Prospective students
Graduate programs
Applying to graduate school: strategies and tips
The Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion offers strategies and tips for applying to graduate school. Prepare the best application package for graduate school by checking out these resources below on timelines, personal statements, and fee waivers. Please email department/programs admissions contacts or streamsurge@stanford.edu if you'd like to receive more specific advice regarding your application. While gaining admission to graduate school may be competitive, you can increase your chances through the right preparation.
- Graduate School Application Guide
- Timeline and Tips
- Applying to Grad School: Opportunities at Stanford
- Writing a Strong Personal Statement
- Writing a Diversity Statement, UC San Diego
- Apply for an Application Fee Waiver
- How to Email Faculty
- Graduate Diversity at Stanford
- Apply to the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program
- What is Holistics Admissions?, ETS
- GRE Fee Reduction Program, ETS
- GRE Accommodations for Test Takers with Disabilities or Health-related Needs, ETS
- Khan Academy® Instructional Videos: Free Preparation for the GRE® Quantitative Reasoning Measure, ETS
Fee Waiver
A limited number of fee waivers are available to students apply to graduate programs in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and are in financial need.
You should only request a school-based waiver if you do not qualify for the GRE or Diversity Program Participation fee waivers. All fee waiver applications must be completed 10 business days prior to your department deadline. Please note that a limited number of application fee waivers are available and applications will be reviewed on a first-come basis. Acceptance or denial of your application for a fee waiver does not affect your likelihood of admission into a graduate program.
Meet our community members
- Meet our Peer Advisors (undergraduate students)
- Meet our Recruitment Ambassadors (graduate students, postdocs, faculty & staff)
Additional resources at Stanford
- Dean’s Graduate Scholars Program
- Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence (DARE)
- Diversity Dissertation Research Opportunity Fund
- Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (EDGE-STEM)
- GRAD Day
Graduate Recruitment and Diversity Day is a chance for admitted students and promising applicants from diverse backgrounds who have already applied to Stanford to visit campus and learn more about our university. - Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity (GFSD)
- Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program
- Pertenecer
Pertenecer works to introduce students to academic spaces and environmental careers, and to show students that they belong at places like Stanford. - Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellowship (SIGF)
- Student Projects for Intellectual Community Enhancement (SPICE)
Undergraduate research experience
One of the main factors determining admission into graduate school is research experience. Students need to demonstrate the ability to investigate and carry out a research project, while exhibiting knowledge about a specific field. If you're an undergraduate searching for a research experience, we recommend you consider these summer research opportunities:
- Sustainability Summer Undergraduate Research in Geoscience and Engineering Program (SURGE). SURGE is the school's flagship summer undergraduate research program for non-Stanford students across the US. We invite applications from students seeking their first formal research experience and/or come from backgrounds underrepresented in the sciences.
- The Leadership Alliance is a national consortium of more than 30 leading research and teaching colleges, universities, and private industry that offers research and graduate school training opportunities to undergraduate students.