How to Apply to Economics at Stanford: Apply to Stanford, Not a Major, with a BA or BS Path in Economics, for Domestic and International (Including Chinese) Applicants and Transfer Students

Undergraduate economics at Stanford University is offered by the Department of Economics, which the department site places in the School of Humanities and Sciences. You apply to Stanford as a whole, not to a school or a major. This guide follows Stanford’s websites and is organised for U.S. domestic applicants, international applicants, applicants from China and transfer students. Business and Computer Science have their own guides on this site, so they are not covered here; Stanford also says it offers no pre-med, pre-law or business majors.

1. Degrees and tracks in economics

• Two degrees: the department offers a BA and a BS. The BA requires 80 units of approved economics coursework and the BS 85 (undergraduate FAQ). The department says the BA suits students heading to government, private enterprise, professional schools or graduate study in economics, while the BS suits those planning PhDs in economics or related fields or technical careers in finance and data analytics.
• BA structure: a 30-unit core (ECON 1, ECON 102A statistics, ECON 50 or 50Q price theory, ECON 51 intermediate micro, ECON 52 intermediate macro, ECON 102B econometrics); 23-25 units of field courses, which must be taken at Stanford in California; 20 units of electives (up to 10 units can be approved non-economics courses, transfer credit and similar); and a 5-unit capstone.
• BS structure: a 47-unit core (ECON 1, 50 or 50Q, 51 and 52; STATS 117 probability; ECON 102B and 102C; ECON 160 or 180 game theory; MATH 51 linear algebra and multivariable calculus; and MATH 115 functions of a real variable); five field courses; at least 8 units of non-economics electives; and a 5-unit capstone. For 2026-27, CS 106B is no longer required in the BS core and counts as a non-economics elective.
• STEM designation: the department’s undergraduate FAQ says the ECON BA and BS are STEM-designated majors.
• Honors: the honors program (BAH/BSH) requires all major requirements plus 5 additional units (85 total for the BAH, 90 for the BSH), a GPA of at least 3.5 across the major units, ECON 102B and at least two other upper-division economics courses by the end of junior year, and an honors thesis in senior year; the application is due by noon on the second Friday of fall quarter of senior year.
• Certificates and minor: declared majors can earn a department certificate in business economics, environmental economics, data sciences or finance (at least four courses totaling 18 or more units); certificates do not appear on the transcript or diploma. The economics minor takes 35 units (ECON 1, 50, 51, 52, two field courses and one elective).
• Capstone: starting with the class of 2025, every Stanford major includes a capstone; in economics it is a junior-year ePortfolio completed with the student’s advisor plus, in senior year, either ECON 101 or an honors thesis.

2. How admission works: admitted to Stanford, then declare

• No major on the application: Stanford says applying is to the university as a whole, not to a major, department or school. You may list prospective majors and career interests on the application, but you are not bound by them. The Economics Department says students must first be admitted to Stanford and then declare following its “How to Declare” steps.
• When to declare: any time; the department strongly encourages declaring by the end of spring quarter of sophomore year so the capstone can begin in junior year, and no later than the quarter before your graduation quarter. You cannot declare in the summer. The two pages give slightly different timing: the FAQ says to submit before week 8 of fall and winter quarters and before week 5 of spring; the “How to Declare” page says you may not declare in the last week of fall or winter or after week 5 of spring. Forms are reviewed in batches every few weeks, not in summer.
• Entry conditions: the pages we read give no GPA threshold or cap on places for declaring economics; not published. The department strongly recommends finishing ECON 1 first. Declaring involves an online form, an assigned advisor and a meeting, declaring in Axess, and a meeting with the undergraduate student services officer.
• Grades: since fall 2024 the core courses require a C or better; major and minor courses must be taken for a letter grade (no CR/NC); a GPA of at least 2.0 is required across the units applied to the major.

