ACCT 610:
Seminar in Empirical Accounting Research
Empirical Research on Corporate Reporting: This doctoral-level course covers research on the role of financial and non-financial information in capital markets. The focus is on introducing students to key themes in empirical accounting and capital markets research, and to key research designs applied to examine information-related questions. Course topics include the informational role of financial reports, accounting measurement attributes, earnings management, earnings quality, environmental, social, and governance-related disclosures and the role of key actors in the reporting environment, including management, investors, auditors, analysts and regulators. The course is interdisciplinary in nature. The readings focus on research design, and key theories, themes and approaches from the accounting, finance, economics, and psychology literature. Our overall goal is develop your understanding of existing research and its strengths and limitations, and to identify new research opportunities.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
ACCT 618:
Market Efficiency and Informational Arbitrage
The informational efficiency of stock markets has been a central theme in financial economic research in the past 50 years. Over this period, the focus of academic research has gradually shifted from the general to the more specific. While earlier studies tend to view the matter as a yes/no debate, most recent studies acknowledge the impossibility of fully efficient markets, and focus instead on analyses of factors that materially affect the timely incorporation of information into prices. At the same time, increasing attention is being paid to regulatory and market design issues that either impede or enhance market pricing efficiency.nIn this course, we will cover recent research on the role of informational arbitrage in asset pricing. Our starting point is the observation that, with costly information, equilibrium prices will invariably reflect some mispricing. The existence of mispricing introduces a role for informational arbitrage, whereby some traders will invest resources to become informed about the mispricing, with hopes of profiting from it. We review recent academic evidence on this process, and reflect on its implications for future market-related research. We will also discuss how academic research might help lower information/arbitrage costs.nThis is a doctoral level course. Our goal is not only to review existing research, but also to stimulate new work in the area. As such, I expect it will be of primary interest to Ph.D. students majoring in accounting, finance, and economics. Given our focus on returns prediction and the role of information in arbitrage strategies, this course should be of particular interest to those interested exploring the relation between information flows and market pricing dynamics. nThe course content is interdisciplinary in nature, spanning finance, economics, and accounting. Most of the readings in the earlier readings derive from finance and economics (market efficiency, limits to arbitrage, and behavioral finance); most of the later readings derive from financial accounting (equity valuation, fundamental analysis, earnings management, and analyst behavior).
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 3
AFRICAAM 442:
(Re)Framing Difference: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Disability, Race and Culture (CSRE 343, EDUC 442, FEMGEN 442, PEDS 242)
This course uses social theories of difference to examine the intersections of disability, race and culture. The course will examine these concepts drawing from scholarship published in history, sociology of education, urban sociology, cultural studies, disability studies, social studies of science, cultural psychology, educational and cultural anthropology, comparative education and special education. Implications for policy, research and practice will be covered.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
AFRICAST 235:
Designing Research-Based Interventions to Solve Global Health Problems (AFRICAST 135, EDUC 135, EDUC 335, EPI 235, MED 235)
The excitement around social innovation and entrepreneurship has spawned numerous startups focused on tackling world problems, particularly in the fields of education and health. The best social ventures are launched with careful consideration paid to research, design, and efficacy. This course offers students an immersive educational experience into understanding how to effectively develop, evaluate, and scale social ventures. Students will also get a rare "behind-the-scenes" glimpse at the complex ethical dilemmas social entrepreneurs have tackled to navigate the odds. Partnered with TeachAids, a global award-winning nonprofit (scaled to 82 countries), this course introduces students to the major principles of research-based design and integrates instruction supported by several game-changing social leaders. Open to both undergraduate and graduate students, it culminates in a formal presentation to an interdisciplinary panel of diverse Silicon Valley leaders. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
AFRICAST 249:
Bodies, Technologies, and Natures in Africa (ANTHRO 348B, HISTORY 349)
This interdisciplinary course explores how modern African histories, bodies, and natures have been entangled with technological activities. Viewing Africans as experts and innovators, we consider how technologies have mediated, represented, or performed power in African societies. Topics include infrastructure, extraction, medicine, weapons, communications, sanitation, and more. Themes woven through the course include citizenship, mobility, labor, bricolage, in/formal economies, and technopolitical geographies, among others. Readings draw from history, anthropology, geography, and social/cultural theory.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4-5
AMSTUD 231X:
Learning Religion: How People Acquire Religious Commitments (EDUC 231, JEWISHST 291X, RELIGST 231X)
This course will examine how people learn religion outside of school, and in conversation with popular cultural texts and practices. Taking a broad social-constructivist approach to the variety of ways people learn, this course will explore how people assemble ideas about faith, identity, community, and practice, and how those ideas inform individual, communal and global notions of religion. Much of this work takes place in formal educational environments including missionary and parochial schools, Muslim madrasas or Jewish yeshivot. However, even more takes place outside of school, as people develop skills and strategies in conversation with broader social trends. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to questions that lie at the intersection of religion, popular culture, and education. May be repeat for credit.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
ANTHRO 302A:
Technopolitics: Materiality, Power, Theory (HISTORY 302)
This graduate readings seminar provides a lively introduction to some of the major themes and issues in the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS). How do technologies and material assemblages perform power? How are their designs and uses shaped by social, cultural, and political dynamics? How do they shape those dynamics? The course draws on an interdisciplinary body of literature in humanities and social science, mixing theoretical material with more empirically oriented studies, and classics with new scholarship.
Last offered: Autumn 2019
| Units: 4-5
ANTHRO 307:
Archaeological Methods
Methodological aspects of field and laboratory practice from traditional archaeological methods to the latest interdisciplinary analytical techniques. The nature of archaeological data and inference; interpretive potential of these techniques. Prerequisite: By consent of instructor. Significant work outside of class time is expected of the student for this course.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
ANTHRO 338B:
History and Memory
How are history and memory important in the making of collective and public memory? This seminar draws together an interdisciplinary collection of readings with an aim to provide a foundation for seminar participants¿ projects, both historical and contemporary projects. We will explore critiques of the practice of gathering material, i.e., archival and oral histories as well as delve into experimental forms that combine improvisational approaches to history and critique in an effort to develop a methodological tool kit that allows for a push beyond established projects.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
ANTHRO 345W:
Indigeneity
In recent decades, the emergence and proliferation of transnational Indigenous movements have foregrounded the socio-cultural survival and legal-political resurgence of Indigenous peoples in contemporary global society. Many Western academic disciplines and fields, including anthropology, understand Indigeneity as a historical positioning situated within particular regimes of governance under the sovereignty of the modern state in the liberal international order. Scholars debate the limits and possibilities of Indigenous resistance to decolonize entrenched power structures and dynamics of colonial rule that continue into the present. This graduate seminar introduces students to current interdisciplinary scholarship on Indigenous peoples, with a focus on anthropological research and engagement. Students will examine the evolution of anthropological theory and method for academic knowledge production on the situation of colonized peoples across contexts, scales, and processes. Students will also consider enduring and contentious questions on whether and how anthropologists should intervene in and shape native formations, particularly Indigenous communities with collective status and rights to territory, autonomy, and self-determination. The course will review case studies from different world regions.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
ANTHRO 348B:
Bodies, Technologies, and Natures in Africa (AFRICAST 249, HISTORY 349)
This interdisciplinary course explores how modern African histories, bodies, and natures have been entangled with technological activities. Viewing Africans as experts and innovators, we consider how technologies have mediated, represented, or performed power in African societies. Topics include infrastructure, extraction, medicine, weapons, communications, sanitation, and more. Themes woven through the course include citizenship, mobility, labor, bricolage, in/formal economies, and technopolitical geographies, among others. Readings draw from history, anthropology, geography, and social/cultural theory.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4-5
ANTHRO 353:
Landscape
This graduate seminar introduces interdisciplinary approaches to landscape study. The broad range of theoretical approaches includes human and non-human interactions and overlapping and divergent, spatial and temporal questions derived from the exchange between landscapes and humans. Fields such as Art history, Political Ecology, Anthropology, Geography, and Natural History draw attention to representational and non-representational ways that material and symbolic aspects of landscapes help constitute the making of place. Throughout the seminar students will development their research question or project. The requirements for this course are demanding. Prerequisite: Those not at the graduate level must seek the instructor's consent for enrollment.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
APPPHYS 229:
Statistical Mechanics of Learning and Computation
Recent years have witnessed the successful application of time-honored techniques from the statistical physics of disordered systems, like the replica method and the cavity method, to understanding modern advances in machine learning and computation. We will develop the foundations of these methods, starting with a crash course in statistical mechanics, and then progressing to the basic theory of spin glasses, associative memories, random matrices, and random landscapes. We will additionally learn how to apply this theory to problems in learning and computation, including high dimensional statistics and deep learning. Overall, this foundations course will prepare students to read the growing interdisciplinary literature spanning physics, learning and computation.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
ARTHIST 305B:
Medieval Journeys: Introduction through the Art and Architecture (ARTHIST 105B, DLCL 123)
The course explores the experience and imagination of medieval journeys through an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and skills-based approaches. As a foundations class, this survey of medieval culture engages in particular the art and architecture of the period. The Middle Ages is presented as a network of global economies, fueled by a desire for natural resources, access to luxury goods and holy sites. We will study a large geographical area encompassing the British Isles, Europe, the Mediterranean, Central Asia, India, and East Africa and trace the connectivity of these lands in economic, political, religious, and artistic terms from the fourth to the fourteenth century C.E. The students will have two lectures and one discussion session per week. Depending on the size of the class, it is possible that a graduate student TA will run the discussion session. Our goal is to give a skills-oriented approach to the Middle Ages and to engage students in creative projects that will satisfy either the Ways-Creative Expression requirement or Ways-Engaging Difference. NOTE: for AY 2018-19 HISTORY 115D Europe in the Middle Ages, 300-1500 counts for DLCL 123.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 5
ARTHIST 418A:
Michelangelo: Gateway to Early Modern Italy (ARTHIST 218A, HISTORY 237B, HISTORY 337B, ITALIAN 237, ITALIAN 337)
Revered as one of the greatest artists in history, Michelangelo Buonarroti's extraordinarily long and prodigious existence (1475-1564) spanned the Renaissance and the Reformation in Italy. The celebrity artist left behind not only sculptures, paintings, drawings, and architectural designs, but also an abundantly rich and heterogeneous collection of artifacts, including direct and indirect correspondence (approximately 1400 letters), an eclectic assortment of personal notes, documents and contracts, and 302 poems and 41 poetic fragments. This course will explore the life and production of Michelangelo in relation to those of his contemporaries. Using the biography of the artist as a thread, this interdisciplinary course will draw on a range of critical methodologies and approaches to investigate the civilization and culture of Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Course themes will follow key tensions that defined the period and that found expression in Michelangelo: physical-spiritual, classical-Christian, tradition-innovation, individual-collective.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 3-5
ARTHIST 431:
Leonardo's World: Science, Technology, and Art (ARTHIST 231, HISTORY 231, HISTORY 331, ITALIAN 231, ITALIAN 331)
Leonardo da Vinci is emblematic of creativity and innovation. His art is iconic, his inventions legendary. His understanding of nature, the human body, and machines made him a scientist and engineer as well as an artist. His fascination with drawing buildings made him an architect, at least on paper. This class explores the historical Leonardo, considering his interests and accomplishments as a product of the society of Renaissance Italy. Why did this world produce a Leonardo? Special attention will be given to interdisciplinary connections between religion, art, science, and technology.
Last offered: Autumn 2018
| Units: 4-5
ARTHIST 469:
Drugs and the Visual Imagination (FILMEDIA 469)
Drugs have profoundly shaped human culture across space and time, from ancient cave paintings to the psychedelic Sixties and contemporary opioid epidemic. This seminar explores the relationship between visual culture and "drugs," broadly conceived, asking how consciousness-altering substances have been understood and represented in various contexts. We will examine how drugs blur boundaries between nature and culture and describe major symbolic, narrative, and aesthetic structures by considering representations of drug use across media. This interdisciplinary seminar integrates perspectives from art, literature, popular culture, theory, film, philosophy, and science. Topics include perception, subjectivity, addiction, deviancy, capitalism, politics, technology, globalization, and critical approaches to race, class, sexuality, and gender. Limited to graduate students; undergraduates must contact instructor for permission (seniors only).
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 5
ARTHIST 474A:
The Art of the Uncanny (ARTHIST 274A)
From murderous dolls to evil doppelgängers, humanoid doubles haunt the Western cultural imagination. Beginning with an in-depth look at the contested concept of the "uncanny", the seminar traces the history of anxiety about non-human humans in the West. An interdisciplinary inquiry, this course draws its sources from art, film, literature, psychology, and science.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 5
ASNAMST 272:
Science and History of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CHINA 272, MED 272)
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a unique system for the diagnosis and treatment of disease, as well as for the cultivation of life-long health and well-being. This course introduces basic TCM theories, practices, and treatment methods including acupuncture, Taichi, and herbal medicine. We will introduce historical figures and events in the history of Traditional Chinese Medicine and East-West integrative health. Drawing on science, cultural history, and philosophy, this interdisciplinary approach will help us to understand Traditional Chinese Medicine in its intellectual, social, and cultural context. We will discuss the scientific exploration of TCM and how modern science shapes our understanding of East-West integrative health.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
BIO 208:
Spanish in Science/Science in Spanish (EARTHSYS 207, LATINAM 207)
For graduate and undergraduate students interested in the natural sciences and the Spanish language. Students will acquire the ability to communicate in Spanish using scientific language and will enhance their ability to read scientific literature written in Spanish. Emphasis on the development of science in Spanish-speaking countries or regions. Course is conducted in Spanish and intended for students pursuing degrees in the sciences, particularly disciplines such as ecology, environmental science, sustainability, resource management, anthropology, and archeology.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
BIO 459:
Frontiers in Interdisciplinary Biosciences (BIOC 459, BIOE 459, CHEM 459, CHEMENG 459, PSYCH 459)
Students register through their affiliated department; otherwise register for CHEMENG 459. For specialists and non-specialists. Sponsored by the Stanford BioX Program. Three seminars per quarter address scientific and technical themes related to interdisciplinary approaches in bioengineering, medicine, and the chemical, physical, and biological sciences. Leading investigators from Stanford and the world present breakthroughs and endeavors that cut across core disciplines. Pre-seminars introduce basic concepts and background for non-experts. Registered students attend all pre-seminars; others welcome. See http://biox.stanford.edu/courses/459.html. Recommended: basic mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
BIOC 459:
Frontiers in Interdisciplinary Biosciences (BIO 459, BIOE 459, CHEM 459, CHEMENG 459, PSYCH 459)
Students register through their affiliated department; otherwise register for CHEMENG 459. For specialists and non-specialists. Sponsored by the Stanford BioX Program. Three seminars per quarter address scientific and technical themes related to interdisciplinary approaches in bioengineering, medicine, and the chemical, physical, and biological sciences. Leading investigators from Stanford and the world present breakthroughs and endeavors that cut across core disciplines. Pre-seminars introduce basic concepts and background for non-experts. Registered students attend all pre-seminars; others welcome. See http://biox.stanford.edu/courses/459.html. Recommended: basic mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
BIOE 273:
Biodesign for Digital Health (MED 273)
Health care is facing significant cross-industry challenges and opportunities created by a number of factors, including the increasing need for improved access to affordable, high-quality care; growing demand from consumers for greater control of their health and health data; the shift in focus from sick care to prevention and health optimization; aging demographics and the increased burden of chronic conditions; and new emphasis on real-world, measurable health outcomes for individuals and populations. Moreover, the delivery of health information and services is no longer tied to traditional brick and mortar hospitals and clinics: it has increasingly become "mobile," enabled by apps, sensors, wearables. Simultaneously, it has been augmented and often revolutionized by emerging digital and information technologies, as well as by the data that these technologies generate. This multifactorial transformation presents opportunities for innovation across the entire cycle of care, from wellness, to acute and chronic diseases, to care at the end of life. But how does one approach innovation in digital health to address these health care challenges while ensuring the greatest chance of success? At Stanford Biodesign, we believe that innovation is a process that can be learned, practiced, and perfected; and, it starts with an unmet need. In Biodesign for Digital Health, students will learn about digital health and the Biodesign needs-driven innovation process from over 50 industry experts. Over the course of 10weeks, these speakers will join the teaching team in a dynamic classroom environment that includes lectures, panel discussions, and breakout sessions. These experts represent startups, corporations, venture capital firms, accelerators, research labs, healthcare providers, and more. Student teams will take actual digital and mobile health challenges and learn how to apply Biodesign innovation principles to research and evaluate needs, ideate solutions, and objectively assess them against key criteria for satisfying the needs. Teams take a hands-on approach with the support of need coaches and other mentors. On the final day of class, teams present to a panel of digital health experts and compete for project extension funding. Friday section will be used for team projects and for scheduled workshops. Limited enrollment for this course. Students should submit their application online via: https://stanforduniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dnY6nvUXMYeILkO
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
BIOE 374A:
Biodesign Innovation: Needs Finding and Concept Creation (ME 368A, MED 272A)
In this two-quarter course series ( BIOE 374A/B, MED 272A/B, ME 368A/B, OIT 384/5), multidisciplinary student teams identify real-world unmet healthcare needs, invent new health technologies to address them, and plan for their implementation into patient care. During the first quarter (winter), students select and characterize an important unmet healthcare problem, validate it through primary interviews and secondary research, and then brainstorm and screen initial technology-based solutions. In the second quarter (spring), teams select a lead solution and move it toward the market through prototyping, technical re-risking, strategies to address healthcare-specific requirements (regulation, reimbursement), and business planning. Final presentations in winter and spring are made to a panel of prominent health technology experts and/or investors. Class sessions include faculty-led instruction and case studies, coaching sessions by industry specialists, expert guest lecturers, and interactive team meetings. Enrollment is by application only, and students are required to participate in both quarters of the course. Visit http://biodesign.stanford.edu/programs/stanford-courses/biodesign-innovation.html to access the application, examples of past projects, and student testimonials. More information about Stanford Biodesign, which has led to the creation of 50 venture-backed healthcare companies and has helped hundreds of student launch health technology careers, can be found at http://biodesign.stanford.edu/.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
BIOE 374B:
Biodesign Innovation: Concept Development and Implementation (ME 368B, MED 272B)
In this two-quarter course, multidisciplinary teams identify real unmet healthcare needs, invent health technologies to address them, and plan for their implementation into patient care. In second quarter, teams select a lead solution to advance through technical prototyping, strategies to address healthcare-specific requirements (IP, regulation, reimbursement), and business planning. Class sessions include faculty-led instruction, case studies, coaching sessions by experts, guest lecturers, and interactive team meetings. Enrollment is by application. Students are required to take both quarters of the course.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
BIOE 376:
Startup Garage: Design (SUSTAIN 376)
Startup Garage is an intensive, hands-on, project-based course where students apply human-centric design, lean startup methodology, and the Business Model Canvas to conceive, design, and field-test new business concepts that address real world needs. Teams get out of the building and interact directly with users, industry participants, and advisors to deeply understand one or more unmet customer needs. They proceed to design, prototype, and test their proposed products or services and a business model. Teams working on impact-focused ventures will apply the same methodology to address the needs of their beneficiaries. Students develop entrepreneurial skills as they learn critical, cutting-edge techniques about launching a venture. The course is offered by the Graduate School of Business. PREREQUISITE: Team application required. See details and apply at http://startupgarage.stanford.edu/details (login required).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
Instructors: ;
Glickman, M. (PI);
Lisbonne, B. (PI);
Nakache, P. (PI);
Baker, K. (SI);
Chen, E. (SI);
Deshpande, S. (SI);
Eison, J. (SI);
Galen, D. (SI);
Gur, S. (SI);
Laws, M. (SI);
Perkash, M. (SI);
Prakash, A. (SI);
Scull, J. (SI);
Waldorf, G. (SI);
Wallace, C. (SI);
Alvarez, G. (GP);
Zenios, S. (GP)
BIOE 377:
Startup Garage: Testing and Launch (SUSTAIN 377)
In this intensive, hands-on project based course, teams continue to develop their ventures based on a user need that they validated in preparation for the course. They build out more elaborate versions of their prototypes and Business Model Canvas; test hypotheses about the product/service, business model, value proposition, customer acquisition, revenue generation, and fundraising; and deliver a seed round financing pitch to a panel of investors. Students develop entrepreneurial skills as they 1) Get out of the building and gather insights from users, investors, and advisors, 2) Make decisions about pivoting, 3) Work through their operating plans and unit economics, 4) Test go-to-market strategies, 5) Consider equity splits, 6) Learn term sheet negotiations, and 7) Practice their pitches. PREREQUISITE: SUSTAIN 376 or a team application. See details and apply at http://startupgarage.stanford.edu/details (login required).
