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Eligibility

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To be eligible for admission to graduate study at Stanford, you must meet the university’s minimum requirements for academic credentials and English proficiency.

Minimum Education Requirements

You must hold, or expect to hold before enrollment at Stanford, a U.S. bachelor’s degree or its international equivalent from a college or university of recognized standing.

Stanford’s assessment of a post-secondary degree is based on the characteristics of a national educational system, the type of institution you attended, and the level of studies you completed. The following guidelines indicate the minimum level of study you should have achieved from a recognized academic institution to enroll in graduate study at Stanford.

Institution Region Institution Country Minimum Level of Study Required
Africa All countries Four-year bachelor’s, bachelor’s with honours, or maitrise.
Asia India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal Bachelor’s degree in engineering or medicine; or four-year bachelor's degree. (Note: A three-year bachelor’s degree in any subject is not considered sufficient for graduate study at Stanford. The two-year master’s degree following the three-year bachelor’s degree from India is required.)
Asia Russia University diploma requiring four years of study. Three-year Bologna-compliant bachelor’s degree accepted (requires the Diploma Supplement issued in accordance with the Bologna Declaration).
Asia All remaining countries University degree requiring four years of study.
Europe France Diplome d’Ingenieur from grandes écoles, or completion of two years of classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles (CPGE) and two years of course work toward the Diplome d’Ingenieur degree. Otherwise, Maitrise from universities.
Europe Germany The diplom, magister artium (M.A.) or staatsexamen. Three-year Bologna-compliant bachelor’s degree accepted.
Europe United Kingdom British patterned education – bachelor’s degree with honours.
Europe All remaining countries University degree requiring four years of study. Three-year Bologna-compliant bachelor's degree accepted.
Middle East All countries University degree requiring four years of study.
North/South America Canada Three-year bachelor’s degree from Quebec, four-year bachelor’s degree from other provinces.
North/South America Latin America University degree requiring four years of study.
North/South America United States Bachelor’s degree from a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting association.
Oceania All countries Bachelor’s degree (four years) or bachelor’s degree (honours). For French Polynesia, see the minimum qualifications for France.

English Proficiency

As a graduate student enrolled at Stanford, you will be expected to read English with ease, understand rapid idiomatic English as used in lectures and group discussions, and express thoughts quickly and clearly in spoken and written English.

If your first language is not English, you are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT) before your program’s application deadline.

Refer to the link above for more information, including Stanford’s minimum TOEFL score requirements and TOEFL waivers/exemptions.