No GRE required
The page says the GRE is not required for 2027-2028, and leaving it out does not count against you.
Doctoral · Stanford Education
Stanford Education PhD: no GRE, but writing samples and essays differ by programme
The Stanford Graduate School of Education requirements page, labelled for 2027-2028, says the GRE is not required and not submitting scores does not count against an applicant. It then lists programme-specific items for each doctoral area: a long statement for Developmental and Psychological Sciences, a required writing sample for Race, Inequality, and Language in Education, Anthropology of Education and Education Data Science, and supplemental essays for Economics of Education. History/Social Science Education is not admitting for 2027-2028.
Official information · last verified for 2027-28 entry
What Stanford asks for in Stanford Education PhD
Taken from the Stanford Graduate School of Education application requirements page for PhD, MA and MS programmes and read on 2 November 2026. The page describes 2027-28 entry. For a 2028-29 start, applied for in 2027-28, every requirement below is last verified for the previous cycle and may change; Stanford's requirements, dates and funding for 2028-29 are awaiting publication, and none is stated here.
Rules differ by area
Writing samples, essays and interviews vary across DAPS, SHIPS, LSTD, RILE and CTE.
One area is not admitting
History/Social Science Education will not admit for 2027-2028.
Official sources
Read on 2 November 2026 on the Stanford Graduate School of Education application requirements page for PhD, MA and MS programmes, which describes 2027-28 entry. The application portal, deadlines, funding and the English-test scores were not used and are not stated. No deadline, fee, funding amount or place number is stated.
The decision
Does your record fit what the programme page asks?
This guide concerns only the Stanford research degree. The reading below is Avandy's judgment (heuristic), built from what the programme page says.
It fits if
you have already identified the specific doctoral area you are applying to and can meet its writing sample or essay requirement.
Think again if
you assumed one Education PhD application fits all areas. The page sets different items for each programme.
Check the page
The Graduate School's programme page is the source; deadlines, funding and score thresholds change by cycle and are not stated here.
How the application is read
What the programme page lists
The page, labelled for 2027-2028, sets common requirements (application form, transcripts, English proficiency where needed) and says the GRE is not required. It then lists programme-specific items: interviews that the committee may request, writing samples required in some areas and not others, a long statement of purpose for DAPS and supplemental essays for Economics of Education. This guide states no deadline, fee or funding term.
How the programme runs
Focus and working pattern
The GSE offers several doctoral areas under one application page, including Curriculum and Teacher Education areas, Developmental and Psychological Sciences, Learning Sciences and Technology Design, Race, Inequality, and Language in Education and the SHIPS subplans. Some applicants under SHIPS apply to more than one subplan.
Avandy's judgment
Where an application can go wrong
These points are Avandy's heuristic reading of the page. They are not Stanford rules and carry no probability.
Treating the Education PhD as one programme
The page lists different items for each doctoral area.
Skipping a required writing sample
RILE, Anthropology of Education and Education Data Science require one; other areas say not required.
Applying to a programme not admitting
History/Social Science Education will not admit students for 2027-2028.
Next steps
A sensible order of work
The order is Avandy's suggestion, built from the page's own steps.
Check your record
Compare your coursework and experience with the stated expectations.
Prepare the written work
Draft the statements and writing sample the page asks for, in the formats it lists.
Plan the tests
Check which tests are required, optional or not accepted.
Read the current page
Read the programme page for the cycle you apply in.
Planning for 2028-29 entry
Planning for 2028-29 entry: what carries over and what awaits publication
Stanford's programme page describes entry in 2027-28. A start in 2028-29 means applying in the 2027-28 cycle, under rules Stanford has not yet published. Each item below is either last verified for 2027-28 entry, which means Stanford published it for the previous cycle and it may change, or awaiting publication for 2028-29 entry.
The structure of the programme and the application
The expectations, the written work and the test policy are described on Stanford's programme page, which carries no entry-year label. Stanford has not published the following cycle.
Deadlines, places, funding and fees
This guide states none of them. Stanford publishes them per cycle; read the page again for the cycle you apply in.
What to do now
Check your record against the programme page, prepare the written work it lists and plan any required test.
Support
Independent support with the research statement and fit
Avandy provides independent academic and admissions support. It is not affiliated with Stanford University or any of its departments, and it has no relationship with any member of staff. Support sits within the Avandy Trinity Advisory Model: a Strategic Admissions Consultant and a PhD-level Academic Mentor help the applicant test a research idea against the department's published research areas and plan their own statement. Support here is limited to testing a research idea against the department's published research themes and planning the applicant's own statements; it does not extend to contacting staff on the applicant's behalf. Avandy does not write or submit any part of an application, cannot arrange a supervisor and promises no outcome or funding.
Questions
Questions applicants ask
What does the Stanford Education PhD ask for?
The Developmental and Psychological Sciences statement of purpose has extra required content and a 2,000-word maximum.
Is a test required?
For the 2027-2028 academic year the GSE page says the GRE is not required, that scores may be submitted and not submitting them does not affect an application negatively, and that TOEFL or IELTS Academic minimums apply where English proficiency is not otherwise shown. Programme-specific items differ across the doctoral areas.
Does this guide state a deadline?
No. The page carries no entry-year label and this guide states no deadline, fee or funding. Check the programme page for the cycle you apply in.
Does the programme include funding?
This guide did not use Stanford's funding sections and states no funding.
Students and families
Talk to us about the Stanford Education PhD
Tell us about your degrees, your research experience, the research question you want to pursue and the supervisors or groups you have in mind. A senior adviser will review the academic profile before recommending how to develop the research statement.