Choosing Courses

Introduction to Choosing Courses

Take time to think deliberately about which courses you will take in any one quarter, while keeping the big picture of your undergraduate education in mind. Think about each class as a brick in the intellectual edifice you are creating for yourself. It needs to provide the foundation for future work as well as allowing you to build on what came before. In this way you will develop a personally coherent, meaningful education out of the diverse courses that Stanford offers.

  • Explore what interests you, even if you are unfamiliar with the discipline. Don't restrict yourself to areas you've already experienced out of habit.
  • Develop a path to your specific destination. Don't follow "tracks" blindly; for instance, medical schools do not dictate the exact sequence of science prerequisites or desirable majors.
  • Figure out what fields, topics, approaches and faculty appeal to you personally. Don't rely on the experience of others.

Timing of Course Selection

Students should constantly keep their eyes and ears open for classes they might find interesting. The Registrar’s deadline for filing Study Lists is on Sunday following the second week of classes.

A quarter is only ten weeks long, so be judicious in planning which courses to investigate and make your decisions quickly. It’s critical to attend all the classes you’re interested in from the start, rather than trying to join late and catch up on material you missed. At the same time, it is unwise to keep attending more classes than you will eventually take, given the pace of the quarter.

Before finalizing Study Lists, students should consult freshman advisors, major advisors or UAR advisors about their courses and how these choices fit their overall academic plans.

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Finding Courses

  • Stanford Bulletin. The Stanford Bulletin provides a comprehensive list of course offerings by department and program. It is also a useful resource for matching course interests with requirements for majors.
  • Stanford Syllabus Project. This search tool allows you to read course syllabi posted by departments and to search by department and program.
  • Axess. Use the search function in Axess to find courses according to department, major cognates, instructor and which GERs they fulfill.
  • Academic Advisors. Consult with your academic advisor or a UAR advisor about courses that may be well-matched to your interests or course of study.
  • Stanford Bookstore. Browsing the Stanford Bookstore textbook section shelves is a great way to discover what’s offered and what material seems particularly provocative or interesting to you.
  • Introductory Seminars course catalogue and website. The catalogue has course descriptions for the freshman and sophomore seminars plus faculty biographies. The searchable course finder on the website permits you to search by department, instructor and GER.
  • Peers.  Peer advisors, available in many departments, can help you map out your major requirements and find those that are generically alike.

Choosing Courses That Fulfill GERs

Stanford requires undergraduates to acquire a liberal education that fulfills the following:

  • Broadens students’ knowledge and awareness in the major areas of human knowledge
  • Significantly deepens understanding of one or two of these areas
  • Prepares students for a lifetime of continual learning by applying knowledge to career and personal life

The Stanford General Education Requirements (GERs) are one mechanism for ensuring that students do increase their knowledge across a breadth of disciplines. 

Although the GERs are requirements, the courses you select to fulfill them can help personalize your education in meaningful ways. They can give you license to explore areas you would not otherwise think to pursue, as well as helping you refine your eventual major direction.

Planning ahead ensures that students don't take classes in which they have no interest merely to check off the requirement at the last moment.

  • Consider taking Introductory Seminars to fulfill GERs in fields that are relatively new to you.
  • Seek out GER courses that complement or build upon your major. A biological sciences major may fulfill a humanities GER with a philosophy of science course. Students who study developmental psychology may benefit from an English class on children’s literature. 
  • Use the advanced search function in Axess to search all courses in a given quarter that fulfill a specific GER.

For more information on courses that fulfill GERs, look at the following resources:

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Choosing IHUM Classes

Since all first-year students take three quarters of IHUM during their freshman year, it is important that you think carefully about your choice of courses.

  • Look for thematic connections between your Fall IHUM class and your Winter / Spring sequence.
  • Visit the November IHUM Open House to talk to professors and ask questions about the courses.
  • Since the Winter / Spring courses are more discipline-specific, try to match your course choices with possible fields that you’re considering for your major.
  • Contact IHUM Student Advisory Board members to ask questions about courses.
  • Since space is limited in any one IHUM course, try to be flexible and open to different IHUM opportunities.

For more information on IHUM courses, visit the following

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Choosing PWR Sections

All students must take PWR 1 in their first year. They must take PWR 2 (or another course certified to fulfill the second-level requirement) by the end of sophomore year. Students are preassigned a quarter in which to take each course, although you may petition to change this if your circumstances are compelling.

