Academic Programs

Overview

Academic Freedom

Stanford students enjoy a remarkable degree of academic freedom in comparison to our Ivy League peers. Our academic programs develop the knowledge you need while preserving the flexibility you may want. Consider the following:

  • Stanford’s unique quarter-system calendar allows students to take advantage of dozens of additional courses not possible under a more traditional semester calendar.
  • Approximately 25% of our students pursue interdisciplinary programs such as Human Biology, Earth Science, International Relations, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, or Urban Studies.
  • The faculty to student ratio on campus is a virtually unrivaled and intimate 6.4 to 1.
  • Approximately 75% of Stanford classes have fewer than 15 students.
  • Each year, over 200 seminars are offered exclusively to freshmen, each capped at 16 students.
  • Stanford students can pursue double-majors, add a minor, write an honors thesis, take graduate level courses, or graduate with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree (often in as little as 5 years.)
  • Pre-professional advising in law and medicine is available and with a School of Law and School of Medicine on campus, you will find faculty members from those departments teaching undergraduate seminars.

The Pioneering Spirit of the American West

Stanford is known internationally for its entrepreneurial culture, and the pioneering spirit of the American west pervades the intellectual climate on campus.  The reputation of Stanford’s academic enterprise is a globally powerful one.  Consider the following:

  • $4 million is ear-marked annually for undergraduate research—more than at any other college or university in the U.S.
  • A recent survey of faculty productivity (by the National Research Council) ranks Stanford among the top 10 in the U.S. for Earth Science.
  • Since its founding, 26 faculty members have won the Nobel prize—ranking Stanford among the top 5 in the world.
  • Both Black Enterprise Magazine and Hispanic Magazine rank Stanford among their top 10 colleges for African-Americans and Latinas/os respectively.
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education ranks Stanford among the top 10 universities in the U.S. for federal research expenditures in science and engineering.
  • Stanford had the highest number of #1 ranked academic departments and schools according to the most recent edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools.