Undergraduate Education

Students who enjoy learning and challenging themselves thrive at Stanford. We seek students who have achieved distinction in a range of areas and who embrace the value of a well-rounded liberal education.

With an approximate 5-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, Stanford fosters close student and faculty interaction. Stanford offers three undergraduate degrees: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Sciences, and Bachelor of Arts and Sciences. Each is designed to achieve balance between depth of knowledge acquired through specialization and breadth of knowledge gained through exploration.

Three of Stanford’s seven schools award undergraduate degrees: Humanities and Sciences; Engineering; and the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. Undergraduates complete at least 180 units, including major courses, writing and rhetoric requirements, and one year of a foreign language. Each major has a distinct set of requirements, including some common elements such as a Writing in the Major (WIM) course and a capstone. All undergraduates also complete their Ways of Thinking / Ways of Doing general education requirements: 11 courses in 8 interdisciplinary Ways categories.

In addition, all undergraduates pursue a COLLEGE pathway—a required set of courses for first-years exploring civic, liberal, and global education.

Stanford’s distinctive undergraduate programs include:

Introductory Seminars: These small seminar classes for first- and second-year students, and new transfers, enroll more than 2,000 students annually. Faculty and instructors from all seven Stanford schools teach up to 200 seminars each year.

Bing Overseas Studies Program: Stanford offers study away opportunities in Australia, Berlin, Cape Town, Florence, Hong Kong, Kyoto, Madrid, New York, Oxford, Paris, and Santiago. Also offered are faculty-led Global Seminars in various locations worldwide. Each year, approximately 900 students—50 percent of the average class year—study away on Stanford programs.

Undergraduate Research: The Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education annually dedicates nearly $7.5 million to support approximately 1,200 students participating in a wide range of projects and programs on- and off-campus. Approximately one third of all students use VPUE undergraduate research funding at some point in their time at Stanford. 

Project funding has been used by students and faculty in departments and programs across every school, as well as almost 30 interdisciplinary institutes and research centers. Projects regularly span the humanities, arts, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, and medical sciences

Undergraduate Fields of Study

Stanford offers 66 major fields of undergraduate study. Engineering students may also elect to pursue an individually designed major.

Undergraduate Financial Aid

Stanford has a long-standing commitment to providing an affordable education to all students, regardless of their economic circumstances. Eighty-six percent of the recent graduating class had no student debt. Through our generous need-based financial aid program, parents with annual incomes below $150,000 and assets typical for that income level pay no tuition. Parents with income at or less than $100,000 and typical assets pay no tuition or room and board. Families with higher incomes and assets also qualify for assistance depending on their individual circumstances. Learn more about financial aid for undergraduate students.