How to Apply to Psychology at Stanford: University-Wide Admission and Declaring the Psychology Major by Junior Year, With Requirements and Timeline for Chinese, Canadian High School and Transfer Students

All Stanford undergraduate applications are handled by the Office of Undergraduate Admission, which does not admit by major. The psychology department says enrolled students can declare the psychology major no later than the start of junior year. Here is what you need to know for fall 2027 entry, based on Stanford’s official information, for students at high schools in China, students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver), and transfer students.

1. The psychology major

• Units: at least 70 units of psychology coursework, 60 of them in the Department of Psychology, each with a grade of C- or better.
• Introductory courses: Psych 1: Introduction to Psychology, and Psych 10: Introduction to Statistical Methods (or an approved equivalent).
• Core: five courses with at least two from each area. Area A covers perception, minds and machines, learning and memory, and cognitive neuroscience; Area B covers developmental, social, cultural, personality and affective, clinical and abnormal psychology.
• Other requirements: one Writing in the Major (WIM) course, with remaining units from psychology electives.
• Capstone: completed in senior year, by one of two options:
  • Psych 196, the PsychApplied Program;
  • Psych 198, the Honors Program.
• Honors: apply in junior year, based on academic performance, research experience and recommendations; seniors spend autumn, winter and spring quarters on supervised independent research and graduate with departmental honors.
• Pathways: the department suggests pathways such as cognitive science, early childhood cognition and development, and health psychology as advising tools; they are not declared.
• Declaring: choose a psychology faculty adviser, complete the declaration form and meet the adviser, submit the signed form to Student Services, then add the major in Axess.

2. Students at high schools in China

• Same requirements: requirements are the same regardless of citizenship or country, applications are read in the context of your school and country, and there is no need to convert marks into a U.S. GPA.
• Materials: the Common Application, a $100 fee (or waiver), the school report and counselor letter, transcripts, two teacher recommendations, a midyear transcript (by 15 February) and SAT or ACT scores. Transcripts and recommendations must be translated into English, not by you, with originals included.
• Gaokao: Stanford has no Gaokao-specific policy. IB students’ schools must send predicted IB marks, and British-system students’ schools must send GCSE results and predicted A-Levels (usually at least three).
• You need a secondary school diploma or equivalent by enrolment, not at application.

3. Students at Canadian high schools

• Submit the same Common Application, transcripts, recommendations and SAT or ACT. Stanford sets no province-specific grade requirements.
• In Restrictive Early Action, Stanford sees grades only through grade 11, so it suggests applying early if your schedule through grade 11 was challenging and your results strong.

4. Rounds and timeline

• Restrictive Early Action (REA): deadline 1 November (15 October with an arts portfolio), decisions by mid-December; non-binding, reply by 1 May. A denial is final for the year; a small share are deferred, with final decisions by early April.
• REA restrictions: you may not apply early (EA, REA, ED or Early Notification) to other private universities, or to a public university’s binding early plan; non-binding public early plans, rolling admission and non-U.S. universities are allowed.
• Regular Decision (RD): deadline 5 January (5 December with an arts portfolio), decisions by early April, reply by 1 May.
• You may submit at most three undergraduate applications to Stanford in total, first-year and transfer combined.

5. Testing and English

• The SAT or ACT is required; self-report your highest scores, with official scores due if you enrol. There are no minimums and no preference between tests.
• Score context: for the Class of 2029 (when testing was optional), the middle 50% of submitters scored 34 to 36 on the ACT and 1520 to 1570 on the SAT.
• Latest test dates: for REA, ACT by end of September and SAT by end of October; for RD, both by end of December.
• AP: not mandatory, but if you have taken AP exams, including self-studied ones, you must self-report all scores.
• English: no English proficiency test is required; you may self-report one, but it cannot replace the SAT or ACT.

6. Transfer students

• Who applies as a transfer: anyone who has earned college credit in an associate or bachelor’s programme after high school; dual-enrolled high school students apply as first-years; bachelor’s degree holders are not eligible.
• Deadline and decisions: 15 March, with decisions by mid-May; fall entry only.
• Materials: the $100 fee, your high school transcript, all college transcripts, two recommendations from academic instructors, and SAT or ACT scores.
• Preparation: there is no minimum number of credits, but the most competitive applicants usually have the equivalent of two years of full-time, in-person college work by entry.
• Credit:
  • the Registrar awards credit for courses substantially similar to Stanford’s with a C- or better, up to 90 quarter units (about two years);
  • you must study at least two years full-time at Stanford to earn a degree;
  • for the psychology major, only transfer students may petition, after declaring, to count outside coursework.

7. Costs and financial aid

• 2026-27 budget (US$): tuition 67,731, housing and food 22,944, student fees 2,610, books 855, personal 3,405, total 97,545, excluding travel. New students also pay a $525 orientation fee and a $250 document fee once. 2027-28 figures are not yet published.
• Aid for international students:
  • for applicants who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, requesting aid is a factor in admission (need-aware), making the process more selective;
  • Stanford meets the full demonstrated need of all admitted students who applied for aid;
  • international students who say they will not apply for aid cannot apply later during their four years.
• Scholarships: apart from a limited number of athletic scholarships, Stanford offers no merit scholarships.

Checklist

Students at high schools in China:

• Apply through the Common Application by 1 November (REA) or 5 January (RD) and pay the $100 fee
• Take the SAT or ACT; self-report all AP scores; English tests optional
• Have your school translate transcripts and letters; indicate aid plans at application

Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver):

• Same deadlines and materials; REA readers see grades only through grade 11

Transfer students:

• Deadline 15 March, decisions by mid-May; up to about two years of credit, at least two years at Stanford

Planning to study psychology: take Psych 1 and Psych 10, declare by the start of junior year, and apply for honors in junior year if you want to do research.

Sources: Stanford University, First-year requirements and deadlines; Regular Decision and Restrictive Early Action; Standardized testing; International applicants; Transfer applicants; Transfer eligibility; Transfer credit; Psychology major requirements; How to declare; Psychology honors program; Psychology undergraduate FAQ; Undergraduate student budget. Information is for fall 2027 entry (costs are 2026-27 figures). Check Stanford for the latest details.