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Application

***Application opens in late September each year and closes at midnight PST on the day of each deadline***

A completed application consists of the following

Online Application

Including:

Also on this page:

Keep scrolling for details.

Application Fee:  Visit Graduate Admissions for the current year's application fee and information on the fee waiver process.

TIP: Please ensure your email address is current; you will be notified by email with the admissions decision. All correspondence regarding your application and the notification of all admissions decisions are via email.

TIP: Make sure your first and last name remains consistent throughout the application process and in your correspondence with the department.

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Online Application

The online application opens in late September each year.

The application as well as information about admissions requirements and procedures are available at Stanford's Graduate Admissions website.

Tip: For technical application questions, use the “Contact Help” link on your application home page.

Tip: Do not mail a hard copy of the application form once you submit an online application.

*The materials you provide in your application are used for the review process until the official ones are received. It is not a problem if your official transcripts and test scores are received after the deadline.

Statement of Purpose

Your Statement of Purpose should identify your personal and professional goals. You should also discuss your development to date and your intentions relative to graduate study and life beyond Stanford. The ICME Graduate Admissions Committee reads your statement of purpose with interest because, along with the letters of recommendation, it offers insight into who you are as an individual. Your statement of purpose should not exceed 10MB in either a PDF or Word file.

TIP:  Do not submit a second hard copy of it along with your supporting documents.

Letters of Recommendation

Three letters of recommendation are required; at least one letter must come from an academic source, however we recommend two. Please have your recommender write candidly about your qualifications, potential to carry on advanced study in the field specified, intellectual independence, capacity for analytical thinking, ability to organize and express ideas clearly, and potential for teaching. Specific examples--that describe such attributes as motivation, intellect, and maturity--are more useful than generalizations. 

TIP:  Paper copies of recommendations cannot be accepted.

*Recommendation letters can be submitted up to one week after the application deadline.

 

Transcripts

Transcripts

*Transcripts are required from every college/university you have attended for at least one year as a full-time student.*

**Do not send your official transcripts until after you have submitted the application, and it is fine if the official transcripts are received after the application deadline.**

***Stanford University closes during the final weeks of December, do not have transcripts sent during that time.***

To submit your transcript(s), follow both of these steps:

Upload a scanned copy of your transcript (s) into the on-line application. See the transcript upload information in the File Upload Requirements section for specific instructions.

Arrange for your official transcripts to be sent by the institution(s) to ICME. An official transcript must be an original document bearing the institutional seal and official signature of the Registrar or copies verified by a school administrative officer and is one that is sent to Stanford in one of the following ways, ICME prefers the digital options over mailing transcripts:

  • Electronic delivery: The use of secure electronically-delivered transcripts that are pass code protected is necessary. The document's certified digital signature embedded in the document PDF assures us that it has been prepared by the college/university and that the document is original and unaltered. Please check with the registrar's office of your college/university to see if they provide secure electronic certified transcript service. Note: Transcripts sent as email attachments are not accepted.

 

  • CollegeNET Document Service: Applicants from international institutions are encouraged to use the CollegeNET Document Service within the graduate application to request and submit authenticated transcript(s) and other academic documents. This service provides certified documents to the department to which you are applying.  

 

​*These processes take some time to complete, and it is not a problem if they are completed after the application deadline as long as the process is started by the application deadline.

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  • eTranscript Service: Stanford students and alumni who have active SUNet IDs can use the eTranscript Service within the graduate application. See instructions in the application.

 

  • Postal service: ICME prefers the above methods over paper transcripts, however if your only option is mailed transcripts, an official transcript is one that has been signed and sealed by the college/university registrar and is received by Stanford in its original, sealed envelope. Mail official transcripts to:

ICME Graduate Admissions

Huang Engineering Center, Suite 053B

475 Via Ortega Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305-4042

 

Grade Point Averages (GPA) Calculations

GPA scale varies from institution to institution. It is best to use the scale used by your institution. Information on computing your GPA is available here.
For the GPA scale, use the maximum for the school as defined on the back of the transcript. If a cumulative GPA is not provided, please leave the field blank.

