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Stanford University Majors Overview: Salary, Courses & Career Outcomes

Every major at Stanford University with graduate salary, course catalog depth, and career preparation data.

#	Major	US Rank	Stanford University Salary	National Median	Premium	Degrees/Year	Courses
1	Computer Science	—	$116,250	$75,000	+55%	293	10
Featured Courses: APPPHYS 110Q: Disentangling the World of Quantum Computing? BMDS 201A: Biomedical Data Science Student Seminar BMDS 202: An overview of Biomedical Data Science BMDS 205: Bioinformatics for Stem Cell and Cancer Biology BUSGEN 108: Causality, Decision Making and Data Science
2	Engineering	—	$111,600	$72,000	+55%	258	24
Featured Courses: AA 113: Aerospace Computational Science APPPHYS 77N: Functional Materials and Devices BIOE 44: Fundamentals for Engineering Biology Lab BIOE 51: Anatomy for Bioengineers BMDS 210: Modeling Biomedical Systems
3	Mathematics & Statistics	—	$96,100	$62,000	+55%	88	1
Featured Courses: EPI 159: Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Epidemiology
4	Engineering Technologies	—	$89,900	$58,000	+55%	51	—
5	Physical Sciences	—	$74,400	$48,000	+55%	70	18
Featured Courses: AA 115Q: The Global Positioning System: Where on Earth are We, and What Time is It? APPPHYS 13N: A Taste of Quantum Physics APPPHYS 100N: The Physics of Energy BIOPHYS 232: Advanced Imaging Lab in Biophysics BIOPHYS 250: SEMINAR IN BIOPHYSICS
6	Social Sciences	—	$69,750	$45,000	+55%	244	12
Featured Courses: AMSTUD 4: The Sociology of Music COMPLIT 21Q: Wilde's Worlds: Oscar Wilde in the International Context CSB 245: Economics of Biotechnology ECON 7: Economics of Fine Art FINANCE 306: International Finance and Macroeconomics
7	Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	—	$65,100	$42,000	+55%	251	—
8	Biological Sciences	—	$65,100	$42,000	+55%	55	29
Featured Courses: BIOC 200: Applied Biochemistry BIOC 202: Biochemistry Department Minicourse BIOC 205: Molecular, Cellular, and Genetic Medicine BIOC 215: Frontiers in Biological Research BIOC 221: The Teaching of Biochemistry
9	History	—	$62,000	$40,000	+55%	16	8
Featured Courses: AFRICAAM 18B: Jazz History and Appreciation: Advanced Level COMM 3B: Which Side of History? How Democracy, Technology, and Our Lives Are Being Reshaped in 2025 CSRE 5C: Human Trafficking: Historical, Legal, and Medical Perspectives EPS 38N: The Worst Journey in the World: The Science, Literature, and History of Polar Exploration AFRICAAM 18A: Introduction to Jazz History and Appreciation
10	Communication & Journalism	—	$62,000	$40,000	+55%	13	5
Featured Courses: COMM 100C: Social Media Cultures: Communication Capstone Seminar COMM 106: Communication Research Methods COMM 107S: Communication, Identity, and Context FRENLANG 15: Intermediate French Oral Communication COMM 1: Introduction to Communication
11	Foreign Languages & Linguistics	—	$58,900	$38,000	+55%	36	16
Featured Courses: ANES 127: Traditional Chinese Medicine ARABLANG 10: Arabic Calligraphy FRENCH 13: Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Modern FRENCH 56N: Imagining the Universe: From Dante to Contemporary Cosmology FRENCH 101: The View From Paris
12	Area/Ethnic/Cultural Studies	—	$58,900	$38,000	+55%	33	3
Featured Courses: AFRICAAM 31: RealTalk: Intimate Discussions about the African Diaspora ANES 121: Ethnicity and Medicine: Voices, Power, and Practice COMPLIT 11Q: Shakespeare, Playing, Gender
13	Philosophy & Religious Studies	—	$58,900	$38,000	+55%	21	1
Featured Courses: AMSTUD 16N: Stop the Steal: January 6 as a case study into American Religion and Politics
14	Public Administration & Social Services	—	$58,900	$38,000	+55%	16	—
15	Psychology	—	$55,800	$36,000	+55%	53	2
Featured Courses: ANES 74Q: Mending a broken heart: The Anatomy, Physiology and Psychology of congenital heart disease CEE 32A: Psychology of Architecture
16	English Language & Literature	—	$55,800	$36,000	+55%	51	8
Featured Courses: AMSTUD 8J: American Sports Literature: Critical and Personal Perspectives CEE 32D: Construction: The Writing of Architecture COMM 104W: Reporting, Writing, and Understanding the News COMPLIT 43: Modernity and Politics in Middle Eastern Literatures ENGLISH 1C: Comics: More than Words
17	Visual & Performing Arts	—	$52,700	$34,000	+55%	24	98
Featured Courses: AFRICAAM 10: Intro to IDA: power, art, and practice AFRICAAM 19: Studies in Music, Media, and Popular Culture: The Soul Tradition in African American Music AFRICAAM 29C: Afro Contemporary Dance I ALP 302: Designing Solutions for Wicked Problems ALP 308: Designing Experiments for Impact

