program pages, application requirements, or FAQ page, please contact the GSE Admissions Office at gseadmissions@stanford.edu. For information on recruitment events and visiting campus, please see Connect & Visit.
To learn more about tuition and financial support at the GSE, please visit Financing Your Education.
If you are uncertain about which degree or program to which you should apply, read "Which Degree, Which Program" by Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Professor Eamonn Callan.
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