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
Instructors: ;
Galen, D. (PI);
Glickman, M. (PI);
Lisbonne, B. (PI);
Chen, E. (SI);
Deshpande, S. (SI);
Eison, J. (SI);
Grais, L. (SI);
Hornik, D. (SI);
Perkash, M. (SI);
Prakash, A. (SI);
Rosenthal, A. (SI);
Scull, J. (SI);
Stern, I. (SI);
Waldorf, G. (SI);
Wallace, C. (SI);
Alvarez, G. (GP);
Zenios, S. (GP)
BIOE 390:
Introduction to Bioengineering Research (MED 289)
Preference to medical and bioengineering graduate students with first preference given to Bioengineering Scholarly Concentration medical students. Bioengineering is an interdisciplinary field that leverages the disciplines of biology, medicine, and engineering to understand living systems, and engineer biological systems and improve engineering designs and human and environmental health. Students and faculty make presentations during the course. Students expected to make presentations, complete a short paper, read selected articles, and take quizzes on the material.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
5 times
(up to 10 units total)
BIOE 459:
Frontiers in Interdisciplinary Biosciences (BIO 459, BIOC 459, CHEM 459, CHEMENG 459, PSYCH 459)
Students register through their affiliated department; otherwise register for CHEMENG 459. For specialists and non-specialists. Sponsored by the Stanford BioX Program. Three seminars per quarter address scientific and technical themes related to interdisciplinary approaches in bioengineering, medicine, and the chemical, physical, and biological sciences. Leading investigators from Stanford and the world present breakthroughs and endeavors that cut across core disciplines. Pre-seminars introduce basic concepts and background for non-experts. Registered students attend all pre-seminars; others welcome. See http://biox.stanford.edu/courses/459.html. Recommended: basic mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
BIOS 200:
Foundations in Experimental Biology
This course is divided into two 3-week cycles. During the first cycle, students will be developing a 2-page original research proposal, which may be used for NSF or other fellowship applications. In the second cycle, students will work in small teams and will be mentored by faculty to develop an original research project for oral presentation. Skills emphasized include: 1) reading for breadth and depth; 2) developing compelling, creative arguments; 3) communicating with the spoken and written word; 4) working in teams. Important features of the course include peer assessment, interactive joint classes, and substantial face-to-face discussion with faculty drawn from across the Biosciences programs. Shortened autumn quarter class; class meets during weeks 1 through 8 of the quarter.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
BIOS 201:
Next Generation Sequencing and Applications
Usher in the golden age of biological discovery with next generation sequencing (NGS) through its wide spectrum of applications. Modules include general introduction of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies, applications of these sequencing technologies, caveats and comparisons with previous approaches, analysis and interpretation of sequencing data, principles of tools and resources and practical ways to utilize them, and features and pitfalls. Prerequisite: background in molecular biology.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 2
BIOS 202:
Understanding Kinetics for Biologists and Biology
Students in the biological and chemical sciences are typically exposed to the kinetic and thermodynamic formalisms that describe rate and equilibrium processes, but rarely develop an intuition that allows them to use the material creatively in their own research. This Mini-course is designed to help each student begin to develop this intuition and an ability to evaluate the literature and their own data in terms of kinetic and thermodynamic models. This will be achieved through a combination of interactive lectures, in-class problem-solving, and a tutorial problem set that can be completed individually or in groups.
Last offered: Autumn 2022
| Units: 3
BIOS 203:
Market Design and Field Experiments for Health Policy and Medicine
This course will provide the student with the necessary tools to be an avid consumer and user, and potentially a producer, of the market design and field experimental literature (recognized by 4 recent Nobel Prizes in Economics: 2007/2012/2019/2020). In the first part, we introduce use of economic theory and analysis to design allocation mechanisms and market institutions, examples include medical resident matching and kidney exchanges. In the second part, it will provide a summary of recent experimental techniques deployed for both research and practice in economics, health/public policy and tech, and detail how to practically gather and analyze data using experimental methods. Emphasis on connecting to practical applications.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 1
BIOS 204:
Modeling Cell Signaling
Basics of ordinary differential equation modeling of signal transduction motifs, small circuits of regulatory proteins and genes that serve as building blocks of complex regulatory circuits. Morning session covers numerical modeling experiments. Afternoon session explores theory underpinning that day's modeling session. Modeling done using Mathematica, Standard Edition provided to enrolled students.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
BIOS 207:
Just Enough Software Engineering
This two week mini-course teaches the software engineering skills relevant to scientific analysis. Students will learn essential skills to promote collaboration, reproducibility, and reliability. Topics: reproducible research compendia. Modular architecture. Documenting data, code, and tools. Debugging, defensive programming, and unit tests. Prerequisites: familiarity with R.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 6 units total)
BIOS 208:
Geometry for biologists
This 3-week mini-course offers a short series of lectures and lab workshops to enable researchers working with biological systems to build and play with geometric models of living processes. Lectures will be aimed at getting participants acquainted with fundamentals of differential geometry through examples of biological structures including filaments, membranes, and tissues. We will introduce the framework of discrete differential geometry with focus on numerically simulating differential equations describing curved geometries. Lab workshops will be aimed at playing with toy problems that utilize available open-source tools. Basic understanding of calculus, and differential equations, and some coding experience would be useful.
Last offered: Summer 2023
| Units: 1
BIOS 209:
CTS200-Statistical Design of Experiments for Bioscience
Design of experiment (DOE) techniques are used in a variety of experimental situations to collect and analyze data. In this course, principles of DOE, analytical tools, as well as experimental strategies such as screening designs, full and fractional- factorial designs such as Response surface methods (RSM) will be covered. The applications of these methodologies for optimizing responses and analyzing experimental parameters will be discussed in case studies, specifically for bioscience-related systems. Related statistical software tools such as JMPs will be introduced.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 1-2
BIOS 210:
Cell, Gene, and Immune Therapies
The emerging therapeutic landscape has a new cast of characters' engineered cells, programmable nucleic acids, and multi-valent antibodies' to name a few. This lecture-based course will provide an overview of these new therapeutic modalities, the basic science guiding their development, and a discussion of new regulatory and safety challenges that emerge in these modalities. As a final project, students will produce a report spanning the preclinical and clinical development of a new therapy. Examples include CRISPR-edited cell therapies, bispecific T cell engagers, in vivo CRISPR base editors, and antisense oligo therapies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-2
BIOS 211:
No Pride in Stigma: Exploring viral outbreaks and the stigmas perpetuated against LGBTQ+ communities
This three week mini-course explores virology, emergent outbreaks, and related stigma that has historically and perpetually impacted LGBTQ+ communities. Using lectures and open discussions, students will explore how significant viruses and related stigmas have shaped LGBTQ+ communities from a historical/academic perspective and the generational perspective through lived experiences. Join us on a queer journey through the past and present, and look forward with discussions on how we as LGBTQ+ scientists, practitioners, and allies can shape the future.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 1
BIOS 213:
Ecology and Evolution of Altruism
Altruism is the phenomenon in which one organism helps another organism at a cost to itself. Most of the existing body of research on the evolution of altruism does not account for the ecological context and impacts of the evolution of altruistic traits. In this course we will examine experiments, field studies, and mathematical models on the ecology and evolution of altruism. Students will learn the foundational theories for why altruism evolves, learn how to assess existing models based on whether they are testable and generalizable, and predict how altruistic behaviors shape and are shaped by ecological interactions. This course is open to theoreticians and empiricists.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 1
BIOS 214:
The Art of Science Communication for Graduate Students and Postdocs
How can you communicate science in an impactful way? Over three weeks, learn the art of scientific storytelling from experienced science communicators and influencers through various media like writing, visual illustrations, podcasts, and art performances. Through tailored lectures, panel discussions, and hands-on activities, you will tweak your creativity and explore fun and engaging ways to explain your favorite science topics. You will interact with peers and instructors from various backgrounds to explore the where and how of making science accessible to your audience. Whether you have some or no experience at all, this course is for you.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 1
BIOS 215:
Stanford SKY Campus Happiness Retreat
Discover the power of the breath to reach a meditative state of mind. Combine meditation with activities that inspire connection and purpose through community building and mindful leadership. Learn through breathwork, meditation, lecture, class discussion, experiential learning, and yoga. The cornerstone of the course is evidence-based SKY Meditation technique that uses the breath to quiet the mind, supporting a deep experience of meditation and a practical approach to happiness.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 3 units total)
BIOS 216:
The Practice of Reproducible Research
The course will focus on computational approaches to ensure that all data, code, and analyses can be captured in a reproducible workflow, to be confirmed and replicated by you in the future, by other members of your team, and by reviewers and other researchers. We will cover how to satisfy FAIR principles, version control, how to create a git repository, utilize Github and how to create a reproducible dataset. Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of R. Recommended (not required): EPI 202 or 261/262, STATS 60, or MS&E 125.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
BIOS 217:
Foundations of statistics and reproducible research
Introduction to foundations of rigorous, reproducible research in experimental biology and clinical research. Provides conceptual framework for linking hypotheses to experimental design, quantitative measurement, statistical analysis and assessment of uncertainty. Course combines lecture presentation and discussion of core concepts from statistics and reproducibility with hands-on exposure to best practices for reproducible workflows spanning design, data collection, annotation, analysis and presentation of results. Brief discussion of social, legal, and ethical issues with reproducibility in scientific practice, along with NIH grant requirements. Course provides foundations for future learning in these areas. Examples drawn from multiple areas of experimental biology and clinical research. Target audience: Students in BIOS 200 (Foundations in Experimental Biology), in Biosciences graduate programs or T32 training programs. Prerequisites: None
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
BIOS 218:
The Evolution of Evolvability
In evolutionary theory, the standard 'fitness' considers the operation of selection over a single generation. Some researchers use a poorly-quantified term, 'evolvability', to describe the latent ability of organisms to evolve over multiple generations. Does evolvability itself evolve? Can we tease apart the concepts of short-term fitness and long-term evolvability? Can we quantitatively define a 'long-term fitness' that is as general and practical as the standard fitness? What entities (individuals? genotypes? species?) can be said to possess evolvability? This seminar will debate these questions as we study papers ranging from theoretical biology, to concepts in "evo-devo", to recent experimental work in microbiology and in silico models.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
BIOS 219:
Early Development Strategies for Neutralizing Antibodies and Brain Permeable Small Molecules
This course will provide students with an overview of current technologies related to the development of small molecules and neutralizing antibodies. Delivered via classroom instruction and a workshop, these modules will aim to increase the fundamental understanding of drug development terminology and processes, combined with real-world examples of discovery therapeutics and technologies developed for translation to clinic. Emphasis will be made on the development of small molecules that can cross the blood-brain barrier and show potential for translation in clinic. Focus will also be put on the screening of antibody targets followed by target validation, target profile development and preclinical evaluation. The workshop will focus on computational molecular docking which is an excellent tool that will help reduce the attrition rate during the drug development process and lead identification studies. Active engagement of the students during the workshop is expected based on the need to install specific software and completion of assigned tasks (computational docking). Students are expected to bring personal laptops to class on day 1 and 2 to perform docking exercises.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1
BIOS 220:
Fantastical Pathogenesis: Real-world pathogenesis in fictional media
This mini-course will explore fictional representations of pathogenesis. Students will learn about viruses, parasites, bacteria, fungi, and prions, including specific pathogen lifecycles, methods of transmission, and disease states. Students will view examples of pathogenesis in films, stories, and other media examples, and will discuss the representations of real infectious diseases. Classes will consist of film and media viewings and discussions. Additional materials may be distributed to students as appropriate. No prerequisites are required for this course, but students should note that some films and media feature horror themes and may include some scenes that some may find disturbing.
Last offered: Summer 2023
| Units: 1
BIOS 221:
Modern Statistics for Modern Biology (STATS 256, STATS 366)
Application based course in nonparametric statistics. Modern toolbox of visualization and statistical methods for the analysis of data, examples drawn from immunology, microbiology, cancer research and ecology. Methods covered include multivariate methods (PCA and extensions), sparse representations (trees, networks, contingency tables) as well as nonparametric testing (Bootstrap, permutation and Monte Carlo methods). Hands on, use R and cover many Bioconductor packages. Prerequisite: Working knowledge of R and two core Biology courses. Note that the 155 offering is a writing intensive course for undergraduates only and requires instructor consent. (WIM). See https://web.stanford.edu/class/bios221/index.html
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
BIOS 222:
Mini-course on big cells
Across taxa, cell size varies 400,000-fold from the tiniest bacterial cells, 0.2 µm in diameter, to the ostrich egg, which spans 8 cm. Why does such diversity exist? How is size regulated? And how do cells of different sizes scale their contents as they grow and divide? Through seminar-style lectures, students will learn about current and historic models of why cell size matters for physiology and function and how the amounts of cellular components are regulated in concert with one another. Drawing from readings, students will design and carry out tractable experiments on diverse, unicellular eukaryotes.
Last offered: Summer 2023
| Units: 1
BIOS 223:
Development and reporting of robust and reproducible LC-MS/MS assays
This mini-course offers a series of lectures and hands-on labs to discuss the development and reporting of reproducible quantitative LC-MS/MS molecular assays using a triple quadrupole. We will discuss chromatography and mobile phase selection, mass spectrometry parameters and selection of fragment ions, and the reporting and interpretation of published methods. Additionally we will cover the use of internal standards and sample preparation, and normalization methods for reproducible data analysis. Students will have the opportunity to work with a mass spectrometer and will design a cohesive plan for a targeted assay of an example molecule in their research.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1
BIOS 224:
Stem Cell Biology and Applications
A variety of stem cells harbor different properties appropriate for various types of research. We will cover the molecular characteristics of totipotent, pluripotent, multipotent, and unipotent stem cells. This knowledge will form the foundation for us to explore the use of stem cells in developmental biology and translation research. As an application, we will focus on genome editing technologies and in vitro models of cardiovascular disease.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
BIOS 225:
Diversity and Inclusion in STEMM
Introduction to the social science literature on factors contributing to gender disparities in the scientific workplace (e.g. implicit bias and stereotype threat). Discussions focus on steps that individuals and institutions can take to promote the advancement of women and other underrepresented groups in science, and thus promote the advancement of science.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-2
BIOS 226:
Web3, AI, and Digital Health
This interdisciplinary course explores the convergence of Web3 technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and their transformative impact on the field of digital health. Students will examine the potential of decentralized systems, blockchain, and smart contracts to enhance health data privacy, security, and interoperability. Through case studies and hands-on projects, they will gain insights into AI-driven solutions for personalized healthcare, remote patient monitoring, medical image analysis, and clinical decision support. Additionally, students will critically analyze ethical and regulatory considerations in the context of Web3 and AI applications, fostering a deeper understanding of the future of digital health innovation.
