General Graduate Admission Requirements

Deadline for all graduate applications to the Department of Communication for matriculation in Autumn of the 2009-2010 academic year is December 2, 2008.

  • Completed Application electronic or paper application *Please see below for further details*

  • Application fee $105 for ALL applicants.

  • Official GRE scores from the General Test (See section below). Subject tests are not required for the Department of Communication.

  • Official TOEFL scores if applicable (See section below).

  • Statement of purpose that explains the nature of the applicant's interest in one specific program in the department and reasons for wanting to study it at Stanford.

    IMPORTANT: Please indicate in the first sentence of your statement of purpose the name of the one program to which you are applying - Master's Program in Journalism or Ph.D. Program in Communication.

  • Program Specific Supplementary Material such as samples of writing (Graduate Program in Journalism only).

  • Official Transcripts - TWO copies from all previous undergraduate and graduate work.

  • Three letters of recommendation that are specific in their assessment of the applicant's accomplishments and promise.

The statement of purpose and letters of recommendation may be submitted on line. All hard copy versions and all other supplemental admissions materials should be mailed to:

Student Services Administrator
Department of Communication
Building 120, Room 110A
450 Serra Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-2050

Test Scores

TOEFL

The Test of English as a Foreign Language is required for all applicants whose first language is not English. For international applicants, a minimum score of 650 on the paper-based TOEFL or 280 on the computer-based TOEFL is highly recommended. Information on the TOEFL is available at http://www.toefl.org.

GRE

Make arrangements to take the General Test by writing:

Educational Testing Service
Box 955
Princeton, New Jersey 08540

OR

Educational Testing Service
1947 Center Street
Berkeley, California 94704

OR

www.gre.org

Apply at least one month prior to the date of examination. Applicants must take the exam not later than the first week in November to meet the December 2 application deadline. Earlier GRE scores taken up to five years before the December application deadline may be submitted. Only scores submitted directly by the Educational Testing Service to Stanford are considered official scores for purposes of admission. The Stanford score recipient number is R4704. Please note that there is no department code for the Department of Communication.

Application

University graduate admission information and electronic application are available at http://gradadmissions.stanford.edu in early September 2008.

Application Deadline

Applicants are admitted only in Autumn Quarter. The application deadline for Autumn 2008 matriculation is Tuesday, December 2, 2008.

Application Decisions

Admission decisions are usually made between March 1-15.

General Information for All Applicants

Be sure to indicate the one program to which you are applying. Applications reading "Journalism" or "M.A. and Ph.D.," indicate a confusion of purpose that can be damaging. Ph.D. applicants should also specify their area of emphasis.

Applicants for each program are evaluated for admission on different criteria. Stanford students who complete an A.M. degree and apply to the Ph.D. program must file a new application for admission and are considered with all other doctoral applicants.

A student may apply for only one program within the department.

Housing

As soon as prospective students have accepted admission, they are sent university housing information. University housing is available for both single and married students. Because supply does not equal demand, many students live off-campus. Off-campus living can be very expensive and students wishing to live on-campus are urged to send in their housing applications promptly. For additional information on housing, please refer to the Stanford Student Housing.

Financial Aid

Applicants may indicate on the application whether or not they wish to be considered for departmental funding. See each program for information on financial aid. Graduate student loan information is mailed to accepted students and can also be accessed at Stanford's Office of Financial Aid.