3. Preparation and credit

• High school courses: Stanford has no required courses for admission; it recommends four years of English, four years of math including calculus, at least three years of history/social studies, at least three of science and three of the same world language, but stresses these are recommendations. It expects about five academic courses each semester, including senior year.
• Math prerequisites in college: MATH 20 (or equivalent) is a prerequisite for the BA, and MATH 51 (or equivalent) for the BS. The Math Department’s placement diagnostic cannot substitute; to waive a math prerequisite with transfer credit or AP scores, submit the department’s math requirements waiver petition.
• AP / IB: students with a 5 on both AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics, or a 7 on IB Higher Level Economics, may petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies to waive ECON 1; no units are awarded, and the units must be made up elsewhere in the degree.
• Typical first- and second-year sequence: ECON 1 (offered every quarter) → ECON 50 → ECON 51 and 52 → ECON 102B. The FAQ says a prerequisite must be completed in an earlier quarter than the course that requires it; ECON 43, 46 and 47 are described as “frosh friendly.”
• Units at Stanford: at least 55 of the 80 BA units and 75 of the 85 BS units must be taken at Stanford in California.

4. Rounds, deadlines, materials

• Deadlines (the page is marked updated in September 2026 and prints no year; check that it applies to fall 2027 entry): Restrictive Early Action (REA) Common Application November 1, decisions by mid-December; Regular Decision (RD) January 5, decisions by early April; the reply date is May 1 for both. With an optional arts portfolio, the Common Application is due October 15 (REA; portfolio materials October 20) or December 5 (RD; portfolio materials December 10); in that case transcripts, the School Report and teacher letters may still arrive by November 1 (REA) or January 5 (RD). Applicants are limited to three applications to Stanford in total, first-year and transfer combined.
• Application fee: $100, nonrefundable, with a fee waiver option.
• Materials: the Common Application with its essay, Stanford’s questions, SAT or ACT scores, the School Report and counselor letter, official transcripts, two letters from academic teachers, and a midyear transcript due February 15.
• Essays: five short questions (3-50 words) and three short essays (100-250 words), including one on an idea or experience that makes you excited about learning, a note to a future roommate, and one on what life experiences, interests and character would let you contribute.
• Testing: the SAT or ACT is required, self-reported, with official scores required if you enroll. There are no minimum scores and no score that guarantees admission. Stanford reports that, for the class of 2029 among students who submitted scores, the middle 50 percent scored 34-36 on the ACT and 1520-1570 on the SAT, and says scores were optional for that class. AP exams are not mandatory, but any AP exam you took must be self-reported.

5. U.S. domestic applicants

• Stanford is private, and the pages we read do not describe in-state or out-of-state tuition differences or a home-state preference; not published. Costs are in Section 8.
• Stanford says it is need-blind for U.S. citizens, permanent residents, undocumented students and eligible noncitizens: a request for aid is not a factor in admission.
• It offers no merit scholarships outside a limited number of athletic scholarships; aid is based on demonstrated financial need.

6. International applicants

• Same requirements, different aid rule: application requirements are the same regardless of citizenship or country. But for citizens of other countries (not permanent residents, undocumented students or eligible noncitizens) who say they will apply for financial aid, that request is a factor in admission evaluation, making the process more selective. International citizens who are admitted without having applied for aid are not eligible to apply at any time during their four years (unless citizenship status changes). Stanford says aid resources are limited for international citizens but it offers admission to a number of them each year.
• English tests: none required; scores may be self-reported voluntarily and cannot replace the SAT or ACT. Stanford adds that fluency in English is a prerequisite for admission.
• Credentials and transcripts: no conversion to a U.S. GPA is needed; official documents with internal and external marks or predictions must be sent directly by your school; transcripts and teacher recommendations must be translated into English, not by you but by your English teacher or another school official, with the original included. If you have no counselor, another school official may write the counselor letter.
• Curriculum: no preference among A-Level, IB, AP or national curricula; complete the coursework needed to apply to a bachelor’s degree in your home country or country of study, and hold a secondary diploma or equivalent by the time you enroll.
• Proof of funds and visas: the pages we read do not describe a proof-of-funds requirement; admitted international students receive visa information, and the Bechtel International Center can help.
• Aid forms: international applicants should submit the CSS Profile if they can; those who cannot afford the fee or live where College Board cannot process payments may submit the ISAFA instead. The student budget automatically assumes international students use Cardinal Care health coverage.
• Stanford also says the admission office does not work with paid agents or credentialing services and expects students to complete their materials themselves.