Terms: Win, Sum
| Units: 1
BIOS 227:
Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics: Opening the Black Box
Focus on designing and analyzing effective proteomics experiments using mass spectrometry and critically evaluating published mass spectrometry-based studies and datasets. Introduces students to the instrumentation, experimental strategies, and computational methods used for identifying and quantifying proteins and protein post-translational modifications using mass spectrometry. Topics include comparative evaluation of mass spectrometer instrument configurations, tandem mass spectrum interpretation, relative and absolute quantitation, and proteome-scale data set analysis. Laboratory time will focus on sample preparation methods, real-time data acquisition, and data analysis software and techniques. Note: Students should sign up for the morning lecture and one of two lab sections in the afternoon.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
BIOS 228:
Understanding Chemistry in Biology and Biological Experiments
Chemical transformations are central to biology and function and chemical methods provide some of the most powerful tools for everyday experimental biology. Focuses on the concepts and principles underlying biological chemical transformations, allowing students to generalize and understand cell metabolism and regulation. Topics include basic principles and procedures to evaluate and utilize in practice chemical approaches in biological experiments. In-class problems and evaluation of literature. Three-week mini-course.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 2
BIOS 229:
Open Source Prototyping: Translating Ideas to Reality using Rapid Prototyping Methods
"Open Source Prototyping" is a hands-on course that equips students with the skills and knowledge to use open-source design tools and rapid prototyping technologies, such as 3D printing and CNC. Students will learn how to translate their ideas into real-world objects, understanding the full process from ideation to realization. Key topics include navigation of leading design software, 3D printing technologies, and in-depth understanding of materials science. The course emphasizes open-source principles, and their applications in additive manufacturing. It features a wide range of applications, including medical devices, lab equipment, and experimental apparatuses, providing a comprehensive look at prototyping potential.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 1
BIOS 230:
Successful Fieldwork in Global Health Research
This two-day workshop focuses on how to successfully implement fieldwork in global health research. After this class, students will have a detailed plan for their fieldwork, including entering and exiting the field, ethical concerns, impact, safety, equitable partnerships, and preparing for the unexpected. The course builds on student-led active learning techniques, with invited guest speakers who share their fieldwork experiences. The course is open to advanced graduate students and postdocs who have developed a research question and design for global health research. Students are recommended but not required to take the course ¿Practical Approaches to Global Health Research¿ (MED226/INTLPOL290/EPI237) beforehand.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
BIOS 231:
Public Speaking Bootcamp: How to Give a Stronger Presentation
Everyone has fears presenting in front of a crowd. But with practice, self-awareness and preparation you can put those fears aside and make a real impact with your message. Utilizing professional theater practices and tricks, this course is a deep dive into what makes a presentation work. Get a chance to explore your own presentation style and address your questions and challenges with public speaking in a safe and fun space. The course is taught by Michileen Marie Oberst, a Professional director and actor in the Bay Area whose background includes teaching at the Tony Award winning TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 2 units total)
BIOS 233:
Experimental Metagenomics: Nectar Microbes as a Model System
Preference to graduate students and post-docs; open to upper-level undergraduates with instructor consent. Emphasis on developing a practical understanding of how to conduct metagenomic research by combining cutting-edge molecular sequencing with experimental ecological approaches. Focuses on the community ecology of the bacterial and yeast species that colonize floral nectar via pollinators and the implications for plant-pollinator interactions within an agriculturally relevant framework. Ecological, evolutionary, and phylogenetic principles and microbiological and molecular techniques that will be taught are broadly applicable in many biological fields, including the medical ecology of hte human microbiome. Inquiry-based with individual student-led projects.
| Units: 3
BIOS 234:
21st Century Approaches to Neglected Tropical Diseases
The World Health Organization defines Neglected Tropical Diseases as "a diverse group of conditions that are mainly prevalent in tropical areas, where they mostly affect impoverished communities and disproportionately affect women and children." Notably, the vast majority of NTDs are infectious diseases. While the average American never is plagued by these diseases, COVID-19 has opened our eyes to taking a more global approach to health, and emphasized the importance of investing in infectious disease research. Through this course, students will discuss and understand how and why infectious diseases have become "neglected" and the modern approaches currently being taken at Stanford and beyond to combat NTDs.
| Units: 1
BIOS 235:
Foundations of Computer Science: What the Tutorial Didn't Tell You
The course provides non-computer-science students with a comprehensive understanding of computer science and software engineering principles for efficient code in modern scientific computing. Students gain theoretical knowledge and practical skills to advance programming proficiency and develop robust software systems. Upon completion, students have foundational knowledge in computer science, capable of writing better code for scientific computing. They gain expertise in selecting tools, designing modular software systems, and following best coding practices. They understand the importance of testing and version control in software development, ready to tackle advanced programming challenges in scientific applications. Prerequisites: Familiarity with a high-level programming language. More info and sign up at: https://forms.gle/qJSL1PBdokaUTLV6A
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
BIOS 236:
Developmental Biology in the Ocean: Comparative Embryology and Larval Development
Three-week course at Hopkins Marine Station. Focuses on the embryology and larval development of a broad range of marine invertebrate phyla. The goal of the course is to give students an appreciation of the range of developmental strategies and larval forms in the ocean and why this is critical for constructing hypotheses of EvoDevo and animal evolution. Includes observation and documentation of the development of embryos and larvae by scientific illustration and photo/video microscopy. Pre-requisite: Developmental Biology coursework and instructor consent.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
BIOS 237:
Engineering Wellness
This 3-week course will help students understand how lifestyle and wellness choices impact physiology using a data-driven approach powered by wearable technology. Each student will be given an Oura ring to use during the course. On Mondays and Wednesdays, we will learn evidence-based practices for mental health and well-being, and on Fridays engineers from Oura, Apple, and Fitbit will teach the students about wearable data sensors and analysis. Students will assess their own smartwatch data to look at real-time physiological responses to wellness interventions such as exercise, awareness meditation, laughter yoga, and inquiry-based stress reduction. This course will bring in academic experts and popular wellness leaders. Last year's teachers included Byron Katie, Deepak Chopra, MD, Madan Kataria, MD the founder of Laughter Yoga, Michael Snyder, PhD, James Doty, PhD, Lindsay Briner, and George Slavich, PhD, to learn about cutting edge research and innovation in mental health, and to experience these practices firsthand through immersive workshops. The capstone project of the course will involve analyzing your own personal wearable device data to quantify the physiological impact of BIOS 237. Due to the high demand for this unique three-week course, we are accepting students on a first-come, first-served basis. Complete and confirm the form promptly to secure your spot: https://forms.gle/TRMRJJ1qHA8MypF79 Learn more at engineeringwellness.stanford.edu.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
BIOS 238:
Principles and Techniques for Data Visualization
This course offers students the tools to build graphs and other visualizations that clearly and effectively communicate complex data or concepts, via a series of lectures and hands-on workshops. Students will build both an understanding of the theory behind designing elegant data visualizations, and a set of tools to apply these concepts to their own data. Topics include: choosing effective visualization formats, designing for accessibility, organizing figures to tell a story, building data visualizations in R (no prior R experience necessary).
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
10 times
(up to 10 units total)
BIOS 239:
Science Ethics: More Than Just Experiments
We will cover the philosophical framework of bio(medical)ethics and good scientific practice in daily modules. The itinerary includes the History of Bioethics, Formal Logic, Moral Philosophy (Virtue Ethics, Utilitarianism, Deontology, Feminist Ethics), Medical & Bioethics, Animal Welfare, Good Scientific Practice, and Science Ethics.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 2
BIOS 240:
A Comprehensive Practical Guide to RNA Sequencing
RNA sequencing (RNAseq) is a powerful and increasingly popular tool that is used to investigate a variety of biological questions across the tree of life. However, while commercially available solutions have made the bench work associated with RNAseq easier than ever, the planning and analysis of an RNAseq experiment require considerable bioinformatics knowledge. In this course, students will learn how to design and analyze both single cell and bulk RNAseq experiments with topics including: quality control, mapping, read counting, identification of differentially expressed genes, gene set enrichment analysis, clustering and annotation, pseudotime, and advanced topics. Computer lab workshops will be incorporated to supplement lecture material and allow students to work on their own data.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 1
BIOS 241:
Data Wrangling with Bash
This one week course workshops writing bash scripts to reproducibly clean-up and transform raw data for analysis. Topics include introduction to bash, command-line tools for data manipulation, and best practices for scripting. Students will automate conversion of their own raw data to an input format for analysis. No prerequisites.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
BIOS 242:
Writing Compelling Fellowships and Career Development Awards
An overview of principles and fundamentals for writing competitive fellowships (e.g. NIH F31, F32) and career development awards (e.g. NIH K Awards). Topics include: developing specific aims and career development plans; using the review criteria to inform writing; timelines and resources. Participants develop proposals through guided exercises with an emphasis on in-class peer review and focused faculty feedback.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
BIOS 243:
An Excuse to Sleep: The Science of Sleep and Health
This mini-course will explore the ¿What¿ and ¿Why¿ of sleep, with emphasis on the role of sleep in human health and wellbeing. Sleep is universal in Nature, but there is still no consensus on its function. Over 3 weeks, students will study the foundations of sleep science through a combination of lecture and discussion of published research articles. The course will approach the topic of sleep and health from multiple levels¿ brain, body, mind, and society. Topics will include: sleep and circadian physiology, sleep science methodologies, functions of sleep, and the impact of social factors on sleep health.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
BIOS 244:
Applied Artificial Intelligence in Health Care
Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms are now widely available, and often require little training or technical expertise. This mini-course focuses on responsible development and use of AI in healthcare. Focus is on the critical analysis of AI systems, and the evolving policy and regulatory landscape. Week one covers modern AI capabilities, including computer vision, natural language processing, and reinforcement learning. Weeks two and three focus on assessing AI systems (including robustness, bias, privacy, and interpretability) and applications (including radiology, suicide prevention, and end-of-life care). Throughout this course students will develop and evaluate a hypothetical AI system. No programming experience is required.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 2
BIOS 245:
Bioscience Classroom Design Workshop
This course is intended for graduate students and postdocs who are interested in learning how to effectively build course curriculums, manage classrooms, and engage with students. Participants will develop and practice skills for effective course organization through mini-lectures, peer workshops, and development of a lecture plan for a one-off session on a topic of their choice. Workshop topics will include course design principles, effective student engagement, and creative classroom approaches. Participants who complete the course will have the option to lead session for undergrad audience in Spring session of BIO114C with priority over other applicants.
Last offered: Summer 2023
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 2 units total)
BIOS 246:
A Practical Guide to Success in Science
Science is hard, in part because it is a search of the unknown, and in part because there is no handbook. This short workshop provides tips and strategies, collected over years from mentors, students and colleagues. These strategies will help your science and also help you, for example learning to identify and respect boundaries between work and vacation and how to bring (a bit of) joy to your everyday life as a scientist.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 2 units total)
BIOS 247:
Whole-genome sequencing and applications: from yeast to fruit flies
Analyzing Illumina whole-genome sequencing data is an integral part of many fields of biology research, but finding and implementing a computational pipeline can be difficult for newcomers. We will provide experimental evolution data generated from our studies of yeast and fruit flies. Students will learn to process raw sequencing data, determine mutations, and plot results, including Manhattan plots. Prerequisite: some experience/background in molecular biology.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
BIOS 248:
From ensembles to allostery: A new view of allosteric control
This course will present foundational energetic principles and then have a series of case studies, presented by student groups, that aim to learn what's known about allostery and transform our understanding of these systems from descriptive to understanding based on energy landscapes and thermodynamic principles. In addition to learning about allosteric systems, course participants will learn how to build and evaluate models based on physical, molecular properties.
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
BIOS 249:
Single-cell Spatial-omics: with Applications to Stem Cell Engineering and Cancer Immunotherapy
With many technological breakthroughs in the past decade, single-cell biology has blossomed in many fields, enabling us to ask questions that were not possible before. However, many of the single-cell biology technologies include a dissociation step, which destroys the crucial spatial information. Therefore, a new wave of technology focusing on single-cell spatial-omics emerges to overcome this challenge. This course will explore seminal and new experimental and computational strategies employed in both the conventional single-cell omics and the new single-cell spatial-omics, emphasizing applications to stem cell engineering and cancer biology. We will teach you how to design and analyze single cell-omics data, using questions and data from stem cell biology and cancer biology to provide the motivational background. Basic stem cell and cancer biology will be covered. Pivotal studies regarding cell identity and single-cell biology will drive discussion on the fidelity of engineered cell populations and the challenges of understanding cell fate decisions.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
BIOS 250:
An Introduction to Mathematical Modeling for Ecology
This course provides an introduction to understanding, creating and analyzing mathematical models in ecology. We will cover different types of mathematical models, as well as their components, with a focus on foundational models in ecology, such as the Leslie population model, the Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model and SIR disease models. By the end of the course, you will be able to formulate and modify equations, and create diagrams to describe well-defined ecological processes. Finally, you will be able to use simple algebra and R to explore model results. No prior experience is required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
BIOS 251:
Explorations on the Culture of Science, Science Identity, and Society
This course will examine the historical and contemporary roles that the cultural norms and practices across STEM domains (¿Culture of Science¿) have played in advancing persistent gender and racial/ethnic STEM inequities in the postsecondary context and beyond. By doing so this course will allow students to employ an interdisciplinary lens to begin to critically explore the impact that "Culture of Science" may have on the development and expression an individual's "Science Identity".
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
BIOS 252:
Data Visualization and Publishing
Publishing research findings is a vital part of the scientist skill set. With the advent of big data and machine learning, understanding the key principles of analyzing, visualizing, and publishing data is becoming increasingly important. This course covers practical skills which are typically only learned in practice or specialized workshops. Topics include the importance, ethics, and pitfalls of data cleaning, analysis, visualization, reporting, and publishing.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
BIOS 253:
Primary concepts in Bioinformatics- To Make Sense Of large scale Biological and Biomedical Data
Every biological problem to be nowadays in cancer biology, stem cell research, biological drug discovery or predictive disease modeling requires a large-scale bioinformatics analysis to make deeper insights leading to therapeutics and drug development. This course will start with a brief introduction in bioinformatics and then focus on key computational techniques and algorithms used to studying different areas like Genome Wide Association studies in psychiatric disorders, supervised and unsupervised machine learning approaches to make sense of biological image, single-cell perturbation data to biomarker discovery in cancer. The course will have some hands-on analysis components with both bulk and single cell RNA sequencing data with context to some disease models and organismal systems.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
BIOS 254:
DataLucence::Images
Increasingly, research in the biosciences involves data in digital formats and scientists spend a significant fraction of their time building and using software to harvest insight from digital data. A central goal of this course is to expose students to concepts adopted from computer science and data science regarding data management, data curation, and analytical workflows for analyzing digital data. We will focus on digital images since this image type is used in diverse sub-fields in the biosciences. The course will consist of a two-day workshop/lab¿SoftwareCarpentry¿and six DataLucence::Images+Hackathon class meetings.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
BIOS 255:
Solar energy conversion and storage
This course introduces different technologies for harvesting and storing solar energy, the most abundant source of renewable energy on earth. This course will cover ways to generate electricity (solar cells) and molecular fuels (biofuels and solar fuels) and the key solutions for short and long-term solar energy storage, including batteries, supercapacitors, electrolyzers, and fuel cells. For each topic, we will cover the existing and emerging technologies, how they work, what role they fill in the energy transition, and how they need to be improved. Students will give a final presentation where they cover a technology or proposed technology of their choosing.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
BIOS 256:
Sculptural Data Illustrations
Mini-course. Students will use learn make and print 3D models of their data to use as a focal point when describing their project. We will teach the students how to use Autocad and Blender to process existing data sets and students are encouraged to bring their own data. We strive to make wearable models to enable instant mini-lectures any place and anytime.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 1
BIOS 257:
HIV: The Virus, the Disease, the Research
Mini-Course. Medical students, graduate students in biological sciences, undergraduate students with strong biological background. Topics: Immunopathogenesis, immune deficits, opportunistic infections including TB, and malignancies; Genomics viral genetic analyses that have traced the origin of HIV-1 and HIV-2 to primates, dated the spread of infection in humans, and characterized theevolution of virus within infected individuals; Antiretroviral drug development identification of drug targets, structure-based drug design, overcoming drug resistance; Challenges of vaccine development; Public health strategies.