Career Path Match at Stanford University 🎖️ DeepColleges Exclusive

How many courses at Stanford University align with each career direction. More relevant courses mean better preparation for your target career.

Pre-Med / Clinical Medicine 34

ANES 72Q: The Art of Medical Diagnosis ANES 74Q: Mending a broken heart: The Anatomy, Physiology and Psychology of congenital heart disease ANES 207: Medical Acupuncture BIOC 200: Applied Biochemistry BIOC 202: Biochemistry Department Minicourse

Public Policy & Government 11

ACCT 317: Performance Measurement, Compensation, and Governance ALP 307: Public Policy Lab: Urban Governance in US Cities COLLEGE 110: The Spirit of Democracy COMM 3: Democracy and Disagreement COMM 3B: Which Side of History? How Democracy, Technology, and Our Lives Are Being Reshaped in 2025

Bioinformatics & Computational Biology 9

BIOE 101: Systems Biology BIOPHYS 279: Computational Biology: Structure and Organization of Biomolecules and Cells BMDS 173A: Foundations of Computational Human Genomics BMDS 205: Bioinformatics for Stem Cell and Cancer Biology BMDS 212: Introduction to Biomedical Informatics Research Methodology

Environmental Engineering 8

CEE 10: Approaching CEE: Sustainability in Practice CEE 11Q: Sustainability Design Thinking COLLEGE 106: Environmental Sustainability: Global Predicaments and Possible Solutions EBS 123: The Social Science of Sustainability EBS 130: Sustainability, Governance, and Economic Development in SE Asia

Film & Video Production 8

CSRE 5: Introduction to Film Study FILMPROD 102: Topics in Screenwriting: Inside the Writers' Room FILMPROD 104: Screenwriting II: Intermediate Screenwriting FILMPROD 106: Image and Sound: Filmmaking for the Digital Age FILMPROD 106S: Image and Sound: Filmmaking for the Digital Age

Data Science & Analytics 7

BMDS 201A: Biomedical Data Science Student Seminar BMDS 201B: Biomedical Data Science Student Seminar BMDS 201C: Biomedical Data Science Student Seminar BMDS 202: An overview of Biomedical Data Science BUSGEN 108: Causality, Decision Making and Data Science

Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering 7

AA 102: Introduction to Applied Aerodynamics AA 109Q: Aerodynamics of Race Cars CTL 53: Thriving Academically in College CTL 53A: Thriving Academically at Stanford ENGR 2: Stanford Summer Engineering Academy

Accounting & Audit 7

ACCT 152: Introduction to Financial Accounting ACCT 210: Financial Accounting ACCT 213: Financial Accounting - Accelerated ACCT 219: MSx: Accounting ACCT 311: Advanced Topics in Financial Reporting

Biotechnology & Genetics 7

BIOC 224: Advanced Cell Biology BIOS 205: From Bench to Bedside: Stem Cell Therapies for CNS Injury BMDS 205: Bioinformatics for Stem Cell and Cancer Biology BMDS 214: Representations and Algorithms for Computational Molecular Biology CSB 243: Biotechnology and Development of Therapeutics

Aerospace Engineering 6

AA 100: Introduction to Aeronautics and Astronautics AA 102: Introduction to Applied Aerodynamics AA 103: Air and Space Propulsion AA 109Q: Aerodynamics of Race Cars AA 113: Aerospace Computational Science

Entrepreneurship & Startups 6

BIOE 70Q: Medical Device Innovation BUSGEN 109: Strategic Leadership and Technology Entrepreneurship GENE 115: Healthcare Venture Capital GENE 116: LONGEVITY VENTURE CAPITAL GENE 125: Healthcare Venture Capital

Music Industry & Production 5

ACCT 212: Strategic Performance Management ACCT 317: Performance Measurement, Compensation, and Governance AFRICAAM 37: Contemporary Choreography: Chocolate Heads Performance Project BUSGEN 103: Introduction to Accounting, Performance Measurement & Managerial Decision-Making COMPLIT 10N: Shakespeare and Performance in a Global Context

