Stanford University Courses 2026: Popular UG, PG, & Certificate Courses

Stanford University MBA program is one of the most selective programs by top business schools.

The school received more than 6,000 applications and accepted just 431 candidates. Just the test scores won't be enough to secure admission to the Stanford MBA. 

• The average undergraduate GPA for the class of 2025 was 3.77 
• The GMAT score required was 738
• Work experience of 5 years

Read: MBA Colleges in USA

As per the unofficial source, the Stanford University acceptance rate is 3.61%. The lower percentage shows that the university is extremely stringent during admission and is hard to get into Stanford.

Students must perform extremely well in academic as well as non-academic factors to increase their chances of selection. Some crucial factors are given below -

• The rigor of secondary school records
• Class rank
• Academic GPA
• Recommendation
• Application essay
• Extracurricular activities

As per an unofficial source, the Computer Science programme at Stanford is better than that of the University of Michigan. The Stanford's Computer Science programme ranks #1 where the programme at the University of Michigan ranks at #10 position. The rankings are based on various factors. Students must prefer Stanford over the University of Michigan, however the tuition cost at Stanford is more than the University of Michigan. The tuition cost of Computer Science programme at Stanford is INR 54L, where the tuition cost at the latter is INR 48L.

Stanford University MS in Computer Science admission requirements are given below -

• A UG degree
• While the university does not require a specific undergraduate coursework, it is important that applicants have Quantitative and Analytical skills; a bachelor’s degree is CS is not required
• Academic transcripts
• Standardized test scores
• TOEFL score
• Any relevant experience
• 3 academic or professional experiences
• Statement of Purpose
• Any other admission material

Graduate School of Education does not require GRE for an MS in Education Data Science at Stanford University. Other admission requirements for this course are given below:

• Complete application form with the payment of the application fee
• Statement of Purpose
• Resume/ CV
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
• College and university transcripts
• TOEFL score of 100 on iBT

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) course specialisation at the Stanford University are offered in different fields including Business Administration; Finance; Economics; Management; Accounting; Public Policy; and many more.

The MBA course at the university is a two year long course providing high quality of academic experience along with practica approch.

Stanford Uni offers top-notch degrees like BA, BS, MA, MS, PhD, BAS, MBA, LLM, MLA, MSM, DMA, MD, JSD, JSM, MFA, MLS, MPP and ENG plus some popular chosen courses are CS, Computational Science, Eco, Business Admin. and Management etc.

FT Rankings for MBA is 

• Full time MBA in any international college or university
• Institutes must secire a minimum respone rate of 20% for alumini.
• 60% weight from alumini survey metrics
• 30% weight from school reported data
• 10% weight from faculty research performance

As per U.S. News ranking, Stanford ranks better than Caltech. Both these universities are the top-ranked universities globally and in the U.S. 

Stanford University is ranked #3 in the USA, according to Shiksha Popularity rankings. It ranks among the top 10 universities in the world. It offers top courses for its international and domestic students. Moreover, the university is ranked #3 among the top universities globally by highly-regarded ranking agencies.

Stanford QS rankings in 2026 is #3. As per Times Higher rankings, Stanford ranks at #5 in 2026. This means that globally too, Stanford ranks among the Top 10 Universities worldwide. 

According to the QS World University rankings 2026, UC Berkeley had a ranking of #17 and Stanford University has a ranking of #3. The comparative THE rankings of UC Berkeley and Stanford University are given as follows:

Stanford University and the IITs are very well-known institutions worldwide and have their own strengths as well as weaknesses.

According to the QS World University Rankings 2026, Stanford University has secured the spot #3, whereas IIT (Bombay) ranks #129. On the basis of world workings, Stanford University has an upper hand.

Given below is the comprehensive comparison between both the universities on the basis of some other parameters:

Stanford University is known to have a good ranking for its Chemical Engineering PG, Computer Engineering PG, Global MBA, and Engineering & Technology courses.

As per the Shiksha Popularity Rankings, Stanford University has been ranked at #2 for its MS courses. Some of the other rankings of the course are given in the table below -

Stanford University and Harvard University are both a part of the top 5 universities in the world and students across the world desire to study here. In QS World University Rankings, Harvard has secured the rank #5 in Best Global Universities. Whereas, Stanford has been ranked #3 in the same category.

However, in the ranking awarded by Times Higher Education (THE), Stanford and Harvard rank the same.

Students can refer to the table below as mentioned in the prominent bodies:

Below we have given Stanford University admission requirements for undergraduate courses

• USD 90 nonrefundable application fee
• ACT or SAT test scores (as applicable)
• School Report form and counselor letter of recommendation
• Official transcript (s) or academic results
• Letters of recommendation from two teachers
• Midyear transcript (by February 15)
• Proof of English proficiency

Stanford University admissions are not limited to academic scores, the university looks at the overall profile of the candidate. In a clear sense, the primary factor for admission is academic excellence. However, the university also wants to learn about your nonacademic interests and extracurricular activities that help them in understanding your contribution to its community.

Graduate Admissions 

• International students willing to take admission to Stanford University graduate courses must have a U.S. bachelor's degree or its international equivalent from a college or university of recognised standing. In other words, Indian students must have a bachelor's degree in Engineering or Medicine; or four-year bachelor's degree

Read: Requirements to Study in USA for International Students 

Stanford University is surely one of the toughest universities to get into as the Stanford University has just an acceptance rate of 3,7% which means only 3 students can get into the university out of hundreds hence it could be difficult for a mediocre or an average student to get into LSE. However it’s not impossible as the basic requirement the university asks for is a GPA of 3.5 or above from an accredited university and a good ELP score also Stanford takes a holistic approach and doesn’t just consider marks but sees multiple factors in the student's profile.

At the University of Stanford, international students can choose between more than 90 undergraduate majors and over 100 graduate degree programs. According to the historical data of the university's alumni, some of the most popular Stanford University courses are:

Note: In the above pie chart,  Others include Marketing, Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies, Organizational Leadership, Innovation, and Management Science & Engineering.

Stanford University is considered to be one of the best uni in the world as it has consistently retained its rank in the top 5 universities in the world also Standford University is an award winning university with more than 68 faculty, staff, and alumni gaining the Nobel Prize since 1952 and the institution has the most Turing award winners and has claimed the rank #6 in QS World University Rankings 2025.

Yes, Stanford University require SAT or ACT scores from the international students for admission to the UG courses. The university has not mentioned the minimum SAT scores. But, students are advised to have the SAT score between 1470 - 1570 and ACT score between 34-35. Along with this, UG students have to submit the documents like transcripts, LOR, school report, etc.