We understand that the application fee can be a barrier for some applicants. To help reduce the financial burden, the Stanford GSB PhD Program offers two types of fee waivers for eligible applicants.
Program-Based Fee Waiver
Applicants who participated in one of the following programs may request a Program-Based Fee Waiver using this form:
- GRE Fee Reduction Certificate Recipients (for the current academic year): Recipients are required to provide a scanned copy of the email from ETS that includes the GRE Fee Reduction Voucher Number. Information on the GRE Fee Reduction Program can be obtained from the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
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American Economic Association Summer Training Program: Participants are required to provide verification of their participation from the Program Director.
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Summit@StanfordGSB: Attendees are required to provide details about their participation in the program including dates and host institution.
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The PhD Excellence Initiative: Participants are required to provide verification of their participation from their research supervisor.
Need-Based Fee Waiver
Applicants who experience extreme financial hardship or extenuating circumstances may request a Need-Based Fee Waiver using this form.
Deadline and Process
Application fee waiver requests must be submitted via the forms above by November 19, 2025. Prior to submitting a request, you need to have started the PhD application for the Fall 2026 class and entered the following information on the application:
- Citizenship
- Mailing address
- Permanent address
- Undergraduate education
- Submit a GMAT or GRE score or enter the scheduled test date
- Upload a current CV/resume
If you have a pending request, please do not pay the application fee until you receive a response to your application fee waiver request. If your request is approved, we will provide instructions on how to proceed with your application. If your request is denied, we will ask you to submit the application fee at that time.