Stanford University is known for its academic excellence and its vibrant student life. The university has distinguished itself by producing many founders and leaders of high-tech companies, including Google, Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo!, Sun Microsystems and many more. Stanford also has a strong commitment to public service, with students from all over the world coming to study at the university.
University was founded in 1891 by Leland and Jane Stanford as a memorial for their deceased son, Leland Jr., who died aged 15 months. Since then it has grown into one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
In fact, Stanford is one of the world’s leading research universities, with about
11 billion in annual grants and contracts. The university has been home to 39 Nobel Prize winners and many other distinguished faculty and alumni. Stanford offers undergraduate degree programs through the schools of Humanities and Sciences, Engineering, Business, Education, Law, Medicine and Earth Sciences; graduate degree programs through the schools of Humanities and Sciences, Engineering, Graduate School of Business; professional degrees through the Schools of Law, Medicine and Earth Sciences; plus doctorate programs through the Schools of Education and Earth Sciences. The university also offers more than 900 courses online through its Stanford Online program.
Moreover, Stanford has been recognized as one of America’s most innovative universities by U.S. News & World Report every year since 1990 – longer than any other school in the country. The ranking measures innovation through such factors as faculty awards for teaching and research, peer assessments about what makes a university innovative (including responses from presidents), alumni giving rates (which reflect alumni satisfaction) and financial resources (which reflect how well-endowed a school is with resources).