Test Scores

TIP: Find information on GRE/TOEFL registration, test centers and dates on the ETS website.

GRE

All applicants must provide GRE General test scores from an examination taken within the past five years of the application deadline. Your official score report should be sent to the Stanford Graduate Admissions office directly from ETS.

What you need to know:

  • Schedule to take the test at least three months before the application deadline--For applicants who have taken the GRE General test and are expecting the score reports after the deadline for submitting the application, please note that without the score report your application will be considered incomplete.
  • The Stanford score recipient number (also called "Institution Code") is "4704." Department code is not necessary.
  • Please be sure to list Stanford University as a Score Recipient in addition to listing it as your Graduate Institution (GI).
  • Official scores take up to three weeks after the application is submitted to post, please continue to check your application status. Your self-reported scores will be used in the review process until official scores are received.
  • Stanford retains score report information only for applicants. If you requested ETS to send your score report to Stanford and you have not followed up with an application to any program at Stanford (not necessarily ICME), you will have to request ETS to resend the scores. All score reports for non-applicants are purged from the system each year.
  • It is highly recommended, although not required, for PhD applicants to take the GRE Subject Test in math, physics, or computer science.
  • GMAT scores cannot be substituted for the GRE score requirement.

TOEFL

TOEFL scores are required of all applicants whose first language is not English regardless of citizenship status. Individuals who have completed a Bachelor's, Master's, or a doctoral degree in the U.S. or another English-speaking country are not required to submit TOEFL scores.  The complete policy can be found on the Graduate Admissions website.

What you need to know:

  • Scores must be submitted from a test taken within the last 18 months of the application deadline.
  • TOEFL scores should be reported directly to Graduate Admissions from ETS.
  • The Stanford score recipient number (also called "Institution Code") is "4704." Department code is not necessary.
  • University minimum TOEFL score is 89. We recommend, 113 or higher. 
  • IELTS CANNOT BE TAKEN IN PLACE OF TOEFL

Reapplying

Please note that reapplying after not receiving an admission offer is not recommended and it is very rare that admissions decisions are changed.
PhD, MS, and HCP applicants interested in reapplying need to submit the following documents to ICME by the application deadline:
  1. Online Application
  2. Application Fee
  3. Statement of Purpose
  4. Three (3) new letters of recommendation
  5. GRE and TOEFL scores (if applicable)
  6. ONE (1) official transcript from any academic institution attended after the previous application was submitted

Application Status

We are unable to answer inquiries regarding the status of any application. Please refer to your checklist on your Application Activity Status Page for updates on your supporting material status: Graduate Admissions
 
We will contact you if your application is incomplete; be sure to keep your email address updated. Please refer to the Application Deadlines for the approximate time when application decisions will be made.
 
If you do not receive an email from our office by the posted decision date, you may email us to inquire about your application status.  Include your first and last names as used on the application, mailing address, and a fax number (if available). Please do not call our office with this particular inquiry, as we are unable to provide any applicant information over the phone.

Deferral Policy

In general, ICME does not allow admission to be deferred to a later quarter. The primary reason being that the core courses sequence begins in the autumn quarter. An admitted student may request special permission to start the program in the summer quarter. A yearlong deferral may be approved on a case-by-case review. A PhD student may get a deferral of a year, only if the student has an external fellowship whose sponsor has agreed to the deferral.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

The Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS)program is designed to build a multidisciplinary community of Stanford graduate students dedicated to finding creative solutions to the world's greatest challenges. The program awards up to 100 high-achieving students every year with full funding to pursue a graduate education at Stanford, including the MS and PhD in ICME. To be considered, you must apply to the KHS program and separately apply to ICME by the deadlines listed on the KHS site.