Last offered: Summer 2020
| Units: 1
BIOS 258:
Reproducibility through effective coding and data management
This course introduces science reproducibility through effective coding and data management. Students will complete team projects on a statistical or simulation topic of their choosing and publish them on GitHub. Instructors will guide students in learning to use R, R markdown, and GitHub to collaborate with peers as they advance their project. By the end of the course, students will learn effective coding practices, data management, version control and collaboration, and sharing analytical results. The course aims to provide students with the tools and knowledge to help make their research reproducible and easily accessible. No prerequisites required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
BIOS 259:
The Art of Reproducible Science: A Hands-on Approach
This mini-course is designed to equip graduate students and postdocs with essential skills for ensuring reproducibility in computational research. Through practical exercises and interactive sessions, participants will learn best practices, tools, and techniques for doing open and reproducible research. Topics covered include version control, containerization, data management, workflows, and documentation strategies. This course empowers students to overcome challenges associated with reproducibility, fostering rigorous scientific inquiry, and enhancing the credibility and impact of their computational work, while also exploring the primary causes and consequences of irreproducibility in research. Participants will gain valuable insights and practical experience in achieving computational reproducibility across various domains, including biology. Prerequisites: Basic familiarity with programming (e.g., Python, R); Basic knowledge of Unix/Linux Bash
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
BIOS 260:
Peds Endo Journal Club Course
The Pediatrics Endocrinology Journal Club Course aims to provide a platform for trainees in the division to discuss key literature discoveries in the general field of endocrinology and diabetes. Each student will discuss with the primary instructors to determine a topic or a specific research article to present. In each class, one student will present an introduction of their topic of choice in the first half. In the second half, the primary instructors will serve as facilitators to engage the group and discuss details and future directions of the topic.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-3
BIOS 261:
Rigor and reproducibility in biological research: collection, analysis and use of biological data
The deluge of data common in modern biological research poses new challenges for ensuring reproducibility and collaboration at many levels. High-powered computational and statistical tools are becoming as indispensable as pipettes and flasks, demanding a rethinking of what it means to be rigorous and reproducible in the generation, visualization, and interpretation of results. In this mini-course, we will explore key concepts in how data should be stored, analyzed, manipulated, and presented using computational tools such as the Python programming language and GitHub version control software at a hands-on level, guiding students through a mini research project. This is an introductory course that assumes no previous knowledge of programming or statistics, and is especially relevant for students or postdocs interested in developing a skill set for quantitative biology.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
BIOS 262:
Fantastic beasts and where to find them: Biology with non-model organisms
This 3-week mini-course will dive into the biology of non-model organisms, and the approaches we can use to study them. Traditionally in Biology, model organisms have been used to answer new questions. Yet, studying a more diverse array of organisms can lead to new discoveries. We will explore the world of non-model Biology through a series of short lectures, primary literature discussions, talks from experts working on non-model organisms, and some practical sessions including a field sampling. No prerequisites required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
BIOS 263:
Applied Grant-Writing Skills for Fellowships
Graduate students in the Biosciences PhD Programs develop a fellowship proposal (e.g. NIH F31) focusing on required documents: 1-page specific aims as well as research and career development plans. Students establish a writing practice and learn fundamental grant writing skills through guided exercises, including in-class review and focused faculty feedback.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
10 times
(up to 20 units total)
BIOS 264:
Answering biological questions with Metagenomic Data
Metagenomic datasets capture the full genomic complement of microbial communities within a sample and thus have broad applications in environmental microbiology, human health, and evolutionary biology. In this three-week minicourse, students will learn both the principles and practice of metagenomics, implementing a standard computational workflow that begins with sequencing reads and concludes with basic genome analysis. Students will also gain hands-on experience with the command line, high-performance computing, and common bioinformatic tools/data types. Overall, the course will teach students how to interrogate metagenomic data to answer questions about microbial diversity, abundance, and gene content. It is open to those with any level of programming experience.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
BIOS 265:
Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning in Biology
Mini-course. Focus on development of basic skills for quantitative reasoning in biology, including order-of-magnitude estimation and use of the broad spectrum of time scales to enable understanding. Primary examples include going from molecular size and energy scales to functions of single cells and going from mutational and selective processes acting on organisms to evolution of populations on laboratory and global scales. Examples will include processes relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 2
BIOS 266:
Mini Proposal Bootcamp
In an intensive 1-day format, students learn the fundamentals for writing competitive fellowships, i.e. NIH NRSA fellowships (F30, F31, F32). Topics include developing specific aims; outlining research and career development plans; and using the review criteria to inform writing. Students develop early drafts of the 1-page specific aims, NIH biosketch, and training plan, and receive feedback from instructor. Students are expected to be in the early stages of writing a fellowship proposal.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
BIOS 267:
Proteomics, Protein Interaction Maps, and Systems Biology
This course will teach principles underlying the biochemistry and biophysics of protein-protein interaction, protein purification, proteomics and mass spectrometry and state-of-the-art tools for assembling protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks including Cytoscape. PPI networks provide a broad tool to build maps for modeling and hypothesis generation for biological systems. Adding curated, public and computed metadata to PPI maps will be included in labs. Statistical, logical Boolean, Bayesian, and graph theoretic methods for network analysis will be discussed and used in lab. Experimental methods in high throughput biology and the strengths/limitations of public data to test multiplexed hypotheses from networks will be emphasized.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 1
BIOS 268:
Biology and Applications of CRISPR/Cas9: Genome Editing and Epigenome Modifications (GENE 268)
This course is designed to provide a broad overview of the biology and applications of the revolutionary CRISPR/Cas9 system, with detailed exploration of several areas: / / --Basic biology of the CRISPR/Cas9 system / --High-throughput screening using CRISPR/Cas9 / --Epigenetic modifications and transcriptional regulation using dCas9 / --Therapeutic applications of gene editing with CRISPR / --Disease modeling with CRISPR / --Ethical considerations of the use of CRISPR/Cas9 / / The course will be geared toward advanced undergraduates and graduate students, and will assume a basic background in molecular biology and genetics. The course will be lecture-based, with frequent opportunities for discussion and questions.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
BIOS 270:
Planetary Health: Socioeconomic & Ecological Links Between Human Health & Earth's Natural Ecosystems
Two of the biggest challenges humanity has to face - promoting human health and halting environmental degradation are are strongly connected and too big to be addressed in an incremental, sector-specific way. Breakthroughs can be achieved through a creative, interdisciplinary approach that fully recognizes the complex nature of links between human health and healthy, functioning ecosystems. Through a series of lectures and case-study discussions with experts from multiple Schools and Departments, students will develop an in-depth understanding of the "Planetary Health" concept, its foundation, goals, priority areas of action and methods of investigation, and the most relevant immediate and long-term challenges.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 2
BIOS 271:
Writing Graduate Research Fellowships
Initial sessions focus on the basics of grantsmanship, review criteria (i.e. intellectual merit and broader impact), and required materials, with particular focus on the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Students draft a 2-page research proposal and 3-page personal, relevant background and future goals statement. During small group peer review sessions, students receive detailed feedback to improve the clarity of their writing.
Last offered: Autumn 2019
| Units: 1
BIOS 272:
Science and Art
This 3-week mini-course will cover a variety of topics related to science and art including scientific illustration, the visual sensory perception of art, how art impacts the brain, and the similarities and differences between science and art. The class will be a combination of lectures, discussions, and art labs. No previous art experience is necessary.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1
BIOS 273:
Ethics and Justice at the Frontiers of Conservation Biology
This weekend-long retreat-style mini-course introduces students to four distinct types of cross-disciplinary ethical challenges that will face the next generation of conservation biologists and biotech entrepreneurs. Taught over the course of a single long weekend, students will wrestle with vexing questions of scientific ethics, interspecies justice, environmental justice, and policy. We will employ structured debates, stakeholder role-play, site visits to conservation-tech companies, and outings to local conservation areas. This course will be co-taught by guest instructor Ben Wilcox from World Wildlife Fund. We can accept up to 20 students; to be considered, please fill out this form to explain your interest in the course: http://tinyurl.com/BIOS273
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
BIOS 276:
Drug Discovery in Neuroscience
Disorders of the nervous system are some of the most common and devastating conditions. Our biological understanding of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases has been slow, and the development of drugs has been lagging behind other therapeutic areas. This mini course will provide students with an overview of the principles of drug discovery and the specific issues associated with developing medicines for diseases of the nervous system with a particular focus on recent translational advances. The course will be lecture-based. Several of the lectures will be given by industry experts and leaders. Topics will include an overview of drug discovery and emergent human cellular models of disease, medicinal chemistry approaches, antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics, gene therapies, therapeutic antibodies, cell therapies, and running a drug discovery organization.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 2
BIOS 277:
Prions in Health & Disease
Prions consist of misfolded, polymerized proteins and are agents of transmissible neurodegenerative diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease of man. However, "prion-like" polymerization of proteins is a more general phenomenon involved in a long-term memory, innate immunity and most likely other important functions. In microbes, prions are non0Mendelian genetic elements. The course will emphasize that "prion-like" polymerization is part of a more general allosteric regulation of gene expression that can sometimes go wrong, as in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and only exceptionally may cause transmissible infectious disease that spread in the population.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
BIOS 279:
Applied Grant-Writing Skills for Science and Engineering Students
Participants develop proposals in the non-medical fields of science and engineering (e.g. for the National Science Foundation) focusing on required documents such as the 1-page Project Summary, Broader Impacts, Intellectual Merit, and Research Plan. Students establish a writing practice and learn fundamental grant writing skills through guided exercises, including in-class review and focused faculty feedback.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
for credit
BIOS 280:
Apico-basolateral Epithelial Cell Polarity
Cells must polarize, localizing unique macromolecules along distinct axes, to function correctly. This lecture/lab mini-course will provide students with a broad overview of cell polarity, using recent literature to guide understanding of the shared and divergent mechanisms underlying polarity establishment in different tissues and organisms. Additionally, students will engage in hands-on research using C. elegans and a large particle flow cytometer (BIOSORTER) to perform high throughput forward genetic screens to discover novel pathways involved in epithelial polarity establishment. This course is geared toward STEM graduate students, postdocs, and advanced undergraduates interested in topics and applications in cell and developmental biology.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 2
BIOS 282:
Clarifying Career Choices: Your Self-Reflective Research Project
Using the ADAPT Integrated Development Model, this course will focus on the areas of Development and Awareness. It is designed for students who aspire to gain clarity and insights about themselves their career choices and options. It is designed to encourage self-knowledge and increased awareness of roles and job opportunities inside and outside of academia, where an in-depth Science background is desired. The course requires students to complete up to 3 assessments, short writing assignments, and participate in small group discussions. All students will have the opportunity to have a 1:1 follow-up session with the Instructor to discuss the insights gained from the course as well as opportunities to network with alumni and future employers from various fields.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 1
BIOS 283:
Dendritic Cells and Other Myeloid Cells: function and analytical tools
Dendritic cells and other myeloid cells are capable of activating and modulating a broad range of immune responses. This course focuses on understanding myeloid cell diversity, plasticity and functions in host physiology, disease states (i.e., cancer, inflammatory and infectious diseases) and during therapeutic interventions. Students are exposed to a combination of lectures (including field-expert talks) and dry lab workshops with the goal of acquiring tools for dissecting human and mouse myeloid cell function experimentally. This course is intended for biosciences graduate students and postdocs with basic immunology knowledge (enrollment limited to 20).
Last offered: Summer 2022
| Units: 2
BIOS 285:
Rodent Animal Models: Selection, Detection, Dissection, Inspection
This 2-week mini-course will discuss pragmatic approaches to rodent utilization with the aim of empowering graduate students across multiple disciplines to maximize rodent-derived data and minimize the redundant use of animals in biomedical research. Topics will include an introduction to clinical models, practical aspects of rodent blood collection and interpretation, algorithmic approaches to tissue collection for research applications, and an introduction to rodent histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence. Course instructors include board-certified laboratory animal medicine clinicians and comparative pathologists that are expert h these topics. This course is open to graduate students with or without prior rodent experience.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 1
BIOS 286:
Single Cell Immunogenomics
Preference is for graduate students and undergraduates with background in biology and genetics. The emphasis of the course will be on learning the essential principles of single cell genomics as applied to research questions in immunology. The topics will include understanding the fundamental principles of the technology, experimental methods, types of single cell sequencing assays available and data analysis. The emphasis will be on how these methods are used to delineate immunologic cell types, their interactions with other cells in the local microenvironment and determining differential gene expression patterns and signatures. Specialized topics will include the analysis of single cell T-cell and B-cell receptor characteristics as well as joining antibody staining information at single cell resolution. Guest speakers will include thought leaders in the field who are demonstrating how single cell immunogenomics are being applied to immunotherapy development. Enrollment is limited.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 1
BIOS 287:
Proteostatis: guarding the proteome in health and disease
The control of cellular protein homeostasis, also called Proteostasis, is emerging as the central cellular process controlling the stability, function and quality control of the proteome and central to our understanding of a vast range of diseases. The proteostasis machinery maintains the function of destabilized and mutant proteins; assists the degradation of damaged and aggregated proteins and monitors the health of the proteome, adjusting it in response to environmental or metabolic stresses. This class will introduce students to the exciting cutting edge discoveries in this field, and will relate them to medical and biotechnology applications, as well as how a better understanding of proteostasis can be leveraged to understand fundamental biological processes, such as evolution and aging and to ameliorate a wide range of diseases. Given the increasingly close links between aging, protein misfolding, and neurodegenerative disease, understanding proteostasis networksis of critical fundamental and practical importance. These insights are particularly relevant in view of the increased prevalence of late-onset neurodegenerative aggregation diseases caused by an increasingly elderly population.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
BIOS 289:
Preparation & Practice: Finance of Biotechnology
Tailored lectures and case studies lead to a practical final project. Leaders from local firms and companies will help you gain insight into the biotechnology industry, the skills and experiences necessary to succeed, and the various roles and responsibilities within the industry. Coursework is divided into 4 sections: Introductory Material: The first segment consists of two lectures and introduces the biotechnology company life cycle along with introductory concepts in finance. Venture Capital and Private Equity: The second segment consists of three lectures devoted to venture capital finance and private equity where students will learn the basic mechanics of raising capital. nPublic Finance: The third segment consists of the interpretation of financial statements, construction of company forecasts, and evaluating business value from such projections. Final Project: The final lecture will conclude with student presentations on their final projects.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
BIOS 290:
Preparation & Practice: Law
Through tailored lecture, case study and a practical final project, Biosciences and interdisciplinary sciences students and trainees will learn how to apply the skills they acquired in their academic training to a career in Patent Prosecution and related fields. Taught by field and faculty experts, this is your opportunity to network with IP law representatives and to gain hands-on experience in a new career of choice option. Topics include: applying for positions, the importance of IP protection, licensing, overview of the patent process, drafting applications and litigation.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
BIOS 291:
Preparation & Practice: Management Consulting
This course is designed for students who are interested in learning about consulting including tools and techniques to gain a consulting mindset. The course requires students to complete short assignments, participate in classroom discussions, and a team project. Students will have the opportunity to understand the consulting process right from sourcing and starting engagements to closure and follow up engagements. Further, with the help of some practical execution in the classroom, students will also learn how to manage client needs and situations, articulating client needs in a succinct proposal, planning and executing consulting assignments, managing client interactions and in the process, learn to leverage some common frameworks for consulting.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 1
BIOS 292:
Preparation & Practice: Science Communication & Media
Through tailored lecture, case study, and a practical final project, academic and professional leaders will help you gain insight into the science communications and media industry. This course assists students in developing the communication skills necessary for post-training and internship success in a science communications/media field and it provides an understanding of the scope of career opportunities within the science communications sector, focusing on the development, organization, and management issues specific to it. Through connections with alumni, faculty, and other practitioners from a variety of fields and organizations, as well as hands-on experience with the techniques and methodologies most useful on the job market, students will define their own professional goals, increase their awareness of industry terminology and theories, and hone expertise in the areas of: publishing, editing, workflow, ethics, trends, principles of effective scholarly/news writing, interviewing techniques, and media/website management.
Last offered: Summer 2023
| Units: 1-3
BIOS 293:
Preparation & Practice: Science Policy
Through tailored lecture, case study, and a practical final project, academic and professional leaders will help you gain insight into the science policy industry and the skills necessary to succeed within the various positions and levels available within it. This course aims to demystify the U.S. science policy process and teach both how policy affects scientific funding and administration, and how science is used to create and influence the creation of law and policy in the U.S. This course will be taught in two parts. The first part outlines the basic structure of the US government, and fundamental issues in US political system, and refreshes students who haven't encountered basic civics since high school, this introductory material will cover the structure of the US government, the governance of key agencies, broad concepts of federalism and shared federal and power, the political party system, and a brief and general modern history of the role of science in policy making. The second part will review four key concepts: 1) who's who and how they work. 2) The policy making process and the role of science in creating policy. 3) Government funding science. 4) Issues, theories and trends in science and policy. This final section will review a variety of cross-cutting issues in science policy development, including innovation theory, the role of uncertainty, and a discussion of the government's role as a developer and repository of science data, and other current topics in the relationship between science and government.
Last offered: Summer 2022
| Units: 1
BIOS 294:
Chemistry for Biologists and Others (BIOC 294)
Chemical transformations are central to biology and function, and chemical methods provide some of the most powerful tools for everyday experimental biology. Yet, most practitioners of biology have learned chemistry through memorization and do not use chemical principles or intuition in their research, even though chemistry underlies most processes and experiments carried out in biology and by biologists. Fortunately, a basic understanding and working knowledge can be gained in a short time, through a small set of simple concepts and limited number of memorized facts. These concepts and facts will be introduced and then mastered through use in highly interactive, in-class problems and evaluation of selected literature. At the end of the three-week course students will have an ability to understand the chemistry underlying cellular processes and to better discuss and evaluate chemical tools and approaches. Prerequisites: High school or college introductory chemistry recommended but not required.nnCourse runs 11/15-12/10 MWF 10-11:45am
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
BIOS 295:
Statistical Methods and Data analysis for Clinical Research
This mini-course will introduce students to the basic concepts and methods of biostatistics and how they are applied to analysis and interpretation of data in clinical research. Topics will include: Study designs: Observational studies and Clinical trials, Bias and confounding during study design and analysis phases, Hypothesis formulation and Power analysis, Data collection and management, Descriptive and Inferential statistics, Hypothesis testing: Data analysis, interpretation, and presentation, Role of Research Rigor and reproducibility. Students will learn how to use statistical software to analyze data and draw conclusions from their analyses. They will also learn how to communicate their findings to others in a clear and concise way.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1
BIOS 296:
Preparation & Practice: Biotechnology Business
This course combines guest lectures with case study and hands-on projects to examine the necessary skills and practical steps necessary to create a business from biotechnology invention. Students will interface with current C-level executives and expert practitioners to gain practical insight into the business mechanics and practices of the biotechnology industry, and the variety of roles and responsibilities available to them.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 1
BIOS 297:
COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned
The Covid-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for individuals, society, medicine and science. The SARS-Cov-2 virus rapidly disseminated since first reports from China on December 31, 2019 and by March 11, 2020 it was declared a global pandemicby the World Health Organization. This course will cover various aspects of Covid-19 including clinical perspectives, public health response, impact of disease modeling, and results of clinical trials and research efforts. As the pandemic evolves the course will discuss the most current data and reflect on successes and ongoing challenges as the world grapples with a pandemic of unmatched proportions.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 1
BIOS 298:
Cinematic Discoveries: A movie-based exploration of research rigor, communication and diversity
Through movie depictions of the vaccine discoveries leading to the first Nobel prizes in medicine, the infamous Tuskegee Study, the first heart surgery for Tetralogy of Fallot, the encephalitis lethargica pandemic, and modern oncology trials, the course will explore interdisciplinary work in biomedical sciences, research rigor, consent, stigma and discrimination, researchers¿ and health professionals¿ communication skills, and fundamentals of cinematography. The course will include a lecture, a movie projection and discussion each day for 5 days.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
BIOS 299:
Online Proposal Bootcamp
This 9-week Proposal Bootcamp guides grant writers through the process of developing a compelling fellowship (e.g., NIH F31, F32) or career development award (e.g., NIH K99/R00, K01, K08, etc.). Participants gain new grant writing skills through synchronous, including Mini Lectures and Grant Coach Office Hours, and asynchronous, including recorded videos and readings, activities. Students and postdocs join our award-winning peer review program for feedback on key proposal documents. This Bootcamp is 100% remote and open to all Stanford affiliates.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
BIOS 300:
Advance 1
The goal of the course is to develop the graduate student¿s skills in science communication, active reading skills, and general career and professional development in skillsets that are vital for the success of Biosciences PhD students. Meeting will focus general Tools of Success, Laboratory Rotation expectations and developing a mentor/mentee relationship with advisors. Students will also actively participate in NSF Grant writing, Scientific Journal Article analysis, and Applied Quantitative Reasoning workshops. Lastly, students will engage with representees from on-campus resources such as the BioSci Careers office and Industry partners for post-graduate career options.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 1
BIOS 301:
Graduate Environment of Support
Psychosocial, financial, and career issues in adapting graduate students to Stanford; how these issues relate to diversity, resources, policies, and procedures. Discussions among faculty, advanced graduate students, campus resource people, and the dean's office. (Thomas)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
BIOS 302:
Designing Your Life: Empowering Emerging Scientists
Design a fulfilling and impactful vision for your career and life as a whole. The primary purpose of the class is to develop a perspective and align your attitudes, actions and experiences with your values, priorities, and your own ultimate definition of victory for living an extraordinary life. A practical guide for career development, this class will provide training through conversations, self-analysis, and writing exercises on career direction, communication, and the development and leveraging of relationships skills that are central to success in any career as a scientist. We will examine what it means (and what it takes) to succeed in a variety of life domains, including money, health, career, relationships, and physical fitness as well as personal growth. We will dig into the darker side of being human, exploring phenomena like negative character traits, fears, hauntings, and regrets. Ultimately, we want you to gain insight into who you are, what you want most, and how you might inadvertently and unwittingly get in your own way. We want you to learn how to confront the most vexing issues in your life, learn from them, and eventually transform your relationship to them. Course Structure: The course consists of ten intensive, flipped-classroom sessions designed to help you develop the skills and knowledge--and, more importantly, the insight and capacity--to be more strategic and effective in how you lead your life. It requires a willingness to be introspective and to consider personal feedback and constructive confrontation. Enrollment is capped at 30 learners, all of whom will be provided subscriptions to Inner.U which will serve as an electronic textbook and supported by a team of three faculty facilitators.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 1
BIOS 400:
(Hidden) Bias in Bioscience
This mini-course will explore how bias influences science at different levels, from entire fields to individual experiments. Students will learn about how biases in biological research limit scientific productivity and knowledge. Classes will consist of short lectures and student-led discussions using case studies from pain research, plus examples from students? own research fields. The class will prioritize active learning and self-examination, and will include a small final project. The goal of the class is for students to come away with a deeper understanding of scientific bias and use that information to critique their own science and dogmas in their field.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 1
BIOS 401:
Phase Separation in Biology
Cellular phase transitions underlie the formation of membrane-less compartments enabling cellular organization. While the existence of membrane-less organelles, such as nucleoli, stress granules, and Cajal bodies had been known for a long time, it had remained largely unclear until recently how they were formed, maintained, and regulated. Recent advances have shown how phase separated condensates underlie many cellular processes such as in immune response and neuronal synaptic signaling, and genome organization.Many of the available literature is difficult to follow as one needs an understanding of polymer physics, cell-biology, and biomolecular interactions to fully grasp phase separation in biology. In this course, we will start from fundamental polymeric understanding of phase separation and build from there towards phase separation of biomacromolcules in-vitro followed by in-vivo condensation and how biomolecular condensates can affect cell-biology
Terms: Sum
| Units: 1
BIOS 403:
Field Genomics: Long-Read Sequencing at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve
Field Genomics is a course intended to expose advanced undergraduates/graduate students to principles of Oxford Nanopore sequencing through participating in a guided research project at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve (JRBP). Students will have the opportunity to design and answer their own research questions - which may be specific to the biology of JRBP - via contemporary long-read sequencing techniques. These include but are not limited to collecting samples, extracting and purifying DNA libraries, sequencing using the MinION, and analyzing data.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 1
BIOS 404:
Time Series Analysis for Neuroscience Data Using State Space Models
This course will present the basics of state space modeling to analyze time series data that are frequently encountered in neuroscience problems. The course lectures will cover linear state space models, Markov chains, switching state space models, and algorithms for learning and inference. Students and instructors will work through practical data analysis exercises in Python in weekly labs and recitation sections.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 1
BIOS 405:
Electrochemistry for Nanobioengineering
An overview of principles and fundamentals of electrochemical processes (e.g., how electricity influences chemical processes and vice versa) and methods (e.g., voltammetry, amperometry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy). Topics include: lectures on different key topics in electrochemistry including open circuit potential, cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and EIS; lab sessions to perform basic electrochemical measurements and data analysis; applications of different electrochemical methods in biological sciences and engineering. By the end, participants will be able to apply electrochemistry to study and interact with biological systems.