Public Health & Epidemiology 4

ANES 143: One in Five: Public Health, Policy & Politics of Campus Sexual Assault EPI 159: Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Epidemiology EPI 203: Methods for Reproducible Population Health and Clinical Research EPI 224: Genetic Epidemiology

Sociology & Anthropology 4

AMSTUD 4: The Sociology of Music ANTHRO 1: Introduction to Cultural and Social Anthropology ANTHRO 1S: Introduction to Cultural and Social Anthropology CSRE 4: The Sociology of Music

Investment Banking & Finance 3

BUSGEN 110: Foundations of Corporate Finance FINANCE 211: Corporate Finance: Applications, Techniques, and Models FINANCE 305: Capital Markets and Institutional Investing

Architecture & Spatial Design 3

AMSTUD 33: Architectural Theory of the American City CEE 32D: Construction: The Writing of Architecture DANCE 25: Young Choreographers Festival: From Studio to Stage

UX / Product Design 2

CEE 11Q: Sustainability Design Thinking EE 64: Mechanical Prototyping for Electrical Engineers

Management Consulting & Strategy 2

BUSGEN 109: Strategic Leadership and Technology Entrepreneurship EMED 127: Health Care Leadership

Neuroscience & Brain Research 2

BMP 225: Transcranial Ultrasound Neuromodulation: Physics, Neurophysiology, and Applications COMPMED 89Q: Ouch it Hurts! The Comparative Neurobiology of Pain

Pharmacy & Drug Development 2

CSB 240A: A Practical Approach to Drug Discovery and Development CSB 242: Drug Discovery and Development Seminar Series

Climate & Earth Science 2

EMED 134: Climate Change, Toxins, and Health: From Education to Action EPS 1: Introduction to Geology

Digital Health & Telemedicine 2

BIOE 60: Scalable and Distributed Digital Health BMP 221: Physics and Engineering of Radionuclide-based Medical Imaging

AI / Machine Learning 1

CS 22A: The Social & Economic Impact of Artificial Intelligence

Software Engineering 1

BMDS 214: Representations and Algorithms for Computational Molecular Biology

Quantum Computing 1

APPPHYS 110Q: Disentangling the World of Quantum Computing?

Chemical & Materials Engineering 1

ENGR 20: Introduction to Chemical Engineering

Electrical & Hardware Engineering 1

EE 42: Introduction to Electromagnetics and Its Applications

Marketing & Brand Strategy 1

ALP 304: Digital Marketing

Actuarial Science & Insurance 1

EPI 159: Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Epidemiology

Journalism & Media 1

COMM 104W: Reporting, Writing, and Understanding the News

Chemistry & Pharmaceutical Research 1

BIOPHYS 297: Bio-Inorganic Chemistry

Physics & Astrophysics 1

FRENCH 56N: Imagining the Universe: From Dante to Contemporary Cosmology

Marine & Ocean Science 1

ENVRES 220: The Social Ocean: Human Dimensions of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems

Mathematics & Pure Research 1

BIOS 208: Geometry for biologists

Economics & Economic Research 1

FINANCE 306: International Finance and Macroeconomics

ESG & Impact Investing 1

FINANCE 315: FinTech for Social Impact & Climate Finance

Highest & Lowest ROI Majors at Stanford University

Highest-Earning Majors

Computer Science

$116,250/yr

Engineering

$111,600/yr

Mathematics & Statistics

$96,100/yr

Lowest-Earning Majors

Visual & Performing Arts

$52,700/yr

English Language & Literature

$55,800/yr

Psychology

$55,800/yr

Popular Majors at Stanford University

The most popular fields of study, ranked by the number of degrees awarded.

Computer Science

17.7%

Social Sciences

16.5%

Engineering

15.6%

Multidisciplinary

15.3%

Mathematics/Statistics

5.8%

Best Majors at Stanford University →

Stanford University Majors FAQs

What are the most popular majors at Stanford University?

Stanford University's most popular majors by share of degrees awarded are: Computer Science (17.7%), Social Sciences (16.5%), Engineering (15.6%). The full ranking by graduate salary is in the table above.

Which major at Stanford University pays the most?

The highest-earning major at Stanford University is Computer Science, with a median 4-year-out salary of $116,250 — well above the school-wide median of $124,080.

Are some majors at Stanford University harder to get into than others?

Yes. Stanford University's overall acceptance rate is 3.9%, but selective programs (computer science, business, engineering, nursing) often admit at lower rates than the school-wide average. Check program-specific admission stats where available.

Should I pick my major based on salary at Stanford University?

Salary should be one factor, not the only one. Major choice impacts earnings (engineering and CS typically lead) but career fit, course interest, and graduation-rate within the major also matter. The salary table above shows the median pay by program at Stanford University.