Start here: the 2027 cohort is open through October 25
Stanford Technology Ventures Program says applications for the 2027 Mayfield Fellows Program are open now and close Sunday, October 25, 2026. Mayfield is a nine-month Stanford work-study program in entrepreneurial leadership, not a one-day insight event and not a standalone summer job posting.
| Item | Current published detail |
|---|---|
| Application status | Open now |
| Application deadline | Sunday, October 25, 2026 |
| Cohort size | 12 fellows |
| Eligible students | Active Stanford undergraduate or co-terminal students |
| Major | Any major |
| Prior startup experience | Not required |
| Startup idea or existing venture | Not required |
| Spring commitment | Enroll in ENGR 140A in Spring 2027 |
| Summer commitment | Paid full-time internship at an approved early-stage startup; minimum 8 weeks; reside in the Bay Area |
| Autumn commitment | Enroll in ENGR 140C in Autumn 2027 |
| Relationship | Stanford academic fellowship plus a separate paid startup internship |
The program combines spring coursework, a paid startup internship during summer 2027 and autumn coursework built around reflection and a capstone case study. Stanford says each annual cohort has 12 fellows. The summer work is real paid employment at an approved early-stage startup; the academic fellowship and the startup employer remain separate relationships.
For a student deciding whether to apply, the biggest filters are Stanford enrollment, availability across spring and autumn 2027, the Bay Area summer commitment and willingness to secure a qualifying startup internship. The public page does not publish a minimum GPA, required major, citizenship rule or prior-startup-experience requirement.
Eligibility is narrow by school and calendar, but not by major or prior startup experience
Mayfield is restricted to active Stanford undergraduate and co-terminal students. Applicants must be available on campus for Spring 2027 and Autumn 2027 and must be available to intern in the San Francisco Bay Area during Summer 2027. That makes the program highly specific to Stanford students even though the academic-major requirement is broad.
Stanford explicitly welcomes applicants from any discipline or major and says no prior startup experience is required. Applicants do not need to arrive with a product idea or an existing venture. The current page also does not publish a minimum GPA or prior-internship requirement.
Do not interpret 'no prior startup experience required' as 'selection is random' or 'experience does not matter.' The application asks for a resume, unofficial transcript, video submission and essays about entrepreneurial experiences and leadership challenges. The accurate claim is narrower: prior startup employment and a pre-existing startup idea are not eligibility gates.
Sources[1]
The fellowship runs from spring through autumn, with the startup internship in the middle
Spring 2027 centers on ENGR 140A, Leadership of Technology Ventures. Stanford describes the spring as the period when fellows build the cohort, study venture financing, product strategy, team building and ethics, and secure the summer internship. That course requirement is part of the fellowship rather than a separate optional workshop.
Summer 2027 is the paid internship plus Mayfield programming. Fellows work full time at the startup, receive senior-level mentorship, host a site visit for the cohort, visit other fellows' companies and participate in reflection programming. Optional ENGR 140B credit can be awarded in autumn for the summer component.
Autumn 2027 requires ENGR 140C. Fellows turn the summer experience into a capstone case study, present it to peers and faculty, and use the cohort's different startup experiences to compare how ventures operate. That capstone is one of the clearest durable outputs from the program beyond the internship itself.
Sources[1]
The summer internship is paid employment, but Mayfield admission is not a specific startup offer
Stanford requires each fellow to secure a paid internship at an approved early-stage startup. The internship must be at an external company rather than the fellow's own venture, should preferably be at a Series B-or-earlier company, and must last at least eight weeks. The company may be Bay Area-based or remote, but the fellow must reside in the Bay Area during the summer.
The role must report to or receive mentorship from a C-suite executive or vice president, and fellows participate in Mayfield summer programming alongside the job. Stanford describes the internship as full time and paid but does not publish one universal salary, hourly rate, housing benefit or relocation package for the 2027 cohort because compensation comes from the individual startup employer.
This distinction matters for recruiting. Acceptance into Mayfield gives you entry into the fellowship and its internship requirements; it does not establish that a particular startup has hired you. If you already have a summer job when applying, Stanford says the company must satisfy the Mayfield criteria. If you do not, plan for a separate startup internship search during the fellowship.
Sources[1]
The strongest signal is the combination of real startup work, executive mentorship and a capstone case
Mayfield creates several pieces of evidence that are stronger than attendance alone: a paid startup role, direct exposure to startup operations, senior-level mentorship, site visits and a capstone case study based on the summer experience. The internship is the employment credential; the Mayfield fellowship is the academic and cohort credential.
For future product, growth, venture, strategy, operations or founder-facing recruiting, keep the two lines accurate. Use the startup's real job title for the summer work and describe the projects you actually owned. Use 'Stanford Mayfield Fellows Program — Fellow' for the Stanford program, then mention the capstone, coursework or cohort work you can substantiate.
Do not imply that Stanford employed you at the startup, that every fellow performs the same function, or that Mayfield guarantees venture-capital recruiting. The program exposes fellows to founders, VCs, CEOs and mentors, but the current page does not promise a later internship or full-time offer from those people or firms.
The application asks for evidence now; selected applicants interview in November
The current application package asks for academic information, a resume, unofficial transcript, video submission and essay responses about entrepreneurial experiences and leadership challenges. A recommendation letter is optional. Stanford says selected applicants will be invited to an in-person group interview on November 17 or 18, 2026.
Apply before October 25 if you satisfy the Stanford and calendar constraints, then treat the startup internship as a second recruiting problem rather than waiting for a company assignment to appear automatically. Build a target list of early-stage companies, decide which functions you can credibly perform, and keep evidence from class, research, projects or prior work ready for startup conversations.
Representative searches this page is designed to answer include 'Mayfield Fellows 2027 deadline,' 'Stanford Mayfield Fellows eligibility,' 'Mayfield Fellows paid internship,' 'Mayfield Fellows no startup experience,' 'Mayfield Fellows summer internship requirements' and 'Mayfield Fellows interview date.'
Sources[1]