| Units: 1
BIOS 406:
Microfluidics and Organ-on-a-chip in Biomedicine
In this mini-course, we delve into the cutting-edge realm of microfluidics, covering governing physics for fluid flow, various microfabrication techniques and their applications in biomedicine. Topics include microfluidics for cell/particle separation, micromixers, droplet-based microfluidics, and organ-on-a-chip technology. You will gain a deep understanding of the fundamental principles, get knowledge about different microfluidic devices, and explore the world of organ-on-a-chip models for drug screening and disease modeling. This mini-course also includes a hands-on laboratory session where you will have the opportunity to fabricate microfluidic devices and get familiar with experimental setup.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 1
BIOS 407:
Essentials of Deep Learning in Medicine
This course delves into the fundamental principles of Deep Learning within the medical field, designed to offer a thorough yet accessible introduction to how these advanced models function, are developed, and are currently transforming healthcare practices. The curriculum covers key areas including neural network architecture, computer vision, natural language processing, convolutional neural networks, alongside classification and regression techniques, aiming to provide students with a solid foundation and intuitive insight into the workings of deep learning applications in medicine.In addition to the core content, participants will have the opportunity to engage with expert-led discussions on the latest advancements and future directions at the intersection of artificial intelligence and medicine.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 1
BIOS 409:
Brain Dynamics and Connectivity
The course will introduce large-scale spatiotemporal patterns in the neural activities of human brain and their relevance to cognitive functions and neurological diseases. whole-brain neural activities, which can be measured by fMRI or M/EEG, do not fluctuate randomly, but form specific spatiotemporal patterns that are highly reproducible across different conscious states, and are often referred to as functional networks. In the course, the students will learn some of the state-of-art methods of capturing these patterns and evaluate their significance in normal and abnormal brain functions. Zoom attendance is possible but in-person attendance is recommended. There will be in-class practice involving coding and data manipulation, attending in person allows the instructor to help the students debug at the site.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
BIOS 410:
Health Innovations for Equity: The basics of design and innovation to create impact
If you?re looking to use your Biosciences knowledge or interests in engineering and medicine to create health innovations that solve some of the world?s most pressing health problems. This course will give you the tools and skills you need to start this process. The course will focus on the basics of user research, design and prototyping for innovations that can have an impact on health equity outcomes. We will take an interdisciplinary approach to solving these problems, and discuss how to build collaborative and inclusive partnerships for health innovations
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
BIOS 412:
Antibody Anywhere All at Once: An Introduction to Techniques in Immunology
This 2-week mini course will provide an introduction to commonly used techniques in immunology. Students will gain the confidence and relevant background to understand current immunology literature and design/analyze their own experiments. Topics for discussion will include flow cytometry, cytokine/antibody assays, animal models, specific sequencing pipelines, and more. Classes will be lecture-based with the opportunity to explore applications of these techniques related to students? own research interests. As this will be an introductory course, all immunology backgrounds are welcome.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
BIOS 414:
Understanding Arthritis Research - Current Approaches and Opportunities
A potentially ?inflammatory? claim: arthritis research deserves no less attention than heart disease or cancer - more than 100 different disorders are encompassed by the term arthritis, affecting nearly a quarter of the U.S. population. In order to improve diagnosis and treatment, current research is highly interdisciplinary in nature, from the choice and design of disease models, to the experimental approaches and analyses applied. In this course, we will cover research approaches from basic sciences to translational and clinical work encompassing Genetics, Immunology, Regenerative Medicine, Data Science and Bioengineering. The structure of the course will involve a brief review of each discipline?s contribution to the field with references to key studies, followed by small group discussions on major landmark studies. The aim of the course is to bring participants up to par with the current state of arthritis research - enabling the audience to identify gaps in the current knowledge, frame fundamental research questions, and design experiments using approaches covered in the class.
| Units: 1-3
BIOS 415:
Responsible Sharing of Human Research Data
This 3-week mini-course is intended for graduate students and postdocs who are interested in learning how to responsibly share their research data. Through this course, participants will build an in-depth understanding of the benefits of and challenges to sharing research data from human subjects and the current regulatory landscape of research data sharing (e.g., Common Rule, HIPAA, and the new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy), including data de-identification. By the end of the course, participants will have developed their own plan for data sharing.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
BIOS 416:
Matrix Methods and Applications in Biology
Matrix methods provide powerful tools for understanding and managing ecological systems and are frequently used for analysis of population dynamics. This course is intended to introduce matrix model calculus and its implications within an ecological context. This six-day course will be divided into lectures and workshops focused on simplifying matrix methods and for researchers to apply their gained skills on a set of data. Biologists with individual based data (i.e., life history transitions) are encouraged to sign-up. The course is computational based and all levels of RStudio are welcome.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
BMP 254:
AI and Data Driven Methods in Biomedical Imaging and Physics
Data-driven biomedical imaging and physics is an emerging interdisciplinary field that combines advanced medical physics concepts, deep learning algorithms, and biomedical imaging technologies to develop new approaches for diagnosis, treatment, and research in the biomedical field. The main goal of this course is to provide background knowledge of biomedical imaging and physics, introduce the fundamentals of deep learning and data-driven techniques, describe the problems and data-driven solutions in imaging and medical physics, and present clinical use cases and successful examples in data-driven biomedical physics. It is anticipated that the students will gain useful knowledge and practical skills to advance the field of data-driven biomedical imaging and physics in the near future.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
CEE 214:
Frontier Technology: Understanding and Preparing for Technology in the Next Economy (CEE 114, MED 114, MED 214, PSYC 114)
The next wave of technological innovation and globalization will affect our countries, our societies, and ourselves. This interdisciplinary course provides an introduction to emerging, frontier technologies. Topics covered include artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing and advanced robotics, smart cities and urban mobility, telecommunications with 5G/6G, and other key emerging technologies in society. These technologies have vast potential to address the largest global challenges of the 21st century, ushering in a new era of progress and change.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 1
CEE 218Z:
Shaping the Future of the Bay Area (EPS 118Z, EPS 218Z, ESS 118Z, ESS 218Z, GEOPHYS 118Z, GEOPHYS 218Z, POLISCI 118Z, PUBLPOL 118Z, PUBLPOL 218Z)
(Formerly GEOLSCI 118Z and 218Z) Students are placed in small interdisciplinary teams (engineers and non-engineers, undergraduate and graduate level) to work on complex design, engineering, and policy problems presented by external partners in a real urban setting. Multiple projects are offered and may span both Winter and Spring quarters; students are welcome to participate in one or both quarters. Students are expected to interact professionally with government and community stakeholders, conduct independent team work outside of class sessions, and submit deliverables over a series of milestones. Prerequisite: the Autumn (X) skills course or approval of instructors. For information about the projects and application process, visit http://bay.stanford.edu. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center. Change of Department Name: Earth and Planetary Science (Formerly Geologic Sciences).
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
CEE 227:
Global Project Finance
Public and private sources of finance for large, complex, capital-intensive projects in developed and developing countries. Benefits and disadvantages, major participants, risk sharing, and challenges of project finance in emerging markets. Financial, economic, political, cultural, and technological elements that affect project structures, processes, and outcomes. Case studies. Limited enrollment.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
CEE 236:
Planning Calif: the Intersection of Climate, Land Use, Transportation & the Economy (CEE 136, PUBLPOL 130, PUBLPOL 230, URBANST 130)
Cities and urban areas have always been transformed by major external changes like pandemics and public health crises. California is both in the midst of its greatest economic recession since the Great Depression and experiencing a pandemic that has the potential to reshape many aspects of life. Planning for cities and regions, however, is a long game that requires follow-through on decisions made sometimes over many decades. How do we balance the shocks to our assumptions from the current Covid world with the need to plan long-term for issues like affordable housing and equitable cities, and perhaps most fundamentally, prepare our cities and communities for the inevitability of climate change and climate impact? nnnnThis course takes an interdisciplinary view of the key contemporary planning topics in California. It does so from looking at the intersection of climate laws, land use changes, the need for housing, travel patterns and the availability of high quality jobs and employment. This course will give you an understanding of the roles of key levels of government, from the state to the region/metropolitan scale, to the city and county, down to the neighborhood and parcel level. it will give students insight into leading themes and issues of the day in California such as the future of downtowns, the role of high speed rail, the impact of telework, automation in the construction of housing, drawing from examples in San Jose and San Francisco, the Central Valley, the state legislature, Southern California. Within each of these topics we will look at the impact of decisions on equity as well as climate and the economy. nnnnThe instructors are Kristy Wang, formerly SPUR¿s Community Planning Policy Director, and Egon Terplan, Senior Advisor for Economic Development and Transportation in the California Governor¿s Office, formerly SPUR¿s Regional Planning Director. (Affiliations for identification purposes only)
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
CEE 237B:
Advanced Architecture Studio (CEE 137B)
This course will focus on the topic of interdisciplinary collaboration and its role in the development of design concepts. Specifically, the integration of structural with architectural considerations to produce a unified urban, spatial, tectonic and structural proposition will be our field of investigation. This course is an architecture studio course where class time will be spent primarily in individual or group desk critiques and pin-up sessions. May be repeat for credit. Total completions allowed: 3. Additionally, there will be lectures, case study presentations and a field trip. Prerequisites: required: CEE 31 (or 31Q) Drawing, CEE 120A and CEE 130 Design.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 6
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 18 units total)
CEE 243:
Intro to Urban Sys Engrg
This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary domain of urban systems engineering. It will provide you with a high-level understanding of the motivation for studying sustainable cities and urban systems, systems-based modeling approaches and the social actor theories embedded in the urban sustainability decision making process. Coursework will be comprised of three group mini-projects corresponding to course modules.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3
CEE 263H:
Sustainable Energy Decisions (ENERGY 263)
This course provides students from various backgrounds with knowledge of the principles and quantitative methods of decision analysis and policy analysis to tackle interdisciplinary questions in the context of sustainable energy systems. We consider engineering analysis, decision analysis and economic analysis in the formulation of answers to address energy system problems. We will use methods such as life-cycle assessment, benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analysis, microeconomics, distributional metrics, risk analysis methods, sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, multi-attribute utility theory, and simulation and optimization. The integration of uncertainty into formal methods is a fundamental component of the course.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 3
CEE 263S:
Atmosphere/Energy Seminar
Interdisciplinary seminar with talks by researchers and practitioners in the fields of atmospheric science and renewable energy engineering. Addresses the causes of climate, air pollution, and weather problems and methods of addressing these problems through renewable and efficient energy systems. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
(up to 99 units total)
CEE 275A:
California Coast: Science, Policy, and Law (CEE 175A)
This interdisciplinary course integrates the legal, scientific, and policy dimensions of how we characterize and manage resource use and allocation along the California coast. We will use this geographic setting as the vehicle for exploring more generally how agencies, legislatures, and courts resolve resource-use conflicts and the role that scientific information and uncertainty play in the process. Our focus will be on the land-sea interface as we explore contemporary coastal land-use and marine resource decision-making, including coastal pollution, public health, ecosystem management; public access; private development; local community and state infrastructure; natural systems and significant threats; resource extraction; and conservation, mitigation and restoration. Students will learn the fundamental physics, chemistry, and biology of the coastal zone, tools for exploring data collected in the coastal ocean, and the institutional framework that shapes public and private decisions affecting coastal resources. There will be 3 to 4 written assignments addressing policy and science issues during the quarter, as well as a take-home final assignment. Special Instructions: In-class work and discussion is often done in interdisciplinary teams of students from the School of Law, the School of Engineering, the School of Humanities and Sciences, and the Doerr School of Sustainability. Students are expected to participate in class discussion and field trips. Elements used in grading: Participation, including class session and field trip attendance, writing and quantitative assignments. Cross-listed with Civil & Environmental Engineering ( CEE 175A/275A) and Law ( LAW 2510). Open to graduate students and to advanced undergraduates with instructor permission. Enrollment limited.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
CEE 301:
The Stanford Energy Seminar (ENERGY 301, MS&E 494)
Interdisciplinary exploration of current energy challenges and opportunities in the context of development, equity and sustainability objectives. Talks are presented by faculty, visitors, and students and include relevant technology, policy, and systems perspectives. More information about the seminar can be found on the website https://energyseminar.stanford.edu/May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
CEE 326:
Autonomous Vehicles Studio
Autonomous vehicles have been a fast-growing area of interest for research, development, and commercialization. This interdisciplinary research-based class explores the design and development of autonomous vehicles. Research teams will study the interaction of the human driver and autonomous driving system, particularly in dangerous situations of autonomous systems failures. Collaborate with national and international experts. Independent and team projects will contribute to ongoing research. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-3
| Repeatable
for credit
CEE 330:
Racial Equity in Energy (AFRICAAM 131, CEE 130R)
The built environment and the energy systems that meet its requirements is a product of decisions forged in a context of historical inequity produced by cultural, political, and economic forces expressed through decisions at individual and institutional levels. This interdisciplinary course will examine the imprint of systemic racial inequity in the U.S. that has produced a clean energy divide and a heritage of environmental injustice. Drawing on current events, students will also explore contemporary strategies that center equity in the quest for rapid technology transitions in the energy sector to address climate change, public health, national security, and community resilience. Prerequisites: By permission of the instructor. Preferable to have completed Understand Energy ( CEE 107A/207A/ EarthSys 103/ CEE 107S/207S) or a similar course at another institution if a graduate student.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2-3
CEE 372:
Sustainable Energy Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar (ENERGY 309, MS&E 495)
Graduate students will present their ongoing research to an audience of faculty and graduate students with a diversity of disciplinary perspectives regarding sustainable energy.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
6 times
(up to 6 units total)
CHEM 296:
Creating and Leading New Ventures in Engineering and Science-based Industries (CHEM 196, CHEMENG 196, CHEMENG 296)
Open to seniors and graduate students interested in the creation of new ventures and entrepreneurship in engineering and science intensive industries such as chemical, energy, materials, bioengineering, environmental, clean-tech, pharmaceuticals, medical, and biotechnology. Exploration of the dynamics, complexity, and challenges that define creating new ventures, particularly in industries that require long development times, large investments, integration across a wide range of technical and non-technical disciplines, and the creation and protection of intellectual property. Covers business basics, opportunity viability, creating start-ups, entrepreneurial leadership, and entrepreneurship as a career. Teaching methods include lectures, case studies, guest speakers, and individual and team projects.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
CHEM 459:
Frontiers in Interdisciplinary Biosciences (BIO 459, BIOC 459, BIOE 459, CHEMENG 459, PSYCH 459)
Students register through their affiliated department; otherwise register for CHEMENG 459. For specialists and non-specialists. Sponsored by the Stanford BioX Program. Three seminars per quarter address scientific and technical themes related to interdisciplinary approaches in bioengineering, medicine, and the chemical, physical, and biological sciences. Leading investigators from Stanford and the world present breakthroughs and endeavors that cut across core disciplines. Pre-seminars introduce basic concepts and background for non-experts. Registered students attend all pre-seminars; others welcome. See http://biox.stanford.edu/courses/459.html. Recommended: basic mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
CHEMENG 296:
Creating and Leading New Ventures in Engineering and Science-based Industries (CHEM 196, CHEM 296, CHEMENG 196)
Open to seniors and graduate students interested in the creation of new ventures and entrepreneurship in engineering and science intensive industries such as chemical, energy, materials, bioengineering, environmental, clean-tech, pharmaceuticals, medical, and biotechnology. Exploration of the dynamics, complexity, and challenges that define creating new ventures, particularly in industries that require long development times, large investments, integration across a wide range of technical and non-technical disciplines, and the creation and protection of intellectual property. Covers business basics, opportunity viability, creating start-ups, entrepreneurial leadership, and entrepreneurship as a career. Teaching methods include lectures, case studies, guest speakers, and individual and team projects.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
CHEMENG 459:
Frontiers in Interdisciplinary Biosciences (BIO 459, BIOC 459, BIOE 459, CHEM 459, PSYCH 459)
Students register through their affiliated department; otherwise register for CHEMENG 459. For specialists and non-specialists. Sponsored by the Stanford BioX Program. Three seminars per quarter address scientific and technical themes related to interdisciplinary approaches in bioengineering, medicine, and the chemical, physical, and biological sciences. Leading investigators from Stanford and the world present breakthroughs and endeavors that cut across core disciplines. Pre-seminars introduce basic concepts and background for non-experts. Registered students attend all pre-seminars; others welcome. See http://biox.stanford.edu/courses/459.html. Recommended: basic mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
CHEMENG 460:
Interfacial Engineering of Soft Matter
Interfacial engineering is a culmination of a century of interdisciplinary science and engineering. The foundation is provided by the thermodynamics of surface tension, surface chemistry and adsorption, which govern the properties of catalysts, colloids and surfactants. Microminiaturization of soft and hard materials and the growth of nanotechnology have led to dramatic increases in the surface-to-volume ratio. Knowledge of the principles of interfacial engineering can be used in the application domains of microelectronics chips and packaging, polymer composites, advanced ceramics, biomedical implants and bioanalytical devices. This course will cover the fundamentals of interface physics and chemistry, with an emphasis on soft matter, including phospholipids, proteins and synthetic polymers at interfaces. Specific topics will include intermolecular forces and potentials; solvation, structural and hydration forces; particle-particle interactions; interfacial thermodynamics; Poisson-Boltzmann theory of the diffuse electric double layer; electrokinetic phenomena; colloidal aggregation; and molecular assemblies.
