How to Apply

General Admissions Details

Stanford University only accepts online applications to graduate programs. If you are not a current Stanford undergraduate student, please visit the Graduate Admissions website to access the online application. Current Stanford undergraduates can instead access the Coterm Online Application. The online application for AY 2026-27 will open mid-September 2025. The deadline for both applications is December 3, 2025 at 11:59 PM PT. 

Applicants must meet University admission requirements, have a working knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, or an indigenous language of Latin America (e.g., Quechua or Nahuatl) at the university third-year level or higher, and have experience working, living, or studying in Latin America or Iberia prior to admission.

Applying to graduate programs requires careful reflection and planning. The Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences provides a Guide on Getting Into Grad School that can help you navigate graduate applications.

CLAS takes a holistic approach to evaluating applications for admission. We consider all aspects of the application, including the applicant’s transcripts, letters of recommendation, academic writing sample, and the experiences and goals conveyed through the personal statement and resume/CV. We welcome graduate applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Latin American Studies MA applicants applying to a dual-degree program (either with the Graduate School of Business [M.B.A.], the Law School [J.D.], or the School of Medicine [M.D.]) are eligible to apply to the Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) program.

Join dozens of Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences students who receive up to three years of funding and valuable leadership skills as Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS).

KHS admits up to 100 applicants each year from across Stanford’s seven graduate schools, and delivers engaging experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders ready to address complex global challenges. As a scholar, you join a multidisciplinary and multicultural cohort, participate in up to three years of KHS's leadership program, and receive full funding for up to three years of your graduate studies at Stanford.

Candidates of any country may apply. KHS applicants must have earned their first undergraduate degree within the last seven years, and must apply to both a Stanford graduate program and to KHS.

If you aspire to be a leader in your field, we invite you to apply. The KHS application deadline is October 8, 2025. Learn more about KHS admission.

Required Applications Materials

  1. Statement of Purpose: Up to 500 words, double-spaced. The Statement of Purpose should describe succinctly your reasons for applying to the Latin American Studies MA program at Stanford, your preparation for this field of study, research interests, future career plans, and other aspects of your background and interests which may aid the admissions committee in evaluating your aptitude and motivation for graduate study.
  2. Resumé or curriculum vitae.
  3. Academic writing sample in English: 2,500 - 3,750 words, double-spaced. The sample should be an academic essay (e.g., a final term paper, a chapter from an undergraduate thesis, undergraduate capstone paper, a paper submitted for publishing, etc.) and the content does not need to be related to Latin America. The writing sample must be in English. Applicants who no longer have access to materials from their undergraduate career will need to write one that meets the application requirement.
  4. Three letters of recommendation. CLAS strongly recommends that at least two of the letters of recommendation be from professors who can speak about your academic strengths.   
  5. Transcript(s): You must list and provide your unofficial transcript for every post-secondary institution where you were enrolled — or are currently enrolled — in an undergraduate or graduate degree program. Please visit the Graduate Admissions Transcripts webpage for further details. Official transcripts are requested should we make an offer of admission.

Stanford does not accept paper supplementary materials. Applicants are expected to upload copies of all their materials to their online application.

GRE & English Proficiency Test Scores

  • The GRE general test scores are optional for this program.
  • To be eligible for graduate study at Stanford, applicants must demonstrate sufficient proficiency to read English with ease, understand rapid idiomatic English as used in lectures and group discussions, and express thoughts quickly and clearly in spoken and written English. Please refer to Graduate Admissions to see which applicants need to submit scores.

Frequently Asked Questions?  Click here

Please do not contact us to inquire about your application status. We will contact you if any part of the application is incomplete. Admissions decisions are sent out each year in March.

For Further Information: 

Contact CLAS Academic and Student Services at latinamerica [at] stanford.edu (subject: MA%20application%20inquiry) (latinamerica[at]stanford[dot]edu)