Enriching the Learning Community

The Stanford Immunology program recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision.

The Stanford Immunology program welcomes graduate applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars. The review process is holistic and individualized, considering each applicant’s academic record and accomplishments, letters of recommendation, prior research experience, and admissions essays to understand how an applicant’s life experiences have shaped their past and potential contributions to their field and how they might enrich the learning community at Stanford.

The Immunology Home Program is one of fourteen Biosciences PhD programs at the School of Medicine. We welcome applications from students with a variety of scientific backgrounds and believe that diversity of previous experience enriches our multidisciplinary environment. Learn more about our program here.

The PhD Program in Immunology, founded in 1988, is one of fourteen Stanford Biosciences programs. The goal of the PhD Program in Immunology is to provide outstanding training and education for obtaining the PhD degree in Immunology and to develop young investigators who will carry out innovative research in the field. Our 60+ students benefit greatly from the long tradition of collaboration among the immunology laboratories, with an emphasis on the application of cutting-edge approaches to problems in cellular, molecular, computational, and clinical immunology. Immunology faculty members are leaders in their respective areas of research and often incorporate bench to bedside approaches. Our PhD core coursework requirements plus strong electives in related disciplines provide an integrated curriculum that spans basic and clinical immunology. Students can choose from either the Molecular, Cellular, and Translational Immunology (MCTI) track or the Computational and Systems Immunology (CSI – founded in 2011) track. Graduate students in immunology actively participate in seminars, journal clubs, and the annual Stanford Immunology Scientific Conference at Asilomar. Students have access to state-of-the-art research facilities in the immunology laboratories, located in various departments in the School of Medicine, the Department of Biological Sciences, and the Palo Alto Veteran's Administration Medical Center.

Thank you for your interest in the 14 Biosciences PhD Programs at Stanford University! The online application for Autumn 2026-27 is now open. The application deadline is Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 11:59:59 pm (PST). Late applications will not be accepted.

For information about the 14 Biosciences PhD Programs and How to Apply, please visit https://biosciences.stanford.edu/how-to-apply/ and

https://biosciences.stanford.edu/how-to-apply/application-faq/. Please be sure to read through both of these pages carefully as a vast majority of the commonly asked application questions will be answered there.

SIRPA is a CDIII committee-supported student-organized initiative that strives to assist individuals applying to the Immunology PhD program. Participants will receive at least one round of feedback on their statements of purpose from current Immunology PhD students. 

Participation in this program does not guarantee admission, and applicants that don’t participate in this program will not be penalized in any way. Participation in this program will be kept confidential from Immunology Faculty and other members of the Immunology PhD Admissions Committee. We, the organizers of SIRPA, are not involved in any way with Stanford Admissions. 

Applications open from October 3-24, 2025.

Open to all Immunology PhD applicants. Spots are limited, so apply early!

Register here

Join us for an open house event for prospective PhD students, designed to facilitate the application process to the Immunology PhD program.

Workshop:

• Scientific discoveries by faculty and trainees

• Panel discussion by current Ph.D. students

• Application and admissions process demystified

• Community development at Stanford Immunology

• How to receive one-on-one feedback on personal statement (Introduction to the SIRPA program)

Eligibility:

• Prospective PhD students applying Autumn 2025

• Interested in the Immunology PhD program at Stanford

Registration has closed.

To apply or for more information on the admissions process and requirements, please visit the Stanford Biosciences "How to Apply" PhD admissions page. Please indicate in your personal statement in your application which Immunology track you wish to pursue, the Molecular, Cellular, and Translational Immunology or Computational and Systems Immunology track. 

Applying and Deadline

Thank you for your interest in the14 Stanford Biosciences PhD programs at Stanford University! The online application for Autumn 2026-27 is now open. In addition to the information below and our FAQ page, please review the Graduate Admissions website and their FAQ page prior to starting your application. When you are ready to start your application, click here to Apply Now.

The application deadline for Autumn 2026-27 is Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 11:59:59 pm (PST). Late applications will not be accepted.

Become a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, a multidisciplinary, multicultural graduate scholarship program. Each Knight-Hennessy scholar receives up to three years of financial support to pursue graduate studies at Stanford while engaging in experiences that prepare scholars to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders who address complex challenges facing the world. More details here.

The Stanford Immunology admissions committee will begin contacting applicants who have been selected for an interview early January. The selected applicants will be invited to an in-person interview session visit on Wednesday, March 4 through Saturday, March 8, 2026.

The admissions committees of the 14 PhD programs will promptly begin to review applicant files the day following the application deadline.  It is important that all of your application materials, including letters of recommendation, are submitted by the deadline. We cannot guarantee the review of any materials received after the deadline.

To check your application status, click here to Visit Your Status Page. There you will find the most current status of your application materials.

Any questions or concerns about the application process should be addressed to: biosciences@stanford.edu

At Stanford Immunology, we are keenly interested in what your previous mentors and advisors have to say regarding your application to our PhD program. Furthermore, we acknowledge that not all applicants receive appropriate guidance around requesting strong reference letters from their letter writers. Thus, we recommend applicants go over the following resources to ensure they put forward the best possible application package:

Resources as a letter seeker: Ten simple rules for navigating the reference letter seeking process

Resources as a letter writer: Ten simple rules for writing compelling recommendation letters

The Stanford Immunology Review Program for Applicants (SIRPA) is a CDIII committee-supported student-organized initiative that strives to assist individuals applying to the Immunology PhD program. Participants will receive one round of feedback on their statements of purpose. Participation in this program does not guarantee admission, and applicants that don’t participate in this program will not be penalized in any way. Participation in this program will be kept confidential from Immunology Faculty and other members of the Immunology PhD Admissions Committee. 

Submissions for SIRPA will be available in October 2025.

Graduate Admissions only requires admitted applicants who accept the offer of admission to submit official transcripts that shows their degree conferral. More details on this can be found on the following Graduate Admissions webpage. Please do not send or have sent any official transcripts to our office.

GRE General Test scores are not considered.

GRE Subject Test scores are not considered.

Please see the Graduate Admissions "Test Scores" web page for information regarding TOEFL/IELTS English proficiency tests.

Effective for applicants starting graduate study in 2026:

1. English proficiency test scores are not required for:
   1. U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
   2. Applicants who self-declare their first language is English.
   3. Applicants who earned a U.S. bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, or international equivalent from a university where all instruction was conducted in English.
   4. Applicants with two or more consecutive years of professional or educational experience in English, in the past 10 years.
2. We accept IELTS Academic scores as an equivalent substitute for TOEFL scores. To learn more about interpreting IELTS scores, refer to the following resources: IELTS Scoring Scale | IELTS/TOEFL Score Equivalency Table | IELTS/TOEFL Comparison Report.
3. The Biosciences minimum score to be considered for admission is 90 (TOEFL) / 7 (IELTS).
4. Applicants who self-report that they meet any of the criteria listed under item #1 above at the time of application are not required to submit English proficiency test scores. For those who are admitted and accept the offer, Graduate Admissions will collect further documentation for meeting the English proficiency requirement as part of the academic eligibility review prior to matriculation.

Website: https://biosciences.stanford.edu/

Email: biosciences@stanford.edu