Stanford University Reviews

"I feel very privileged to have attended Stanford University. The access to resources, support, and opportunities was particularly stellar. While I did struggle a bit with developing meaningful social connections, I do think that Stanford as an academic institution did a superb job of providing all of the opportunities for me to learn and grow as a scholar."

"I recently attended my 35th reunion from Stanford, where a lot of my classmates showed up because we created real, nurturing friendships that have lasted a life time. Stanford has a big reputation, but it's a pretty intimate campus with lot of natural beauty. I remember my first journalism class, where my professor encouraged me and nurtured my talent. It set me on a path that I'm still on, and still passionate about. A few years back, when I returned for my 20th reunion, I ran into the head of the Communication Department, and he still remembered me. The kids at Stanford were super smart, as you might expect, but the culture of the campus was relaxed and warm.Read Less"

"Stanford is an amazing school. I loved it. But the program wasn't my favorite - they had a great idea of what they wanted to be, but they aren't really there yet. And I think it should have been a two year program."

"I was in the M.A. journalism program in 2008-2009. While there was a (depressing) focus on the deteriorating state of the traditional journalism industry and the rise of digital communication, there was not nearly enough practical training. While I knew that digital skills were important, there was not a single class in the program that taught HTML, CSS or any even basic coding skills. Nor were there any classes on Adobe products like InDesign (for layouts) or Fireworks/Illustrator for graphics. Our digital skills class did teach us photo slideshows and video editing, which were good skills; however, that was the breadth of the digital skills and those skills are a lot less applicable to available jobs than the skills I listed that I wish I had learned from the program.I was probably not a great fit for the program to begin with. However, I do judge a journalism program in 2009 for not preparing me well as it could have for digital communication. I will say that you can gain a lot of those skills from electives--which I did out of my own interest in computer science--but they are not required or even particularly encouraged.My undergraduate degree in Communications and my graduate degree electives were what provided me with actual skills that would help my career (mostly Computer Science and design skills). However, I cannot discount the value of just having an M.A. from Stanford as far as job prospects go. So while it probably did technically help my career, I would not recommend getting this degree.Read Less"