Stanford Facts 2008
The Stanford Graduate Program
In Stanford’s first year, 1891, 39 men and 12 women from 19 states registered in graduate standing, representing one of the first opportunities for graduate study on the West Coast. Today, 8,186 students in more than 65 departments and programs are pursuing post-baccalaureate degrees in all seven of Stanford’s schools: Business, Earth Sciences, Education, Engineering, Humanities and Sciences, Law and Medicine. Exchange programs with the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California at San Francisco enable graduate students to take courses not offered at Stanford.
About 75 percent of Stanford graduate students receive financial assistance, aside from loans, from Stanford or external sources. About 54 percent of graduate students live on campus.
Graduate Admissions
Admissions decisions are made by each department and program. Programs also set application deadlines.
Graduate Admissions in the Office of the Registrar provides application information and materials for nearly all graduate degree programs. Visit http://gradadmissions.stanford.edu or call (650) 723-4291.
- Visit Graduate School of Business admissions at http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/admissions/apply/
- Visit the School of Law admissions at http://www.law.stanford.edu/program/degrees/
- Visit the School of Medicine’s M.D. program admissions at http://med.stanford.edu/admissions/
Graduate Fellowships
The Stanford Graduate Fellowships in Science and Engineering (SGF) and Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellowships (SIGF) provide funding for outstanding doctoral students. Students receiving these three-year fellowships are free to choose their research projects and are not dependent on federal funding of a project or on faculty research assistantships. Graduate students do not apply for these fellowships, but are nominated by their departments.
There are currently 445 SGF recipients in 40 fields. From its inception in 1997 through August 2007, 478 SGF recipients have earned the PhD. The SIGF program will award its first fellowships in the 2008-09 academic year.
Interdisciplinary Study
Stanford facilitates collaborative, multidisciplinary teaching and research that crosses boundaries between departments. Many students receive more than one graduate degree, through a joint degree program or by applying to add a second degree program. Graduate students are encouraged to enroll in classes across the university, outside of their home discipline.
Stanford Graduate Summer Institute (SGSI) offers interdisciplinary courses exclusively for graduate students. Most SGSI courses are small, intensive all-day seminars, of one or two weeks duration. They are usually taught in the two-week period after the end of summer quarter.
| 8,186 matriculated | (Percentages are rounded) | |
| Schools | ||
|---|---|---|
| Graduate School of Business | 883 | (11%) |
| School of Earth Sciences | 242 | (3%) |
| School of Education | 333 | (4%) |
| School of Engineering | 3,133 | (38%) |
| School of Humanities and Sciences | 2,091 | (26%) |
| School of Law | 593 | (7%) |
| School of Medicine | 911 | (11%) |
| Geographic Origin | ||
| California | 2,884 | (35%) |
| Other U.S. | 2,574 | (31%) |
| Foreign (94 countries) | 2,728 | (33%) |
| Asia | 1,623 | (60%) |
| Europe | 449 | (16%) |
| The Americas | 356 | (13%) |
| Middle East and North Africa | 204 | (8%) |
| Pacific Basin | 57 | (2%) |
| Africa | 39 | (1%) |
| Sex | ||
| Women | 2,932 | (36%) |
| Men | 5,254 | (64%) |
| Race/Ethnicity | ||
| African American | 236 | (3%) |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 54 | (<1%) |
| Asian American or Pacific Islander | 1029 | (13%) |
| Hispanic/Latino | 405 | (5%) |
| White | 2,849 | (35%) |
| International | 2,728 | (33%) |
| Declined to state | 162 | (2%) |
| Unknown | 723 | (9%) |
| Degrees Awarded (2006) | ||
| Master's | 2,131 | |
| Doctoral (JD, MD) | 249 | |
| Doctoral (PhD, DMA) | 720 | |