Last offered: Autumn 2019
| Units: 3
CHINA 272:
Science and History of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ASNAMST 272, MED 272)
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a unique system for the diagnosis and treatment of disease, as well as for the cultivation of life-long health and well-being. This course introduces basic TCM theories, practices, and treatment methods including acupuncture, Taichi, and herbal medicine. We will introduce historical figures and events in the history of Traditional Chinese Medicine and East-West integrative health. Drawing on science, cultural history, and philosophy, this interdisciplinary approach will help us to understand Traditional Chinese Medicine in its intellectual, social, and cultural context. We will discuss the scientific exploration of TCM and how modern science shapes our understanding of East-West integrative health.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
CHPR 227:
The Science of Community Engagement in Health Research (EPI 272)
The Science of Community Engagement in Health Research course will focus on how the science of community engagement can be applied to diverse health-related research topics across the translational spectrum with the ultimate goal of high quality research that transforms human health and addresses health disparities. The course will provide historical context, theoretical frameworks, foundational skills in diverse community engagement methodologies, and tools for examining the effectiveness of various engagement strategies aimed. Specifically, the course will cover: 1) Historical context for community engagement in health-related research; 2) Evolution of community engagement as a science; 3) Theoretical frameworks for various community engagement approaches; 4) Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR); 5) Community engagement strategies for different stages of translational research; and 6) Evaluation of various engagement strategies; and 7) Ethics of community engagement. Students will gain practical experience in various community engagement tools and strategies to help guide the development of a community engagement plan responsive to community needs. Challenges and benefits of establishing community partnerships will be highlighted by real-world examples. nThe course will include lectures; interactive student-led presentations and guided exercises; class discussions among invited speakers, students and instructors; individual and group assignments; and organized small-group and experiential activities. Course readings will demonstrate the need and opportunity for interdisciplinary community engagement approaches and will illustrate how to conduct innovative community-engaged research. nThe Science of Community Engagement course is intended to reach students with diverse research interests, including clinical research, community health, health research and policy, epidemiology, prevention research, environmental health, etc.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
CHPR 249:
History of Nutrition Research: How our current guidelines came to fruition
This course provides an overview of the evolution of nutrition research from its early beginnings to the present day. Students will explore the key milestones in the field of nutrition science, including the development of dietary guidelines and recommendations, the discovery of essential nutrients, role of nutrition in disease, and the evolution of food processing and fortification. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and assignments, students will gain an understanding of how current dietary guidelines have been shaped by scientific research and cultural factors, and they will be able to critically evaluate the evidence behind current nutrition recommendations. By the end of the course, students will have a deeper appreciation for the complex history and interdisciplinary nature of nutrition research and its impact on public health.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
CLASSICS 306:
Theories of The State, Violence, Nationalism, and Social Order (CLASSICS 106)
This seminar aims to provide a combination of broad overview and intense engagement with specific texts in theoretical discussions relevant to state formation, empire, war and violence, social control, and related issues. Such a course must by nature be highly selective in topics and readings given the broad historical, theoretical, and interdisciplinary scope of such a combination of topics (or of any one of them). We will read a selection of classical texts in historical sociology, social and legal theory, and anthropology, as well as more recent major contributions on relevant topics. The goal of the course is to engage in discussions and reflection that will stimulate further exploration in contemporary legal, social, and political theory to inform dissertations and other research initiatives.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
COMM 251:
The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech and Press (COMM 151, ETHICSOC 151, POLISCI 125P)
(Graduate students enroll in 251. COMM 151 is offered for 5 units, COMM 251 is offered for 4 units.) The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech and Press (Law 7084): Introduction to the constitutional protections for freedom of speech, press, and expressive association. All the major Supreme Court cases dealing with issues such as incitement, libel, hate speech, obscenity, commercial speech, and campaign finance. There are no prerequisites, but a basic understanding of American government would be useful. This course is crosslisted in the university and undergraduates are eligible to take it. Elements used in grading: Law students will be evaluated based on class participation and a final exam. Non-law students will be evaluated on class participation, a midterm and final exam, and nonlaw students will participate in a moot court on a hypothetical case. Non-law students will also have an additional one hour discussion section each week led by a teaching assistant. Cross-listed with Communication (COMM 151, COMM 251) and Political Science (POLISCI 125P).
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 4-5
COMM 253B:
Free Speech, Democracy and the Internet (COMM 153B)
Crosslisted with LAW 7082. This course will cover contemporary issues in regulation of the Internet. Topics will include disinformation, polarization, privacy, competition, transparency, advertising, security, and algorithmic ranking. Guest speakers from academia, NGOs, and industry will present on these topics in each class session, followed by a discussion. Students will be responsible for one-page papers each week on the readings and a research paper to be turned in at the fall paper deadline. This class is crosslisted in the university and undergraduates are eligible to take it. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Written Assignments, Final Paper.
Last offered: Autumn 2022
| Units: 3
COMM 277B:
Big Local Journalism: a project-based class (COMM 177B)
(COMM 177B is offered for 5 units, COMM 277B is offered for 4 units.) This class will tackle data-driven journalism, in collaboration with other academic and journalistic partners. The class is centered around one or more projects rooted in local data-driven journalism but with potential for regional or national journalistic stories and impact. Students work in interdisciplinary teams to negotiate for public records and data, analyze data and report out stories. Some of the work may be published by news organizations or may be used to advance data journalism projects focused on public accountability. Students will gain valuable knowledge and skills in how to negotiate for public records, how to critically analyze data for journalistic purpose and build out reporting and writing skills. Students with a background in journalism (especially data journalism), statistics, computer science, law, or public policy are encouraged to participate. Enrollment is limited. May be repeated for credit. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
COMPLIT 267:
Transcultural Perspectives of South-East Asian Music and Arts (COMPLIT 148, FRENCH 260A, MUSIC 146N, MUSIC 246N)
This course will explore the links between aspects of South-East Asian cultures and their influence on modern and contemporary Western art and literature, particularly in France; examples of this influence include Claude Debussy (Gamelan music), Jacques Charpentier (Karnatak music), Auguste Rodin (Khmer art) and Antonin Artaud (Balinese theater). In the course of these interdisciplinary analyses - focalized on music and dance but not limited to it - we will confront key notions in relation to transculturality: orientalism, appropriation, auto-ethnography, nostalgia, exoticism and cosmopolitanism. We will also consider transculturality interior to contemporary creation, through the work of contemporary composers such as Tran Kim Ngoc, Chinary Ung and Tôn-Thât Tiêt. Viewings of sculptures, marionette theater, ballet, opera and cinema will also play an integral role. To satisfy a Ways requirement, this course must be taken for at least 3 units. WIM credit in Music at 4 units and a letter grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-4
COMPLIT 367E:
Contemporary Theory Lab (ENGLISH 367E, ILAC 367E)
This new graduate seminar examines the question of whether a new canon of theoretical monographs-as opposed to influential standalone essays or papers-has coalesced in recent years. We focus on a post-Foucaultian, post-1989 moment, understanding theory as an autonomous, interdisciplinary enterprise that is not subservient or reducible to philosophy or literary criticism but shares many of the core concerns of each discipline. The seminar provides students with a safe space to discuss cutting-edge ideas, arguing for, with, and against influential trends. We will study six to eight monographs in great detail, at least two of which will be determined by class vote. Of special interest are conceptual formations and methodologies that do not have an institutional home or pursue a narrow political agenda. Topics include anticolonial thinking, new materialism, affect studies, and the shadow of the linguistic turn. We may draw from a roster of thinkers such as Bruno Latour, Saidiya Hartman, Verónica Gago, Sianne Ngai, Rob Nixon, Sara Ahmed, Martin Hägglund, Arturo Escobar, Mark Fisher, Wendy Brown, and Fred Moten. Previous experience with theory is recommended. Assignments sequence short papers with revisions, short student presentations, and a final paper. Stanford faculty and outside guests will be a mainstay. Broader community engagement with theory, as well as student integration of the subject matter towards their independent research projects, will be central goals. Open to co-terms, masters, and PhD students in the humanities and social sciences.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3-5
CS 377E:
Designing Solutions to Global Grand Challenges (DESIGN 297)
In this course we creatively apply information technologies to collectively attack Global Grand Challenges (e.g., global warming, rising healthcare costs and declining access, and ensuring quality education for all). Interdisciplinary student teams will carry out need-finding within a target domain, followed by brainstorming to propose a quarter long project. Teams will spend the rest of the quarter applying user-centered design methods to rapidly iterate through design, prototyping, and testing of their solutions. This course will interweave a weekly lecture with a weekly studio session where students apply the techniques hands-on in a small-scale, supportive environment. Note: Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center for Public Service
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3-4
CS 421:
Designing AI to Cultivate Human Well-Being
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to drive us towards a better future for all of humanity, but it also comes with significant risks and challenges. At its best, AI can help humans mitigate climate change, diagnose and treat diseases more effectively, enhance learning, and improve access to capital throughout the world. But it also has the potential to exacerbate human biases, destroy trust in information flow, displace entire industries, and amplify inequality throughout the world. We have arrived at a pivotal moment in the development of the technology in which we must establish a foundation for how we will design AI to capture the positive potential and mitigate the negative risks. To do this, building AI must be an inclusive, interactive, and introspective process guided by an affirmative vision of a beneficial AI-future. The goal of this interdisciplinary class is to bridge the gap between technological and societal objectives: How do we design AI to promote human well-being? The ultimate aim is to provide tools and frameworks to build a more harmonious human society based on cooperation toward a shared vision. Thus, students are trained in basic science to understand what brings about the conditions for human flourishing and will create meaningful AI technologies that aligns with the PACE framework: 1) has a clear and meaningful purpose, 2) augments human dignity and autonomy, 3) creates a feeling of inclusivity and collaboration, 4) creates shared prosperity and a sense of forward movement (excellence). Toward this end, students work in interdisciplinary teams on a final project and propose a solution that tackles a significant societal challenge by leveraging technology and frameworks on human thriving.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 2
CS 431:
High-level Vision: From Neurons to Deep Neural Networks (PSYCH 250)
Interdisciplinary seminar focusing on understanding how computations in the brain enable rapid and efficient object perception. Covers topics from multiple perspectives drawing on recent research in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Computer Science. Emphasis on discussing recent empirical findings, methods and theoretical debates in the field.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 1-3
CS 481:
Digital Technology and Law: Foundations
Taught by a team of law and engineering faculty, this unique interdisciplinary course will empower students across the University to work together and exercise leadership on critically important debates at the intersection of law and digital technology. Designed as an accessible survey, the course will equip students with two powerful bases of knowledge: (i) a working technical grasp of key digital technologies (e.g., AI and machine learning, internet structure, encryption, blockchain); and (ii) basic fluency in the key legal frameworks implicated by each (e.g., privacy, cybersecurity, anti-discrimination, free speech, torts, procedural fairness). Substantively, the course will be organized into modules focused on distinct law-tech intersections, including: platform regulation, speech, and intermediary liability; algorithmic bias and civil rights; autonomous systems, safety, and tort liability; "smart" contracting; data privacy and consumer protection; "legal tech," litigation, and access to justice; government use of AI; and encryption and criminal procedure. Each module will be explored via a mix of technical and legal instruction, case study discussions, in-class practical exercises, and guest speakers from industry, government, academe, and civil society. Law students will emerge from the course with a basic understanding of core digital technologies and related legal frameworks and a roadmap of curricular and career pathways one might follow to pursue each area further. Students from elsewhere in the University, from engineering to business to the social sciences and beyond, will emerge with an enhanced capacity to critically assess the legal and policy implications of new digital technologies and the ways society can work to ensure those technologies serve the public good. All students will learn to work together across disciplinary divides to solve technical, legal, and practical problems. There are no course prerequisites, and no prior legal or technical training will be assumed. Students will be responsible for short discussion papers or a final paper. After the term begins, students electing the final paper option can transfer from section 1 to section 2, which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. This class is cross-listed in the University and undergraduates and graduates are eligible to take it. Consent Application for Non-Law Students: We will try to accommodate all students interested in the course. But to facilitate planning and confirm interest, please fill out a consent application ( https://forms.gle/hLAQ7JUm2jFTWQzE9) by March 13, 2020. Applications received after March 13 will be considered on a rolling basis. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation; Written Assignments or Final Paper.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 3
CSRE 300:
Theories and Methods in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (ENGLISH 300A)
This course examines the concept of race, processes of racial formation, and theory and methods for the interdisciplinary study of race and ethnicity. The course will focus on expressions and representations of race and racialization through comparative analyses and conceptualizations, and will feature guest lecturers drawn from within and beyond Stanford.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
CSRE 302:
Decolonizing the Indigenous Classroom (CSRE 116, EDUC 186, EDUC 286, NATIVEAM 116)
Using Indigenous and decolonizing perspectives on education, this interdisciplinary course will examine interaction and language in cross-cultural educational situations, including language, literacy and interethnic communication as they relate to Indigenous American classrooms. Special attention will be paid to implications of social, cultural and linguistic diversity for educational practice, along with various strategies for bridging intercultural differences between schools and Native communities.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 3-5
CSRE 343:
(Re)Framing Difference: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Disability, Race and Culture (AFRICAAM 442, EDUC 442, FEMGEN 442, PEDS 242)
This course uses social theories of difference to examine the intersections of disability, race and culture. The course will examine these concepts drawing from scholarship published in history, sociology of education, urban sociology, cultural studies, disability studies, social studies of science, cultural psychology, educational and cultural anthropology, comparative education and special education. Implications for policy, research and practice will be covered.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
CSRE 433:
Intersectional Qualitative Approaches (EDUC 433)
This variable unit, graduate course is designed to explore intersectional analysis because intersectionality is a "method and a disposition, a heuristic and an analytic tool" (Carbado, Crenshaw, Mays, & Tomlinson, 2013, p. 11). This course engages the approaches and analyses possible within an intersectional theoretical framing by examining a wide range of interdisciplinary research methodologies and methods. We will study a myriad of innovative ways of doing intersectional scholarship and given the focus on robust methodological moves, this course will highlight questions of axiology of inquiry, analysis, and representation through an intersectional lens. Our class will investigate and create intersectional conceptual framing for designing and interpreting research. We will explore and develop qualitative or mixed¿methods research data collection, analyses, holistic interpretation, and analytic writing from an intersectional perspective.
| Units: 3-5
DANCE 224:
Physical Listening (SOMGEN 224)
Do you want to deepen your communication skills with patients and colleagues? Are you planning or pursuing a career in healthcare? If so, Physical Listening is the course for you. Non-verbal behaviors and physical presence play a critical role in masterful interpersonal communication. How our bodies move - the energy we project, the force and speed of our movements - informs how we perceive and communicate. The Stanford School of Medicine and Medical Humanities program invites you to join this interdisciplinary course harnessing core competencies at the intersection of medicine and dance, designed to finesse clinically relevant communication skills through creative inquiry. Through this course, learners will: Explore the concept of "physical embodiment" through interactive exercises, video viewings, clinical cases, and lively discussion; sharpen skills of kinesthetic awareness, spatial perception, and critical movement analysis; improve their ability to read and employ non-verbal, physical "language" in daily communication. Taught by faculty/instructors from the School of Medicine, Stanford Healthcare, Stanford Medicine Children's Health, and the Department of Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS). Featured instruction by JoAnna Mendl Shaw - renowned choreographer and former Juilliard and NYU Tisch School of the Arts faculty. Open to all Stanford undergraduate students (perfect for premedical students!), graduate students, and medical students. No prerequisites and no former artistic experience are expected. For any questions about the course, please reach out to Dr. Nina Shevzov-Zebrun (nszebrun@stanford.edu,), a resident physician in Pediatrics who will serve as an assisting instructor in this course.
