Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university located in Stanford, California. Founded in 1885 by Leland Stanford, a railroad magnate and former California governor, and his wife, Jane, in memory of their only child, Leland Jr., the university opened its doors in 1891 as a coeducational and non-denominational institution. Stanford's motto is "Die Luft der Freiheit weht," a German phrase meaning "The wind of freedom blows".
Stanford is recognized for its strong focus on interdisciplinary learning and research, offering students academic flexibility across its undergraduate and graduate schools. The university is organized into seven schools of study and boasts a large 8,180-acre campus. Stanford is a research-oriented university, and since 1952, more than 68 Stanford faculty, staff, and alumni have won Nobel Prizes. It also has the highest number of Turing Award winners for a single institution. Stanford's entrepreneurial spirit has led to the founding of many prominent companies, including Google, Hewlett-Packard, Nike, and Yahoo!. The university's endowment was approximately $40.8 billion in 2025.
Stanford is highly selective, with an undergraduate acceptance rate of around 4%. Stanford was ranked #2 in the world by Times Higher Education in 2024, making it the top-ranked U.S. university. In the QS World University Rankings 2024, Stanford is ranked 5th. Stanford's athletic program is also renowned, with students and alumni winning 302 Olympic medals. The university has won 136 NCAA team championships and was awarded the NACDA Directors' Cup for 25 consecutive years, starting in 1994.
Stanford is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Research output is significant, with 442,571 publications by leading scholars and 61,333,840 citations. Inventions and start-ups based on federally funded research at Stanford have created over 350,000 jobs.
