Graduate Program

Welcome to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS)

Graduate studies in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) involve academic coursework and independent research. Students are prepared for careers as professional scientists in research or the application of the earth sciences to mineral, energy, and water resources. Programs lead to the M.S., Engineer, and Ph.D. degrees. Course programs in the areas of faculty interest are tailored to the student's needs and interests with the aid of his or her research adviser. Students are encouraged to include in their program courses offered in other departments in the Doerr School of Sustainability as well as in other departments in the University.

Application submissions are currently closed. Check back in September 2023 for AY2024-2025.

If you have additional questions, contact gs-admissions@stanford.edu. More university information and application system questions can be found on Stanford's Graduate Admissions website and the online application.

In accordance with Stanford's Winter closure, the EPS department will be closed starting December 21, 2022 to reopen January 4, 2023. Email access to staff will not be available during this time so plan accordingly.

Stanford's graduate application

Start your application online on Stanford's graduate application page here.

Graduate degrees in Earth and Planetary Sciences

Earth and Planetary Sciences' commitment to diversity

Our community of faculty, staff, students and alumni is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, supportive, diverse, and equitable environment which celebrates all cultures and backgrounds. Our students come with different backgrounds and thus contribute richness of our department's scholarly and scientific strides. We acknowledge that Earth Sciences has been one of the least diverse fields in STEM. Our department is actively planning to address this lack. More specifically:

We recognize that students applying for Earth and Planetary Sciences have diverse backgrounds with different preparation for undergraduate and graduate education
We have committed to a holistic admission strategy, accounting for known biases, combining scientific merit with life experience/personality traits
We are committed to fostering positive advisor-advisee experience
We are committed to broadening participation in field-based science through virtual field trips
We include DEI efforts in Faculty evaluations