| Units: 2
DESIGN 297:
Designing Solutions to Global Grand Challenges (CS 377E)
In this course we creatively apply information technologies to collectively attack Global Grand Challenges (e.g., global warming, rising healthcare costs and declining access, and ensuring quality education for all). Interdisciplinary student teams will carry out need-finding within a target domain, followed by brainstorming to propose a quarter long project. Teams will spend the rest of the quarter applying user-centered design methods to rapidly iterate through design, prototyping, and testing of their solutions. This course will interweave a weekly lecture with a weekly studio session where students apply the techniques hands-on in a small-scale, supportive environment. Note: Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center for Public Service
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3-4
DESIGN 809E:
AI For Legal Help
Can AI increase access to justice, by helping people resolve their legal problems in more accessible, equitable, and effective ways? What are the risks that AI poses for people seeking legal guidance, that technical and policy guardrails should mitigate? In this course, students will conduct research to identify key opportunities and risks around AI's use by the public to deal with common legal problems like bad living conditions, possible evictions, debt collection, divorce, or domestic violence. Especially with the launch of new AI platforms like ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Bing Chat, more people may turn to generative AI platforms for guidance on their legal rights, options, and procedures. How can technology companies, legal institutions, and community groups responsibly advance AI solutions to benefit people in need? Students will explore these questions about AI and access to justice through hands-on interviews, fieldwork, and design workshops with different stakeholders throughout the justice system. They will run interview sessions online and on-site at courts, to hear from various community members about whether they would use AI for legal help and to brainstorm how the ideal AI system would behave. Students will also observe how participants use AI to respond to a fictional legal problem, to assess how the AI performs and understand how people regard the AI's guidance. Students will be required to complete ethical training for human subjects research, which takes approximately 2 hours through the CITI program online. They will then conduct community interviews according to an approved IRB research protocol. Students will synthesize what they learn in these community interviews, observations, and brainstorm sessions, in a presentation to legal and technical experts. They will hold a multi-stakeholder workshop at to explore how their findings may contribute to technical and legal projects to develop responsible, human-centered AI in the legal domain. Students will develop skills in facilitating interdisciplinary policy discussions about how technology and regulation can be developed alongside each other. The students¿ final report will contribute to policy and technology discussions about the principles, benchmarks, and risk typologies that can guide the ethical development of AI platforms for access to justice. Students are asked to enroll in both Fall and Winter quarters of the class. The class may be extended to Spring quarter, depending on the issues raised. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Performance, Class Participation, and Written Assignments. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available at SLS Registrar https://registrar.law.stanford.edu/.
| Units: 3
EARTHSYS 207:
Spanish in Science/Science in Spanish (BIO 208, LATINAM 207)
For graduate and undergraduate students interested in the natural sciences and the Spanish language. Students will acquire the ability to communicate in Spanish using scientific language and will enhance their ability to read scientific literature written in Spanish. Emphasis on the development of science in Spanish-speaking countries or regions. Course is conducted in Spanish and intended for students pursuing degrees in the sciences, particularly disciplines such as ecology, environmental science, sustainability, resource management, anthropology, and archeology.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
EARTHSYS 212:
Human Society and Environmental Change (EARTHSYS 112, ESS 112, HISTORY 103D)
Interdisciplinary approaches to understanding human-environment interactions with a focus on economics, policy, culture, history, and the role of the state. Prerequisite: ECON 1.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
EARTHSYS 227:
Decision Science for Environmental Threats (ESS 227)
Decision science is the study of how people make decisions. It aims to describe these processes in ways that will help people make better or more well-informed decisions. It is an interdisciplinary field that draws upon psychology, economics, political science, and management, among other disciplines. It is being used in a number of domain areas and for a variety of applications, including managing freshwater resources, designing decision support tools to aid in coastal adaptation to sea-level rise, and creating "nudges" to enhance energy efficiency behaviors. This course covers behavioral theories of probabilistic inference, intuitive prediction, preference, and decision making. Topics include heuristics and biases, risk perceptions and attitudes, strategies for combining different sources of information and dealing with conflicting objectives, and the roles of group and emotional processes in decision making. This course will introduce students to foundational theories of decision science, and will involve applying these theories to understand decisions about environmental threats.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
EARTHSYS 251:
Biological Oceanography (EARTHSYS 151, ESS 151, ESS 251)
Required for Earth Systems students in the oceans track. Interdisciplinary look at how oceanic environments control the form and function of marine life. Topics include distributions of planktonic production and abundance, nutrient cycling, the role of ocean biology in the climate system, expected effects of climate changes on ocean biology. Local weekend field trips.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
EARTHSYS 252:
Marine Chemistry (EARTHSYS 152, ESS 152, ESS 252, OCEANS 152, OCEANS 252)
Introduction to the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills required to critically evaluate problems in marine chemistry and related disciplines. Physical, chemical, and biological processes that determine the chemical composition of seawater. Air-sea gas exchange, carbonate chemistry, and chemical equilibria, nutrient and trace element cycling, particle reactivity, sediment chemistry, and diagenesis. Examination of chemical tracers of mixing and circulation and feedbacks of ocean processes on atmospheric chemistry and climate. Designed to be taken concurrently with Biological Oceanography (ESS/EARTHSYS 151/251)
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3-4
EARTHSYS 290:
Master's Seminar
Required of and open only to Earth Systems co-terminal MS and MA students. This course has several elements, including, skill building through experiential learning and reflection and professional development. Students will either work in teams with a community partner in the Bay area on a predetermined project, or select a self- designed project with a partner anywhere in the world. The idea is to complete a well-defined, manageable, but important project to a high standard under significant time constraints. Our community partners have requested help with achieving their missions and seminar students will utilize their backgrounds in social/environmental problem solving to deliver a final product. Our partners have requested help with such efforts as grant and report writing, data analysis, curriculum development, symposium organizing, presentation research and preparation and communications to raise awareness about an environmental challenge. If you choose to design your own project, the instructor will help you to create this opportunity. Students will give oral presentations on their project progress throughout the quarter, culminating in a final presentation at a symposium with our partners. Students will also explore how best to communicate their interdisciplinary skills and goals through their resumes, CV's or cover letters, portfolios or linkedIn profiles in preparation for the next phase of their career. Guest speakers and in class workshops will complement these activities.Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 3
EDUC 179E:
Introduction to Chicanx/Latinx Studies (CHILATST 180E, CSRE 180E)
This course draws on intersectional and interdisciplinary approaches to introduce students to the range of issues, experiences, and methodologies that form the foundation of Latina/o/x studies. By considering the relationship between the creation of "Latinx" and "American" identities, students will critically reconsider the borders that constitute the U.S. as a political and cultural formation. The course balances depth and breadth in its study of the variety of perspectives and experiences that come to be associated with U.S. Latinxs. Thus, we will analyze the histories of predominant U.S. Latinx sub-groups, such as Mexicans/Chicanxs and Puerto Ricans, while also incorporating considerations of the ways in which broader populations with ties to Central America, South America, and the Caribbean play crucial roles in constituting U.S. Latinx identities. Topics include the U.S./Mexico border and the borderlands; (im)migration and diaspora; literary and cultural traditions; music and expressive practices; labor and structural inequality; social movements; Latinx urbanism; gender and sexuality; political and economic shifts; and inter- and intra-group relations. Sources include a range of social science and humanities scholarship. This course will meet at Sequoia High School. Transportation will be provided.
Last offered: Winter 2022
| Units: 5
EDUC 202I:
International Education Policy Workshop (EDUC 102I)
This is a project-based workshop. Practical introduction to issues in educational policy making, education reform, educational planning, implementation of policy interventions, and monitoring and evaluation in developing country contexts. Preference to students enrolled in ICE/IEAPA, but open to other students interested in international development or comparative public policy with instructor's consent. Attendance at first class required for enrollment.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-4
EDUC 218:
Topics in Cognition and Learning: Technology and Multitasking
In our new media ecology, has affinity for social media and multitasking become addictive? Detrimental to learning and well-being? What can we learn from studies in the developmental cognitive sciences and cognitive neurosciences of reward, attention, memory & learning, motivation, stress, and self-regulation for tackling the behavioral design problems we face in crafting better socio-technical systems? This seminar course is designed to engage students in recent advances in this rapidly growing research area via discussions of both historical and late-breaking findings in the literature. By drawing on a breadth of studies ranging from cognitive development, cognitive neuroscience, and educational/training studies, students will gain an appreciation for specific ways interdisciplinary approaches can add value to specific programs of research.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
EDUC 223:
Language Issues in Educational Research and Practice
This course provides the foundation for reasoning about language and linguistic groups and for thinking critically about available literature, methods, normative documents, and services concerning language in educational research and practice. Making sound decisions concerning language and linguistic groups contributes to valid research and to fair and effective practices in education. Students work on a project of their choice. Issues investigated include: Making sampling decisions concerning linguistically diverse populations, selecting translators for languages unknown to the researcher, and using and interpreting information from research involving diverse linguistic groups.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-3
EDUC 231:
Learning Religion: How People Acquire Religious Commitments (AMSTUD 231X, JEWISHST 291X, RELIGST 231X)
This course will examine how people learn religion outside of school, and in conversation with popular cultural texts and practices. Taking a broad social-constructivist approach to the variety of ways people learn, this course will explore how people assemble ideas about faith, identity, community, and practice, and how those ideas inform individual, communal and global notions of religion. Much of this work takes place in formal educational environments including missionary and parochial schools, Muslim madrasas or Jewish yeshivot. However, even more takes place outside of school, as people develop skills and strategies in conversation with broader social trends. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to questions that lie at the intersection of religion, popular culture, and education. May be repeat for credit.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
EDUC 234:
Curiosity in Artificial Intelligence (PSYCH 240A)
How do we design artificial systems that learn as we do early in life -- as "scientists in the crib" who explore and experiment with our surroundings? How do we make AI "curious" so that it explores without explicit external feedback? Topics draw from cognitive science (intuitive physics and psychology, developmental differences), computational theory (active learning, optimal experiment design), and AI practice (self-supervised learning, deep reinforcement learning). Students present readings and complete both an introductory computational project (e.g. train a neural network on a self-supervised task) and a deeper-dive project in either cognitive science (e.g. design a novel human subject experiment) or AI (e.g. implement and test a curiosity variant in an RL environment). Prerequisites: python familiarity and practical data science (e.g. sklearn or R).
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
EDUC 261D:
Computational Thinking Elective
This course approaches computational thinking through the lens of teaching for social justice. We will examine how (and why) practitioners and schools can support students engagement with computational thinking practices through interdisciplinary means. Utilizing computational thinking as an approach to problem solving empowers individuals to recognize the influences technology brings to our society and the impact it has on ethics and equity. This course will develop students' understanding of computational thinking to engage in important ways with power, privilege, and identity. Participants must have theoretical and experiential background in teaching diverse students in k-12. Course Open to LDT & STEP MA students at the GSE only.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 4
EDUC 262D:
Curriculum & Instruction Elective in English
Methodology of science instruction: teaching for English and language arts; linking the goals of teaching English with interdisciplinary curricula; opportunities to develop teaching materials. For STEP Program students only.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
EDUC 263D:
Curriculum & Instruction Elective in Math
Methodology of math instruction: teaching for mathematical thinking and reasoning; linking the goals of teaching math with literacy and interdisciplinary curricula; opportunities to develop teaching materials. For STEP Program students only.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
EDUC 267D:
Curriculum & Instruction Elective in Science
Methodology of science instruction: teaching for scientific reasoning; linking the goals of teaching science with literacy and interdisciplinary curricula; opportunities to develop teaching materials. For STEP Program students only.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
EDUC 268D:
Curriculum & Instruction Elective in History
The methodology of history instruction: teaching for historical thinking and reasoning; linking the goals of teaching history with literacy and interdisciplinary curricula; opportunities to develop teaching materials. For STEP Program students only.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
EDUC 286:
Decolonizing the Indigenous Classroom (CSRE 116, CSRE 302, EDUC 186, NATIVEAM 116)
Using Indigenous and decolonizing perspectives on education, this interdisciplinary course will examine interaction and language in cross-cultural educational situations, including language, literacy and interethnic communication as they relate to Indigenous American classrooms. Special attention will be paid to implications of social, cultural and linguistic diversity for educational practice, along with various strategies for bridging intercultural differences between schools and Native communities.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 3-5
EDUC 287:
Graduate Research Workshop on Psychological Interventions (PSYCH 274)
Psychological research has the potential to create novel interventions that promote the public good. This workshop will expose students to psychologically 'wise' intervention research and to support their efforts to conduct such interventions, especially in the context of education, broadly conceived, as well as other areas. The first part of the class will address classic interventions and important topics in intervention research, including effective delivery mechanisms, sensitive behavioral outcomes, the role of theory and psychological process, and considerations of the role of time and of mechanisms that can sustain treatment effects over time. In the second part of the class, students will present and receive feedback on their own ongoing and/or future intervention research. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Psychology or Education, or consent of instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 3
EDUC 313:
The Education of American Jews (JEWISHST 213, JEWISHST 393X, RELIGST 313X)
This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to the question of how American Jews negotiate the desire to retain a unique ethnic sensibility without excluding themselves from American culture more broadly. Students will examine the various ways in which people debate, deliberate, and determine what it means to be an "American Jew". This includes an investigation of how American Jewish relationships to formal and informal educational encounters through school, popular culture, religious ritual, and politics.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
EDUC 315A:
Introduction to CSCL: Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CS 498C)
This seminar introduces students to foundational concepts and research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). It is designed for LSTD doctoral students, LDT masters' students, other GSE graduate students and advanced undergraduates inquiring about theory, research and design of CSCL. CSCL is defined as a triadic structure of collaboration mediated by a computational artefact (participant-artifact-participant). CSCL encompasses two individuals performing a task together in a short time, small or class-sized groups, and students following the same course, digitally interacting.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
EDUC 321:
Nonprofits, Philanthropy & Society (PUBLPOL 321, SOC 321)
Over the past several decades nonprofit organizations have become increasingly central entities in society, and with this growing status and importance their roles are increasingly complex.We consider the social, political and economic dynamics of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, focusing mainly (but not exclusively) on the US. The class is best suited for graduate students looking for an advanced analytic understanding of the sector and those wishing to conduct research in the field; it is not intended to provide training in nonprofit management.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
EDUC 334A:
Youth and Education Law Project: Clinical Practice
(Same as LAW 660A). The Youth and Education Law Project offers students the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of educational rights and reform work, including direct representation of youth and families in special education and school discipline matters, community outreach and education, school reform litigation, and/or policy research and advocacy. All students have an opportunity to represent elementary and high school students with disabilities in special education proceedings, to represent students in school discipline proceedings, or to work with community groups in advocating for the provision of better and more equitable educational opportunities to their children. In addition, the clinic may pursue a specific policy research and advocacy project that will result in a written policy brief and policy proposal. Students working on special education matters have the opportunity to handle all aspects of their clients' cases. Students working in this area interview and counsel clients, investigate and develop facts, work with medical and mental health professionals and experts, conduct legal and educational research, create case plans, and represent clients at individual education program (IEP) team meetings, mediation or special education due process hearings. This work offers students a chance to study the relationship between individual special education advocacy and system-wide reform efforts such as impact litigation. Students working on school discipline matters interview and counsel clients, investigate and develop facts, interview witnesses, conduct legal and educational research, create case plan, and represent clients at school discipline hearings such as expulsion hearings. Such hearings provide the opportunity to present oral and written argument, examine witnesses, and present evidence before a hearing officer. If appropriate and necessary, such proceedings also present the opportunity to represent students on appeal before the school district board of trustees or the county board of education. The education clinic includes two or three mandatory training sessions to be held at the beginning of the term, a weekly seminar that focuses on legal skills and issues in law and education policy, regular case review, and a one hour weekly meeting with the clinic instructor. Admission is by consent of instructor. Beginning with the 2009-2010 academic year, each of the Law School's clinical courses is being offered on a full-time basis for 12 credits.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 4
EDUC 334B:
Youth and Education Law Project: Clinical Methods
(Same as LAW 660B). The Youth and Education Law Project offers students the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of educational rights and reform work, including direct representation of youth and families in special education and school discipline matters, community outreach and education, school reform litigation, and/or policy research and advocacy. All students have an opportunity to represent elementary and high school students with disabilities in special education proceedings, to represent students in school discipline proceedings, or to work with community groups in advocating for the provision of better and more equitable educational opportunities to their children. In addition, the clinic may pursue a specific policy research and advocacy project that will result in a written policy brief and policy proposal. Students working on special education matters have the opportunity to handle all aspects of their clients' cases. Students working in this area interview and counsel clients, investigate and develop facts, work with medical and mental health professionals and experts, conduct legal and educational research, create case plans, and represent clients at individual education program (IEP) team meetings, mediation, or special education due process hearings. This work offers students a chance to study the relationship between individual special education advocacy and system-wide reform efforts such as impact litigation. Students working on school discipline matters interview and counsel clients, investigate and develop facts, interview witnesses, conduct legal and educational research, create case plan, and represent clients at school discipline hearings such as expulsion hearings. Such hearings provide the opportunity to present oral and written argument, examine witnesses, and present evidence before a hearing officer. If appropriate and necessary, such proceedings also present the opportunity to represent students on appeal before the school district board of trustees of the county board of education. The education clinic includes two or three mandatory training sessions to be held at the beginning of the term, a weekly seminar that focuses on legal skills and issues in law and education policy, regular case review, and a one hour weekly meeting with the clinic instructor. Admission is by consent of instructor. Beginning with the 2009-2010 academic year, each of the Law School's clinical courses is being offered on a full-time basis for 12 credits.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 4
EDUC 334C:
Youth and Education Law Project: Clinical Coursework
(Same as LAW 660C). The Youth and Education Law Project offers students the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of educational rights and reform work, including direct representation of youth and families in special education and school discipline matters, community outreach and education, school reform litigation, and/or policy research and advocacy. All students have an opportunity to represent elementary and high school students with disabilities in special education proceedings, to represent students in school discipline proceedings, or to work with community groups in advocating for the provision of better and more equitable educational opportunities to their children. In addition, the clinic may pursue a specific policy research and advocacy project that will result in a written policy brief and policy proposal. Students working on special education matters have the opportunity to handle all aspects of their clients' cases. Students working in this area interview and counsel clients, investigate and develop facts, work with medical and mental health professionals and experts, conduct legal and educational research, create case plans, and represent clients at individual education program (IEP) team meetings, mediation, or special education due process hearings. This work offers students a chance to study the relationship between individual special education advocacy and system-wide reform efforts such as impact litigation. Students working on school discipline matters interview and counsel clients, investigate and develop facts, interview witnesses, conduct legal and educational research, create case plan, and represent clients at school discipline hearings such as expulsion hearings. Such hearings provide the opportunity to present oral and written argument, examine witnesses, and present evidence before a hearing officer. If appropriate and necessary, such proceedings also present the opportunity to represent students on appeal before the school district board of trustees or the county board of education. The education clinic includes two or three mandatory training sessions to be held at the beginning of the term, a weekly seminar that focuses on legal skills and issues in law and education policy, regular case review, and a one hour weekly meeting with the clinic instructor. Admission is by consent of instructor. Beginning with the 2009-2010 academic year, each of the Law School's clinical courses is being offered on a full-time basis for 12 credits.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 4
EDUC 335:
Designing Research-Based Interventions to Solve Global Health Problems (AFRICAST 135, AFRICAST 235, EDUC 135, EPI 235, MED 235)
The excitement around social innovation and entrepreneurship has spawned numerous startups focused on tackling world problems, particularly in the fields of education and health. The best social ventures are launched with careful consideration paid to research, design, and efficacy. This course offers students an immersive educational experience into understanding how to effectively develop, evaluate, and scale social ventures. Students will also get a rare "behind-the-scenes" glimpse at the complex ethical dilemmas social entrepreneurs have tackled to navigate the odds. Partnered with TeachAids, a global award-winning nonprofit (scaled to 82 countries), this course introduces students to the major principles of research-based design and integrates instruction supported by several game-changing social leaders. Open to both undergraduate and graduate students, it culminates in a formal presentation to an interdisciplinary panel of diverse Silicon Valley leaders. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
EDUC 341:
Counterstory in Literature and Education (CSRE 141E, EDUC 141, LIFE 124)
Counterstory is a method developed in critical legal studies that emerges out of the broad "narrative turn" in the humanities and social science. This course explores the value of this turn, especially for marginalized communities, and the use of counterstory as analysis, critique, and self-expression. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we examine counterstory as it has developed in critical theory, critical pedagogy, and critical race theory literatures, and explore it as a framework for liberation, cultural work, and spiritual exploration.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 3
EDUC 352A:
Introduction to Research-Practice Partnerships
This course is an introduction to education research-practice partnerships (RPPs). It examines the distinctive characteristics of education research-practice partnerships, how they differ from other efforts to improve education, and the types of questions that have been explored by RPPs. We will discuss different types of RPPs including design based implementation research, networked improvement communities, community-engaged research, design-based implementation research (DBIR), and Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). We will pay extra attention to the theories and methodologies used in DBIR, and to projects that DBIR scholars have conducted, as exemplars of RPP work.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-4
EDUC 352B:
Seminar in Developing Partnership Research
In this seminar, students develop the foundational knowledge and skills for effective partnership research. This seminar introduces students to the skills and knowledge necessary for starting and sustaining partnership research through readings and discussion. In the seminar, students develop a concept for partnership research they want to pursue and receive coaching and guidance on forming and nurturing a partnership research project.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-2
EDUC 352C:
Advanced Partnership Research
Partnership research requires a dynamic skill set involving negotiations, collaboration and communication as well as knowledge of the context you are working in and the dilemmas practice partners face in their day-to-day work. In this course, students will work with faculty, peers, and practice partners to learn how to navigate the challenging waters of partnership research and examine challenges in their own partnership research.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-2
EDUC 356:
Street History: Learning the Past in School and Out (HISTORY 337C)
Interdisciplinary. Since Herodotus, history and memory have competed to shape minds: history cultivates doubt and demands interpretation; memory seeks certainty and detests that which thwarts its aims. History and memory collide in modern society, often violently. How do young people become historical amidst these forces; how do school, family, nation, and mass media contribute to the process?
