The primary criterion for admission to Stanford is academic excellence. The university looks for students who have selected the most rigorous academic program available to them, demonstrated intellectual vitality and achieved distinction in a variety of academic courses. All applicants submit references, essays and standardized test scores. Each year, many more highly qualified students apply than the university has places for in the freshman class of 1,600 or the transfer group of about 100.
Students also can pursue an individually designed major.
SIS, which includes Freshman Seminars, Sophomore College, and Sophomore Dialogues and Seminars, introduces student to the richness of academic topics, issues and methods of research. SIS is designed to build a strong academic foundation for students in their first two years. Honors Working under the supervision of faculty, undergraduates may join laboratory teams on campus, research a topic through Stanford's extensive library and archive collections, or travel to field sites around the world to complete an independent project. About 25 percent of each graduating class earn departmental honors. Overseas Studies Stanford offers overseas study centers in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Florence, Kyoto, Moscow, Oxford, Paris, Puebla and Santiago.