Stanford GPA Requirements: Undergrad and Grad School (2027)

No GPA is officially required for Stanford University. Stanford’s undergraduate admission office states that it has no minimum GPA, and graduate admission is decided by each department, many of which also say they set no minimum. In practice, admitted applicants have very high GPAs: Stanford’s Computer Science department says its PhD admits typically have at least a 3.6, the Statistics PhD strongly recommends 3.5 or higher, and applicants who report Stanford results to The GradCafe show an average undergraduate GPA of 3.84.

So “no minimum” does not mean “any GPA works.” It means Stanford reads your GPA in context, alongside everything else in your application. This guide covers both undergraduate and graduate admission, with each figure traced to its source, and spends most of its time on graduate school, where the rules vary by department and almost nobody has collected them in one place.

What GPA is required for Stanford University?

For undergraduate (first-year) admission: none. Stanford’s admission overview says plainly that it does not have a minimum GPA requirement. What it looks for instead is academic excellence, described as flawless or nearly flawless grades in a rigorous program. Your transcript is the most important part of the application, with the review focused on grades 10, 11 and 12 (ninth grade is treated as a transition year).

For graduate admission (master’s and PhD): Stanford’s Office of Graduate Admissions does not publish a university-wide minimum GPA. Each department reviews its own applicants and sets its own expectations. Several state in writing that there is no minimum: Electrical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering and the Biosciences PhD programs all say so on their admissions pages.

The one firm academic requirement at the graduate level is a degree: you need a U.S. bachelor’s degree, or its international equivalent, by the time you enroll.

Here is what “no minimum” really means. Meeting no threshold is not the same as having no expectations. Stanford’s EE department notes that successful applicants typically have cumulative GPAs near the top of their class. The numbers below show how high that is in practice.

Stanford undergraduate GPA: what admitted students have

If you are applying as a first-year student, these are the figures that matter:

• Admit rate: about 3.8% for students entering in fall 2025 (2,302 admitted from 60,646 applicants, per Stanford’s 2025-26 Common Data Set).
• GPA: in recent Common Data Sets, roughly three in four enrolled students had an unweighted 4.0, and the average reported high school GPA sits around 3.95.
• Testing: Stanford requires the SAT or ACT again for students applying from fall 2025 onward (the Class of 2030 and later). It was test-optional for the classes before that.

In other words, a near-perfect transcript in demanding courses is the norm among admitted students, even without a formal cutoff. Stanford’s admission overview explains its holistic review in full.

The rest of this guide is about graduate admission, master’s and PhD, which is what The GradCafe’s data covers.

Stanford graduate GPA requirements by department

Stanford does not set one graduate GPA rule. Here is what departments with published guidance actually say, checked on official pages in October 2026:

Three things stand out.

Only a few departments name a number, and when they do, it is high. CS saying “at least 3.6” for typical PhD admits and Statistics recommending 3.5 tell you where the realistic range starts. Neither is a cutoff, but both are honest signals.

Stanford uses a 4.3 scale, which does not change your GPA. The CS FAQ notes that Stanford grades on a 4.3 scale (an A+ is worth 4.3). That applies to Stanford’s own students. Your application GPA is read on the scale your school uses.

Don’t convert your GPA. Stanford’s graduate admissions FAQ tells applicants to enter their GPA exactly as it appears on their transcript, and the Statistics department says the same: give the original GPA and scale rather than converting it to 4.0. If you studied in India, Pakistan, China or anywhere else that uses a different system, report your percentage or 10-point CGPA as it is. Committees are used to reading them.

What GPA do admitted Stanford applicants actually report?

Published guidance tells you what departments expect. Reported outcomes show who actually got in.

Across 21,539 Stanford results reported to The GradCafe, the average undergraduate GPA is 3.84. Of those reports, 5,065 recorded an acceptance, a reported admit share of 23.5%.

You can read the most recent decisions, many with GPAs attached, on the Stanford admissions results page.

An important caveat. These figures come from applicants who chose to report their own result. They are not Stanford’s official acceptance rate or a representative sample. People who report tend to be highly engaged applicants, and many reports leave the GPA blank. Read 3.84 as “the GPA of a typical Stanford applicant who reports to The GradCafe,” not as a requirement.

It is still useful as a cross-check. CS publishes “at least 3.6” for its typical PhD admits. Self-reported Stanford applicants average 3.84. Two independent signals, both comfortably above 3.5.

The programs with the most Stanford reports:

• Computer Science: 2,228 results (see the reports)
• Electrical Engineering: 1,104 results (see the reports)
• Economics: 1,076 results (see the reports)
• Physics: 847 results (see the reports)
• Mechanical Engineering: 770 results (see the reports)

For your own program, individual reports beat any average. A single report of a 3.5 admitted to the program you want tells you more than a university-wide mean.

Does Stanford require the GRE?

There is no Stanford-wide GRE policy. Each program marks the GRE as required, optional or not considered, and the differences are large. Getting this wrong can cost you a full cycle, because subject tests run only a few times a year.

Policies below are for Autumn 2027 entry, checked on official department pages in October 2026:

Statistics and MS&E catch people out. Both sit next to engineering departments that have dropped the GRE, and both still require it. Physics is stricter still, with a subject test on top.

GRE scores are valid for five years. For Autumn 2027 entry, Stanford accepts tests taken on or after September 1, 2021, and some programs set tighter limits. Stanford’s ETS code for the GRE and TOEFL is 4704.

Not sure whether a score will help? See what counts as a good GRE score.

Can you get into Stanford grad school with a 3.5 GPA, or lower?

Yes, it happens, but a lower GPA has to be balanced by other strong evidence. Stanford’s departments say they review applications as a whole, and the absence of a minimum means your file will be read. Whether it is competitive depends on what else it shows.

What committees weigh alongside the transcript:

• Your record in the relevant subject. A 3.4 overall with near-perfect grades in your math, CS or physics courses reads very differently from a flat 3.4. Make your major GPA visible in your statement or CV.
• An upward trend. Strong final years matter, especially if your early grades were weaker for a reason you can explain briefly.
• Research. For PhD programs, sustained research experience, a paper or a strong letter from a research supervisor carries real weight. The Biosciences programs list previous research alongside coursework, letters and the statement as review factors.
• Test scores, where they count. In programs that still consider the GRE (Statistics, MS&E, Physics), a strong quantitative score can help offset a lower GPA. MS&E says directly that applicants below its usual averages may need a GRE score to be competitive.
• Recent coursework. Graduate-level classes taken as a non-degree student give a committee current evidence that an old transcript can’t.
• Strong letters. Recommenders who can speak to your ability in research or advanced work matter more than ever when grades are not your strongest point.

Many applicants ask this exact question. See the long-running forum discussion on a 3.5 GPA for Stanford MS CS, and read our guide on how to get into grad school with a low GPA.

None of this guarantees an outcome. The most reliable way to calibrate is to look at what applicants with profiles like yours reported for your program.

International applicants: GPA and English requirements

Report your GPA on its original scale. As above, Stanford asks you not to convert. You need a bachelor’s degree that is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s. If you are unsure whether yours qualifies (for example, a three-year degree), Stanford suggests checking with the WES degree equivalency tool and its international credentials guidelines.

English test minimums. Stanford accepts the TOEFL iBT and IELTS Academic only. University-wide minimums for graduate admission:

The TOEFL scale changed in January 2026, so check which scale a quoted number uses before you compare your score. And note that departments can set higher minimums: MS&E, for example, expects 100 on the TOEFL or 7.5 on IELTS. Some websites list 100 as Stanford’s minimum, but that is a departmental figure, not the university one.

English scores are valid for two years. For Autumn 2027 entry, the earliest accepted test date is September 1, 2024. You may be exempt if you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, a native English speaker, have a degree taught entirely in English, or have two or more years of full-time study or work in English in the past ten years.

How Stanford compares with similar schools

Reported undergraduate GPA among GradCafe applicants to schools often considered alongside Stanford:

Stanford confirmed live on 2026-10-29; UCLA, USC and NYU confirmed live on 2026-10-27.

Stanford has the lowest reported admit share in this group, yet the GPA gap is only about a tenth of a point. That is the key lesson: GPA separates applicants much less than selectivity does. At Stanford, a 3.84 is typical, not distinctive. What sets admitted applicants apart is research, letters and fit.

For school-by-school detail, see our guides to UCLA GPA requirements, NYU GPA requirements and Duke GPA requirements.

Same caveat throughout: these are shares of self-reported outcomes, not official acceptance rates.

FAQ

What GPA is required for Stanford University?

None officially. Stanford’s undergraduate admission office states that it has no minimum GPA, and graduate departments set their own expectations, with many (including Electrical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Biosciences) stating that they have no minimum. Admitted students still have very high GPAs: most admitted first-year students have a near-perfect transcript, and GradCafe users who report Stanford graduate results average a 3.84.

What GPA do you need for Stanford grad school?

There is no university-wide graduate minimum. Some departments give guidance: Computer Science says its PhD admits typically have at least a 3.6, and the Statistics PhD strongly recommends 3.5 or higher. Statistics’ 3.5 is a useful reference point, not a cutoff.

Can I get into Stanford with a 3.5 GPA?

For graduate school, yes, it is possible, especially with strong research, letters and grades in your major. For CS PhD, 3.5 sits a little below the department’s typical admit. For undergraduate admission, a 3.5 is well below the typical admitted student, who usually has close to a 4.0 unweighted.

Does Stanford require the GRE?

It depends on the program. For Autumn 2027 entry, Computer Science (PhD), Electrical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering and ICME do not require or consider it. Statistics (PhD), Management Science and Engineering, and Physics require it, and Physics also requires the Physics Subject Test.

Should I convert my GPA to a 4.0 scale for Stanford?

No. Stanford asks graduate applicants to enter their GPA exactly as it appears on their transcript, on its original scale. Admissions committees read international grading systems in context.

What is Stanford’s minimum TOEFL score for graduate school?

The university minimum is 90 on the TOEFL iBT for tests taken before January 21, 2026, or 4.5 on the new scale for tests taken on or after that date. The IELTS minimum is 7. Individual departments can set higher requirements, such as MS&E’s 100 TOEFL or 7.5 IELTS.

Before you apply

Stanford won’t give you a GPA cutoff. What it gives you instead is a holistic review, and a handful of departments that tell you honestly where their admits usually land.

Search the Stanford admissions results for your program and look at the GPAs people reported next to their decisions. Check your program’s GRE and English rules on its own admissions page before you book any test. And if you have already heard back from Stanford, submit your result. It takes two minutes, and it is the reason this data exists for the next applicant.

Planning the rest of your application? Start with the grad school application checklist, and if you plan to contact faculty first, read how to email a professor about a PhD.

GradCafe figures are self-reported by applicants and are not Stanford’s official statistics. Requirements change each cycle: always confirm GPA, test and English policies on your program’s official admissions page.

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