Last offered: Spring 2009
| Units: 3-5
EDUC 374:
Philanthropy and Civil Society (POLISCI 334, SOC 374, SUSTAIN 324)
Cross-listed with Law (LAW 7071), Political Science (POLISCI 334) and Sociology (SOC 374). Associated with the Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS). Year-long workshop for doctoral students and advanced undergraduates writing senior theses on the nature of civil society or philanthropy. Focus is on pursuit of progressive research and writing contributing to the current scholarly knowledge of the nonprofit sector and philanthropy. Accomplished in a large part through peer review. Readings include recent scholarship in aforementioned fields. May be repeated for credit for a maximum of 3 units.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
6 times
(up to 18 units total)
EDUC 377C:
Philanthropy, Inclusivity and Leadership
(Same as GSBGEN 581) A philanthropist is anyone who gives anything-time, expertise, networks, credibility, influence, dollars, experience-in any amount to create a better world. Regardless of one's age, background or profession, everyone has the potential to lead in a way that both tackles the complex social problems our interconnected world faces and creates greater inclusivity, access and impact. This demanding two-week, compressed course will provide passionate students with a brave space to develop and refine a plan for their own social change journey and amplify their potential to give, live and lead in a way that matters more. Using design thinking, students will challenge their preconceptions and wrestle with their social change approach, their privileged position as future Stanford graduates and philanthropy's role in society. Lectures and class discussions will inspire and prepare students to create social value with greater intentionality and humility. For the first class, students will submit a proposed social impact plan for their professional, philanthropic and civic lives. Over the course's six sessions, students will refine their plan, creating a formal theory of change that strategically utilizes their unique leadership platform and asset portfolio to advance opportunity and justice for a target population. Potential guest speakers include Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation; Justin Steele, Principal at Google.org; Crystal Hayling, Executive Director of the Libra Foundation; Rob Reich of Stanford PACS and Laura Muñoz Arnold, Co-Chair of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.
Last offered: Autumn 2020
| Units: 2
EDUC 377F:
Disruptions in Education
(Same as GSBGEN 345). This course will explore the contemporary higher education industry, focusing especially on the places where disruptions of all kinds present significant opportunities and challenges for investors, entrepreneurs, and the businesses that serve this huge global market, as well as for faculty, students, and higher education administrators. Using a variety of readings and case studies to better understand recent disruptions and the unbundling occurring across the post-secondary landscape, from outside and inside the academy, both for-profit and non-profit, the course will examine technology in teaching and learning; the future of the degree and alternatives to the traditional credential; accreditation; competency based education; debt and education financing models; investing in the education space; and tertiary products and platforms that serve the student services market. Guests will include higher education leaders and practitioners, as well as investors and entrepreneurs. Attendance at first class meeting is required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
EDUC 377G:
Problem Solving for Social Change
(Also GSBGEN 367). Stanford graduates will play important roles in solving many of today's and tomorrow's major societal problems -- such as improving educational and health outcomes, conserving energy, and reducing global poverty -- which call for actions by nonprofit, business, and hybrid organizations as well as governments. This course teaches skills and bodies of knowledge relevant to these roles through problems and case studies drawn from nonprofit organizations, for-profit social enterprises, and governments. Topics include designing, implementing, scaling, and evaluating social strategies; systems thinking; decision making under risk; psychological biases that adversely affect people's decisions; methods for influencing individuals' and organizations' behavior, ranging from incentives and penalties to "nudges;" human-centered design; corporate social responsibility; and pay-for-success programs. We will apply these concepts and tools to address an actual social problem facing Stanford University. (With the exception of several classes on strategy and evaluation, there is no substantial overlap with Paul Brest's and Mark Wolfson's course, Strategic Philanthropy and Impact Investing (GSBGEN 319), which has a different focus from this one.)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
EDUC 389A:
Race, Ethnicity, and Language: Racial, Ethnic, and Linguistic Formations (ANTHRO 320A, CSRE 389A, LINGUIST 253, SYMSYS 389A)
Language, as a cultural resource for shaping our identities, is central to the concepts of race and ethnicity. This seminar explores the linguistic construction of race and ethnicity across a wide variety of contexts and communities. We begin with an examination of the concepts of race and ethnicity and what it means to be "doing race," both as scholarship and as part of our everyday lives. Throughout the course, we will take a comparative perspective and highlight how different racial/ethnic formations (Asian, Black, Latino, Native American, White, etc.) participate in similar, yet different, ways of drawing racial and ethnic distinctions. The seminar will draw heavily on scholarship in (linguistic) anthropology, sociolinguistics and education. We will explore how we talk and don't talk about race, how we both position ourselves and are positioned by others, how the way we talk can have real consequences on the trajectory of our lives, and how, despite this, we all participate in maintaining racial and ethnic hierarchies and inequality more generally, particularly in schools.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
EDUC 390:
Urban Schools, Social Policy, and the Gentrifying City (CSRE 291, URBANST 141A)
This course is designed to help students develop a more sophisticated understanding of educational inequality in the contemporary U.S. city. This course will survey existing literature about the intersection of gentrification and urban schooling, focusing on policies and practices that gave rise to the current urban condition, theory and research about urban redevelopment, collateral consequences for schools and communities, and how these issues relate to the structure and governance of urban schools as well as to the geography of opportunity more broadly.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 3-4
EDUC 391:
Engineering Education and Online Learning (ENGR 391)
A project based introduction to web-based learning design. In this course we will explore the evidence and theory behind principles of learning design and game design thinking. In addition to gaining a broad understanding of the emerging field of the science and engineering of learning, students will experiment with a variety of educational technologies, pedagogical techniques, game design principles, and assessment methods. Over the course of the quarter, interdisciplinary teams will create a prototype or a functioning piece of educational technology.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
EDUC 392:
Education for Liberation: A History of African American Education, 1800 to the Present (CSRE 292)
This course examines discourses around education and freedom in African American educational thought from the 19th century to the present, using both primary sources and the works of current historians. The course pays particular attention to how the educational philosophies of different African American thinkers reflected their conceptions of what shape freedom might take in the American context, and the tension between educational outlooks that sought inclusion or integration versus those that prized self-determination. We will also be attentive to the ways in which age, gender, geography, class, and color worked to influence the pursuit and achievement of various African American educational visions. This will be a 3-5 credit course and meet as a seminar open both to graduate students and advanced undergraduates.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 3-5
EDUC 426:
Unleashing Personal Potential: Behavioral Science and Design Thinking Applied to Self (PSYCH 264)
This course facilitates the application of the methods, theories, and findings of behavioral science to students own lives and improvement projects. It does so by combining behavioral science with a design thinking approach. You will learn to identify your potential, navigate to achieve it, and stay resilient during the journey. Students will design their own action plans, define goals and prototype strategies to test them, in an iterative feedback cycle. Our course thus blends two intellectual streams that seldom intersect: behavioral science and design thinking.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 4
EDUC 427:
History of the Curriculum
Development of the school curriculum in historical context, from ancient notions rooted in religious traditions to present-day ideas about "blended curriculum," "problem-based learning," home schooling, and arguments about the contents of the Advanced Placement curriculum and recent "math wars" and "history wars." Focus will be on the core school subjects (history, civics, math, and science), with a emphasis on the explosion of curriculum development in the 1960s, such as Jerome Bruner's MACOS (Man-a-Course-of-Study), the "New Math," Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), and Jerrald Zacharias's "New Physics." Contemporary developments will include topics such as the Afrocentric curriculum movement along with E.D. Hirsch's Core Knowledge curriculum. Focus will be on understanding the historical antecedents of contemporary trends.
| Units: 3-5
EDUC 428:
Intersectional Justice in Education Policy and Practice (AFRICAAM 428, FEMGEN 428)
This 3-5-unit, graduate course is designed to explore intersectionality as a "method and a disposition, a heuristic and an analytic tool" (Carbado, Crenshaw, Mays, & Tomlinson, 2013, p. 11). To do this we explore the intellectual lineage of intersectional thought from its Black Feminist roots and trace it through its use today in education research. Within these tracings, we will delve into the (mis)uses, contestations, and iterations of intersectionality in theory and empirical research. At the heart of this course is an examination of how perceptions of and beliefs about a myriad of intertwining inequities conspire to create vectors of oppressions that land in multiply "marginalized students" lives through the macrosociolpolitcal to the microinteractional. It interrogates the foundational ideological assumptions around culture, difference, deficit, and dis/ability in which education has traditionally been rooted. Students in the course will analyze the lineage and processes of intersectionality to understand how students at the intersections of multiple oppressions experience education within communities of practice that enact, reproduce, and resist policies and practices through their daily activities.
Last offered: Autumn 2022
| Units: 3-5
EDUC 429:
Reducing Health Disparities and Closing the Achievement Gap through Health Integration in Schools (HUMBIO 122E, PEDS 229)
Health and education are inextricably linked. If kids aren't healthy, they won't realize their full potential in school. This is especially true for children living in poverty. This course proposes to: 1) examine the important relationship between children's health and their ability to learn in school as a way to reduce heath disparities; 2) discuss pioneering efforts to identify and address manageable health barriers to learning by integrating health and education in school environments. HUMBIO students must enroll in HUMBIO 122E. Med/Graduate students must enroll in PEDS 229 . Education students must enroll in EDUC 429.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
EDUC 433:
Intersectional Qualitative Approaches (CSRE 433)
This variable unit, graduate course is designed to explore intersectional analysis because intersectionality is a "method and a disposition, a heuristic and an analytic tool" (Carbado, Crenshaw, Mays, & Tomlinson, 2013, p. 11). This course engages the approaches and analyses possible within an intersectional theoretical framing by examining a wide range of interdisciplinary research methodologies and methods. We will study a myriad of innovative ways of doing intersectional scholarship and given the focus on robust methodological moves, this course will highlight questions of axiology of inquiry, analysis, and representation through an intersectional lens. Our class will investigate and create intersectional conceptual framing for designing and interpreting research. We will explore and develop qualitative or mixed¿methods research data collection, analyses, holistic interpretation, and analytic writing from an intersectional perspective.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 3-5
EDUC 442:
(Re)Framing Difference: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Disability, Race and Culture (AFRICAAM 442, CSRE 343, FEMGEN 442, PEDS 242)
This course uses social theories of difference to examine the intersections of disability, race and culture. The course will examine these concepts drawing from scholarship published in history, sociology of education, urban sociology, cultural studies, disability studies, social studies of science, cultural psychology, educational and cultural anthropology, comparative education and special education. Implications for policy, research and practice will be covered.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
EDUC 445:
Transforming Education through Entrepreneurship
(Same as STRAMGT 335) In this course, students will investigate opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurial ventures trying to increase access to educational opportunity, improve the quality of learning experiences for underserved students and disrupt systemic inequities in preK-12 education. Class discussions will explore frameworks for understanding how to maximize educational impact by ensuring efficacy, increasing financial sustainability, and building scale. Cases are focused on organizations in early childhood, primary and secondary education, and feature a variety of ventures (including schools, technology, educator training, and supplemental services) and organizational models (for-profit, not-for-profit, and benefit corporation) in the U.S. and globally. Note: This is not a "how to" class on starting an education venture; it focuses on the strategic challenges of maximizing impact. This course is designed for students who want to be part of creating a more equitable society and improving opportunities for youth, whether by becoming entrepreneurs, leaders, Board members, donors or investors in education organizations. Attendance at the first class meeting is required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
EDUC 446:
Workshop in Social Science History
Supports research and scholarship that combines techniques of historical inquiry with those of the disciplinary social science. Topics include comparative modes of explanation, strategies of case sampling, and rhetorical styles. Serves the development of research papers, theses and other writings for publication.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
9 times
(up to 36 units total)
EDUC 448:
Adolescent Literacy: Theory, Research & Practice Focusing on Literacy in School Contexts
The field of adolescent literacy is broad: It embraces theory, research and practice that aims to address what we know about how young people become literate and express their literacies in cultural contexts both in and out of school. Who are adolescents, and how do we define literacy? In a rapidly evolving world where comprehension and communication are the currency of our information economy, how do we help people become literate consumers and producers of the knowledge that will help them thrive? What role do schools play in preparing youth for a world that asks them to be expert users of tools that have not yet been invented and technologies that don't yet exist? What will it mean to "read"? This course introduces adolescent literacy theory and research, with special attention to topics relevant to classrooms and schools.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 2-4
EDUC 454:
Prevention Science and Community-Based Participatory Research
This course is aimed at students who have interest in learning about prevention science and community-based participatory research (CBPR) to address individual, family, community, and other contextual factors that influence development. Course topics will examine theoretical, empirical and practical foundations of prevention science and CBPR related to the design, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of interventions to prevent mental, behavioral and chemical health problems and promote healthy development. The course will cover the origins and multidisciplinary roots of both prevention science and CBPR, key concepts, current trends and directions, theoretical approaches, program development and assessment, science to service, evaluation methods, best practices, policy development, and implementation and dissemination approaches in community systems of care. Specific emphasis will be placed on the role of family systems and learning environments and on the need to incorporate a focus on structural inequalities based on race/ethnicity, geography, family structure, and other demographic variables into prevention-oriented research.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
EDUC 456:
Seminar in Organizations and Institutions (SOC 210)
This seminar considers ongoing work in organization studies through a speaker series featuring Stanford faculty, visiting scholars, and guests from academic institutions throughout North America and elsewhere.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
9 times
(up to 9 units total)
EDUC 463:
Computer Vision for Education and Social Science Research (CS 432)
Computer vision -- the study of how to design artificial systems that can perform high-level tasks related to image or video data (e.g. recognizing and locating objects in images and behaviors in videos) -- has seen recent dramatic success. In this course, we seek to give education and social science researchers the know-how needed to apply cutting edge computer vision algorithms in their work as well as an opportunity to workshop applications. Prerequisite: python familiarity and some experience with data.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
EDUC 464:
Measuring Learning in the Brain (NEPR 464, PSYCH 279, SYMSYS 195M)
Everything we learn - be it a historical fact, the meaning of a new word, or a skill like reading, math, programming or playing the piano - depends on brain plasticity. The human brain's incredible capacity for learning is served by a variety of learning mechanisms that all result in changes in brain structure and function over different time scales. The goal of this course is to (a) provide an overview of different learning systems in the brain, (b) introduce methodologies and experiments that have led to new discoveries linking human brain plasticity and learning, (3) design an experiment, collect neuroimaging data, and measure the neurobiological underpinnings of learning in your own brain with MRI. The first section of the course will involve a series of lectures and discussions on the foundations of plasticity and learning with particular attention to experimental methods used in human neuroimaging studies. The second part of the course will involve workshops on designing and implementing experiments in MATLAB/Psychtoolbox or Python/PsychoPy. During this part of the course students will design, present and implement their own experiments as group projects. Finally, students will learn how to collect and analyze MRI data by being participants in their own fMRI experiments or analyzing publicly available datasets. