DARE: Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence
DARE Doctoral Fellowship
About
The DARE Doctoral Fellowship Program awards two-year fellowships to advanced Stanford doctoral students who want to investigate and prepare for academic careers and who will support and/or contribute to the richness of their field and the professoriate.
As stated by Stanford President Jon Levin “Stanford is a stronger institution because we have people from a broad array of backgrounds and perspectives, because we support all members of the university to achieve their potential, because we foster a culture of inquiry and of curiosity, and because we are committed, in pursuit of discovery and learning, to protecting the freedom of our faculty and our students to speak openly about issues they care about and to study topics of their choosing. Those freedoms are fundamental to the academic mission.”
The excellence of our research and teaching missions is advanced by having people with different backgrounds, interests, experiences, perspectives, and viewpoints participating in the conversation. Applicants from all backgrounds are welcomed and encouraged. For more information, see the Graduate Admissions Policy and the Nondiscrimination Policy.
The DARE Program's objectives are to better prepare students from a wide range of backgrounds for academic careers and to have them, at the same time, enrich the educational experiences of others. Thus, the program expands the academic “pipeline” in two ways.
DARE was initially created as a four-year pilot program for three cohorts of students on two-year fellowships. The first cohort of DARE Fellows was selected in spring 2008.
DARE Doctoral Fellowships include:
- Stipend and TGR tuition. An annual stipend and TGR tuition for two 4-quarter academic years beginning autumn quarter. The 2025-26 stipend for VPGE-administered fellowships is set at $58,200 ($14,550 per quarter).
- Structured seminars and professional development modules to investigate and prepare for academic careers.
- Mentorship with a Stanford faculty member in addition to the dissertation advisor.
- Projects to support the richness of Stanford’s graduate student population, and to enrich the educational experience of the student community.
- Recruiting trips to talk about fellows' research and encourage promising undergraduates to apply to graduate school.
How to Apply
The DARE application for the 2025-26 academic year closed March 31st, 2025.
Applications are sought from Stanford doctoral students from all degree programs and fields. Please review the application instructions and FAQs to learn more about program details, eligibility, and the selection process. Fellowship award decisions will be made in compliance with the principles set forth in the Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling on affirmative action.
Related Events
The DARE application for the 2025-26 academic year is now closed.
Have a question? Review the DARE FAQs. For any additional questions, contact vpgeapplications@stanford.edu.