  • Read the section descriptions carefully, looking for themes that interest you. Remember that your PWR research paper can be the groundwork for later projects, even senior Honor theses.
  • Find out which instructors’ interests and teaching style match with yours by reading their online profiles and talking to former PWR students.
  • Attend the PWR Open Houses held before Winter and Spring Quarters. Talk to the PWR Instructors about their courses and get your questions answered.
  • Contact PWR Undergraduate Advisory Board members to ask their advice about different courses.
  • Notice if an Introductory Seminar (certified to fulfill the WR 2 requirement) is offered in an area that interests you. You could consider taking it instead of a PWR 2 course.
  • Note: PWR does not allow students to sit in on courses unless they are enrolled in that course.

For more information on PWR courses, visit the following:

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Choosing Courses within Your Major

Each major is structured differently. It is crucial to read carefully through the Bulletin information about the major to make sure that you are progressing through your coursework in a timely, organized fashion. Check out the department or program website. For engineering majors, read through the Undergraduate Handbook.

  • Consult with your major advisor, the director of undergraduate studies, the student services administrator or department peer advisors. They can advise you about how best to shape the major according to your interests. Many majors have multiple tracks within them and some require you to develop a personalized area of concentration. 
  • Make sure to take prerequisites as soon as possible to open the possibility for more advanced courses, especially in more hierarchical fields.
  • Draft a four-year plan for fulfilling your major requirements and arrange when it is best to take different courses in your major.
  • Find out from the departmental student services administrators when professors are going on leave and plan accordingly.
  • Read faculty profiles on the departmental website to explore faculty research and find faculty who offer classes that coincide with your interests.
  • Take classes offered by your faculty advisor to help build a strong working relationship.
  • If you intend to participate in the Summer Research College or another research project, prepare yourself by selecting classes that give background knowledge and research skills.
  • If you expect to pursue an Honors thesis or senior project, choose classes that give you the necessary background. These are the ones whose class projects help you build toward the larger endeavor, particularly research methodology courses.

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Choosing Whether to Take Advanced Courses

Advanced courses provide students a window into what advanced practitioners in a field might actually do. This is in contrast to introductory courses that focus on teaching the foundations of a discipline. They can also provide opportunities to pursue specific topics in more depth than a survey course allows. The instructor will assume that most students will already have some background and developed skills in the field. Therefore, advanced courses will start at a higher level and move at a faster pace than those intended for novices.

Many advanced courses (including some graduate courses) are open to any student who meets the prerequisites and wishes to enroll. Some courses require the instructor's permission or other admission process to enroll however, so it's important to check the Bulletin and Time Schedule for details. 

  • Check the Stanford Bulletin or consult with the department to make sure you have completed any necessary prerequisites.
  • Visit the professor in office hours to talk about the possibility of taking the course.
  • Look at the syllabus online through the department or through the Stanford Syllabus project.
  • Sit in the course to see the composition of the students, the level of the students and the teaching.
  • Consult your schedule for the quarter carefully to make sure you have enough time to devote to a class that may be quite challenging.

For further information, consult the following:

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Arranging Directed Readings

Students may register for directed reading units (called independent study, individual study or directed study, depending on the department) under the supervision of a faculty member. Generally students pursue directed readings on a special topic of interest for which there is no formal course in the Stanford curriculum.

  • Students make arrangements individually with the faculty member and the department in which credit will be granted.
  • Generally between one and five units are awarded, depending on the amount of work assigned. 
  • It is strongly recommended that the student and faculty member compose a directed reading syllabus at the start of the quarter. This includes readings, assignments to be completed, units earned and arrangements for frequency and type of communication between the student and faculty member. 
  • Students should consult with student services administrators or the director of undergraduate studies for policies and restrictions that apply within individual departments. This includes whether directed reading or independent study may satisfy major requirements. 
  • Register on Axess by going to “Search for Classes” and then clicking on the “Independent Study” link at the bottom of the page. Enter the course number, the faculty member with whom you've arranged to work and the number of units agreed upon by you and the faculty. 
  • Directed readings may not satisfy GERs.

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Oral Communication Courses

Beyond meeting PWR and IHUM requirements, consider courses in Oral Communication to develop your public speaking skills and strengthen the foundation of your liberal arts education.  Students interested in individualized instruction or independent study are invited to visit the program's central office in Meyer, Suite 123. For further information:

Enrolling in Courses

Students enroll in courses through Axess. Important: Students are responsible for ensuring that their information on Axess is accurate and up to date. Whenever students make changes to their records, they should confirm that the proper changes have been made and print out a copy for their files.  Errors occur and you may need to dispute an error. Always print a copy.

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