| Label | Element | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Registrant Name | dei_EntityRegistrantName | VANGUARD SPECIALIZED FUNDS |
| Prospectus Date | rr_ProspectusDate | May 24, 2024 |
| Retail | Vanguard Global ESG Select Stock Fund | ||
| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Risk/Return [Heading] | rr_RiskReturnHeading | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:13pt;font-weight:bold;">Fund Summary</span> |
| Objective [Heading] | rr_ObjectiveHeading | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Investment Objective</span> |
| Objective, Primary [Text Block] | rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock | The Fund seeks to maximize returns while having greater exposure to companies with attractive environmental, social, and governance characteristics. |
| Expense [Heading] | rr_ExpenseHeading | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Fees and Expenses</span> |
| Expense Narrative [Text Block] | rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock | The following tables describe the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell Investor Shares or Admiral Shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. |
| Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] | rr_ShareholderFeesCaption | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;">Shareholder Fees</span> <br/><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;margin-left:0%;">(Fees paid directly from your investment)</span> |
| Operating Expenses Caption [Text] | rr_OperatingExpensesCaption | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;">Annual Fund Operating Expenses</span> <br/><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;margin-left:0%;">(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)</span> |
| Portfolio Turnover [Heading] | rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">Portfolio Turnover</span> |
| Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] | rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock | The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in more taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the previous expense examples, reduce the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 25% of the average value of its portfolio. |
| Portfolio Turnover, Rate | rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate | 25.00% |
| Expense Example [Heading] | rr_ExpenseExampleHeading | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">Examples</span> |
| Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] | rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock | The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund’s Investor Shares or Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. They illustrate the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you were to invest $10,000 in the Fund’s shares. These examples assume that the shares provide a return of 5% each year and that total annual fund operating expenses remain as stated in the preceding table. You would incur these hypothetical expenses whether or not you were to redeem your investment at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: |
| Strategy [Heading] | rr_StrategyHeading | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Principal Investment Strategies</span> |
| Strategy Narrative [Text Block] | rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock | Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s assets will be invested in common stocks of companies that meet the advisor’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. The Fund will typically invest in stocks of large-and mid-size companies located in a number of countries throughout the world, including issuers located in emerging markets.The Fund’s investment approach is based on proprietary, bottom-up fundamental research conducted by the advisor. The advisor considers the investment universe, sector-by-sector and region-by-region, looking for companies with strong long-term fundamentals that also meet the advisor’s ESG criteria. The advisor will place an emphasis on the following company attributes: (1) a proven track record of effective capital allocation; (2) leading ESG practices as determined by the advisor through an evaluation of how the company integrates material ESG risks and opportunities into its corporate strategy (e.g., a realistic assessment of long-term ESG risks and opportunities, increased transparency into the company’s ESG practices, management teams with aligned incentives, better governance practices, and thoughtful resource allocation); and (3) confidence that a wide gap between return on capital and cost of capital can be sustained. The advisor will then examine issues outside the scope of traditional research—such as corporate culture, adaptability, and employee engagement—to build conviction in each holding. |
| Risk [Heading] | rr_RiskHeading | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Principal Risks</span> |
| Risk [Text Block] | rr_RiskTextBlock | • Stock market risk, which is the chance that stock prices overall will decline. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices. The Fund’s investments in foreign stocks can be riskier than U.S. stock investments. Foreign stocks may be more volatile and less liquid than U.S. stocks. The prices of foreign stocks and the prices of U.S. stocks may move in opposite directions.• Country/regional risk, which is the chance that world events—such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters—will adversely affect the value of securities issued by companies in foreign countries or regions. Because the Fund may invest a large portion of its assets in securities of companies located in any one country or region, the Fund’s performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of its investments in that area. Country/regional risk is especially high in emerging markets.• Asset concentration risk, which is the chance that, because the Fund tends to invest a high percentage of assets in its ten largest holdings, the Fund’s performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of relatively few stocks.• ESG investing risk, which is the chance that the stocks selected by the advisor based on its ESG criteria generally will underperform the stock market as a whole or that the particular stocks selected by the advisor based on its ESG criteria will, in the aggregate, trail returns of other ESG funds. There are significant differences in interpretations of what it means for a company to meet ESG criteria. The advisor’s assessment of a company may differ from that of other funds or an investor’s assessment of such company. As a result, stocks selected by the advisor may not reflect the beliefs and values of any particular investor. The advisor is dependent on the availability of timely and accurate ESG data being reported by companies to evaluate their ESG criteria. In addition, the Advisor may not assess every investment for ESG factors and, when it does, not every ESG factor may be identified or evaluated. The ESG criteria assessed by the Advisor may change over time.• Currency risk, which is the chance that the value of a foreign investment, measured in U.S. dollars, will decrease because of unfavorable changes in currency exchange rates. Currency risk is especially high in emerging markets. |
| Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] | rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Annual Total Returns</span> |
| Performance Narrative [Text Block] | rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock | The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund’s Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the share classes presented compare with those of a relevant market index, which has investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. FTSE All-World Index returns are adjusted for withholding taxes applicable to U.S.-based mutual funds organized as Delaware statutory trusts. Keep in mind that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447. |
| Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] | rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns | <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund’s Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the share classes presented compare with those of a relevant market index, which has investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. FTSE All-World Index returns are adjusted for withholding taxes applicable to U.S.-based mutual funds organized as Delaware statutory trusts. </span> |
| Performance Availability Phone [Text] | rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone | <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">800-662-7447</span> |
| Performance Availability Website Address [Text] | rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress | <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;font-style:italic;">vanguard.com/performance</span> |
| Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] | rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture | <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">Keep in mind that the Fund’s past </span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future.</span> |
| Bar Chart [Heading] | rr_BarChartHeading | <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;font-weight:bold;">Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Global ESG Select Stock Fund Investor Shares</span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:5pt;font-weight:bold;position:relative;top:-3.25pt;">1</span> |
| Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] | rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock | During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest and lowest returns for a calendar quarter were: |
| Performance Table Heading | rr_PerformanceTableHeading | <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;">Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2023</span> |
| Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate | rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">When after-tax returns are calculated, it is </span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. </span> |
| Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred | rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">not relevant for </span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. </span> |
| Performance Table One Class of after Tax Shown [Text] | rr_PerformanceTableOneClassOfAfterTaxShown | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Investor </span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">Shares and may differ for each share class. After-tax returns are </span> |
| Performance Table Explanation after Tax Higher | rr_PerformanceTableExplanationAfterTaxHigher | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">Also, figures captioned </span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;font-style:italic;">Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares</span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;"> may be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder.</span> |
| Performance Table Closing [Text Block] | rr_PerformanceTableClosingTextBlock | Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Investor Shares and may differ for each share class. After-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares may be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. |
| Retail | Vanguard Global ESG Select Stock Fund | Risk Lose Money [Member] | ||
| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Risk [Text Block] | rr_RiskTextBlock | An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time. |
| Retail | Vanguard Global ESG Select Stock Fund | Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Member] | ||
| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Risk [Text Block] | rr_RiskTextBlock | An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. |
| Retail | Vanguard Global ESG Select Stock Fund | Investor Shares | ||
| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Purchase Fee | rr_MaximumCumulativeSalesChargeOverOther | none |
| Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases | rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice | none |
| Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends | rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther | none |
| Redemption Fee | rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption | none |
| Account Service Fee Per Year (for certain fund account balances below $5,000,000) | rr_MaximumAccountFee | $ 25 |
| Management Fees | rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets | 0.55% |
| 12b-1 Distribution Fee | rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets | none |
| Other Expenses | rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets | 0.03% |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | rr_ExpensesOverAssets | 0.58% |
| 1 Year | rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 | $ 59 |
| 3 Years | rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 | 186 |
| 5 Years | rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 | 324 |
| 10 Years | rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 | $ 726 |
| 2020 | rr_AnnualReturn2020 | 19.31% |
| 2021 | rr_AnnualReturn2021 | 22.20% |
| Annual Return 2022 | rr_AnnualReturn2022 | (10.84%) |
| 2023 | rr_AnnualReturn2023 | 19.51% |
| Year to Date Return, Label | rr_YearToDateReturnLabel | year-to-date return |
| Bar Chart, Year to Date Return, Date | rr_BarChartYearToDateReturnDate | Mar. 31, 2024 |
| Bar Chart, Year to Date Return | rr_BarChartYearToDateReturn | 8.06% |
| Highest Quarterly Return, Label | rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;margin-left:0.0pt;">Highest</span> |
| Highest Quarterly Return, Date | rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate | Jun. 30, 2020 |
| Highest Quarterly Return | rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn | 16.09% |
| Lowest Quarterly Return, Label | rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel | <span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;margin-left:0.0pt;">Lowest</span> |
| Lowest Quarterly Return, Date | rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate | Mar. 31, 2020 |
| Lowest Quarterly Return | rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn | (17.85%) |
| 1 Year | rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 | 19.51% |
| Since Inception | rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception | 13.28% |
| Inception Date | rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate | Jun. 05, 2019 |
| Retail | Vanguard Global ESG Select Stock Fund | Admiral Shares | ||
| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Purchase Fee | rr_MaximumCumulativeSalesChargeOverOther | none |
| Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases | rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice | none |
| Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends | rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther | none |
| Redemption Fee | rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption | none |
| Account Service Fee Per Year (for certain fund account balances below $5,000,000) | rr_MaximumAccountFee | $ 25 |
| Management Fees | rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets | 0.46% |
| 12b-1 Distribution Fee | rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets | none |
| Other Expenses | rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets | 0.02% |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | rr_ExpensesOverAssets | 0.48% |
| 1 Year | rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 | $ 49 |
| 3 Years | rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 | 154 |
| 5 Years | rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 | 269 |
| 10 Years | rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 | $ 604 |
| 1 Year | rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 | 19.62% |
| Since Inception | rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception | 13.39% |
| Inception Date | rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate | Jun. 05, 2019 |
| Retail | Vanguard Global ESG Select Stock Fund | Return After Taxes on Distributions | Investor Shares | ||
| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| 1 Year | rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 | 19.01% |
| Since Inception | rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception | 12.77% |
| Retail | Vanguard Global ESG Select Stock Fund | Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | Investor Shares | ||
| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| 1 Year | rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 | 11.88% |
| Since Inception | rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception | 10.52% |
| Retail | Vanguard Global ESG Select Stock Fund | FTSE All-World Index (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) | ||
| Risk Return Abstract | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| 1 Year | rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 | 22.44% |
| Since Inception | rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception | 10.59% |