Admissions
The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as professional certificates.
Undergraduate degrees
Students interested in undergraduate degrees need to apply to Stanford University. Once at Stanford, you can declare the following undergraduate majors:
Earth Systems
The Earth Systems Program is an interdisciplinary environmental science major and coterminal master’s program. Students learn about and independently investigate complex environmental problems caused by human activities in conjunction with natural changes in the Earth system.
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Our students and geoscientists study the properties of minerals, rocks, soils, sediments and water, using multiple lenses — stratigraphy, paleobiology, geochemistry, and planetary sciences. Their work informs our understanding of natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and floods. It helps us meet natural resource challenges through environmental and geological engineering, mapping and land use planning, surface and groundwater management, and the exploration and sustainable extraction of energy and minerals. It also helps us answer fundamental questions about the origin, history, and habitability of planets.
Geophysics
Geophysicists study Earth and planetary processes through laboratory experiments, computational and theoretical modeling, remote imaging, and direct observation. At Stanford, our teaching and research focus on understanding systems critical to the future of civilization. Students apply expertise to fundamental research sustaining life on Earth, combining underlying science with studies of Earth’s environment and resource needs. Such breadth of exposure is highly sought after and leads to careers in academia, industry, and government.
Energy Science and Engineering
We train future leaders in the science and engineering of Earth’s energy resources. We combine theory, experiments, and computation to understand and influence the global energy resources landscape. We are committed to leading the way to provide the people, methods, and tools for sustainable management of the Earth’s energy resources.
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Students in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering make a lasting impact in the world as they launch careers that design and apply innovative solutions fostering sustainability in the natural and built environments.
Graduate degrees
Masters degrees only open to Stanford students
These programs are either coterminal master’s programs (only open to current Stanford undergraduates) or joint/dual degree programs (applicants must also apply to and be accepted by, or already matriculated in another Stanford program). Interested students should contact the program directly.
Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER, joint/dual degree)
E-IPER students and faculty work across academic disciplines — the physical and natural sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities, law and policy, medicine, and business — to yield new insights and novel solutions to urgent global problems. They include clean energy, climate change, food security, water quality and quantity, land conservation, human health and sanitation, sustainable cities, ocean health, and biodiversity loss.
Sustainability Science and Practice (coterminal masters)
The Change Leadership for Sustainability Program prepares students and professionals to be this new kind of leader, capable of radically accelerating the transition to a sustainable society. Participants in our programs learn how to design and implement transformative solutions and strategies that emerge from a fundamentally new understanding of themselves, others and the natural world.
Earth Systems (coterminal masters)
The Earth Systems Program is an interdisciplinary environmental science major and coterminal master's program. Students learn about and independently investigate complex environmental problems caused by human activities in conjunction with natural changes in the Earth system.
Masters degrees open to Stanford and non-Stanford applicants
Please review the department website for more information. Some departments offer coterminal master’s degrees for Stanford students, in addition to accepting master’s applications from external applicants. Interested students should contact the department directly. The online application for 2023–24 will open in September 2022 (Stanford Graduate Admissions website).
Energy Science and Engineering
We train future leaders in the science and engineering of Earth’s energy resources. We combine theory, experiments, and computation to understand and influence the global energy resources landscape. We are committed to leading the way to provide the people, methods, and tools for sustainable management of the Earth’s energy resources.
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Students in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering make a lasting impact in the world as they launch careers which design and apply innovative solutions fostering sustainability in the natural and built environments.
Earth System Science
Our goal is to understand, predict, and respond to human-caused and natural environmental change at local to global scales. Scientists in our Earth System Science department offer a strong graduate research program across a broad range of environmental and Earth science disciplines for students working toward a doctoral degree.
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Our students and geoscientists study the properties of minerals, rocks, soils, sediments and water, using multiple lenses — stratigraphy, paleobiology, geochemistry, and planetary sciences. Their work informs our understanding of natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and floods. It helps us meet natural resource challenges through environmental and geological engineering, mapping and land use planning, surface and groundwater management, and the exploration and sustainable extraction of energy and minerals. It also helps us answer fundamental questions about the origin, history, and habitability of planets.
Geophysics
Geophysicists study Earth and planetary processes through laboratory experiments, computational and theoretical modeling, remote imaging, and direct observation. At Stanford, our teaching and research focus on understanding systems critical to the future of civilization. Students apply expertise to fundamental research sustaining life on Earth, combining underlying science with studies of Earth’s environment and resource needs. Such breadth of exposure is highly sought after and leads to careers in academia, industry, and government.
PhD degree programs
Interested students should contact the department/program directly. The online application for 2023–24 will open in September 2022 (Stanford Graduate Admissions website).
Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER)
E-IPER students and faculty work across academic disciplines—the physical and natural sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities, law and policy, medicine, and business — to yield new insights and novel solutions to urgent global problems. They include clean energy, climate change, food security, water quality and quantity, land conservation, human health and sanitation, sustainable cities, ocean health, and biodiversity loss.
Energy Science and Engineering
We train future leaders in the science and engineering of Earth’s energy resources. We combine theory, experiments, and computation to understand and influence the global energy resources landscape. We are committed to leading the way to provide the people, methods, and tools for sustainable management of the Earth’s energy resources.
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Students in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering make a lasting impact in the world as they launch careers that design and apply innovative solutions fostering sustainability in the natural and built environments.
Earth System Science
Our goal is to understand, predict, and respond to human-caused and natural environmental change at local to global scales. Scientists in our Earth System Science department offer a strong graduate research program across a broad range of environmental and Earth science disciplines for students working toward a doctoral degree.
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Our students and geoscientists study the properties of minerals, rocks, soils, sediments and water, using multiple lenses — stratigraphy, paleobiology, geochemistry, and planetary sciences. Their work informs our understanding of natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and floods. It helps us meet natural resource challenges through environmental and geological engineering, mapping and land use planning, surface and groundwater management, and the exploration and sustainable extraction of energy and minerals. It also helps us answer fundamental questions about the origin, history, and habitability of planets.
Geophysics
Geophysicists study Earth and planetary processes through laboratory experiments, computational and theoretical modeling, remote imaging, and direct observation. At Stanford, our teaching and research focus on understanding systems critical to the future of civilization. Students apply expertise to fundamental research sustaining life on Earth, combining underlying science with studies of Earth’s environment and resource needs. Such breadth of exposure is highly sought after and leads to careers in academia, industry, and government.