7. Applicants from China

• The pages we read have no China-specific page and do not mention the Gaokao; not published, so contact Undergraduate Admission (credentials@stanford.edu is the address the international page gives for sending official documents).
• Transcripts: sent directly by the school, translated into English with the original, no GPA conversion. Whether school-level exam certificates are needed is not published.
• Testing and English: the SAT or ACT is required; no English test is required.
• Aid: applicants from China are international citizens, so the aid-request rule in Section 6 applies.

8. Cost and aid

• 2026-27 student budget: tuition $67,731; housing and food $22,944; student fees allowance $2,610; books and supplies $855; personal expenses $3,405; travel varies; total $97,545. New students, including transfers, also pay a one-time $525 orientation fee and $250 document fee. Stanford notes most students do not pay the full cost.
• Aid: awarded on demonstrated need; Stanford says it is committed to meeting the demonstrated need of all admitted students (regardless of citizenship) who requested aid, subject to the admission rule in Section 6.
• Internships and research: the department does not give credit for internships (ECON 139D Directed Reading cannot be used for internship credit); honors research expenses can be funded through competitive grants. Other internship or research programmes are not described on the pages we read; not published.

9. Transfer students

• Deadline: fall entry only; Common Application due March 15, missing-document notices in April, decisions by mid-May, reply date June 1. Fee $100. The page prints no year; check that it applies to fall 2027.
• Eligibility: anyone who earned college credit after high school must apply as a transfer; those with a bachelor’s degree are not eligible; students dual-enrolled in high school apply as first-years. Stanford sets no minimum credits or years, but says its most competitive applicants have about two years of college coursework and are typically in their second year of full-time, in-person study when applying.
• Materials: the Common Application, fee or waiver, SAT or ACT (the latest sittings are the end of February for the ACT and the end of December for the SAT), the official high school transcript, official transcripts from every college attended, a College Report, and two letters from academic instructors; essays include a 250-650 word personal statement on your reasons for transferring plus several short responses.
• Preparation: Stanford has no required courses for admission and applies to the university as a whole, not a major; there is no separate economics transfer prerequisite list; not published.
• Credit: at most 90 quarter units (roughly two years of full-time study) transfer, evaluated by the University Registrar under Faculty Senate policy; courses must come from an accredited institution, be substantially similar to Stanford courses and earn at least a C-. Transfer students must complete at least two years of full-time enrollment at Stanford for a bachelor’s degree. Stanford has no articulation agreements, and course transferability is decided after admission.
• Economics transfer rules: all field courses and ECON 101 must be taken at Stanford, with no transfer credit; core-course credit depends on analytical content and is never granted for non-calculus-based courses; community college credit is reviewed only for ECON 1; electives must be matched to a specific Stanford course. At least 55 BA units or 75 BS units must be taken at Stanford in California.

Summary

U.S. domestic applicants: apply to Stanford as a whole (REA November 1, RD January 5) with the SAT or ACT and two academic teacher letters; declare economics at any time, ideally by the end of sophomore spring, in the BA (MATH 20 prerequisite) or BS (MATH 51 prerequisite).

International applicants (including China): same application requirements, no English test, translated transcripts; an aid request affects admission evaluation, so plan for it; how the Gaokao should be submitted is not published.

Transfer students: March 15 deadline, fall entry only, up to 90 quarter units of credit, field courses and ECON 101 must be taken at Stanford.

Sources: Stanford University, Economics: major; Economics BA; Economics BS; How to declare; Honors program; Certificates; Minor; Department transfer credit; Undergraduate FAQ; Preparing for Stanford academics; First-year requirements and deadlines; Application and essays; Standardized testing; Application fee; International applicants; Transfer requirements and deadlines; Transfer eligibility; Transfer preparation and credit; Transfer essays; Transfer testing; Student budget; How aid works. The first-year and transfer deadline pages print no year; they are marked as updated in September 2026, so check that they apply to fall 2027 entry.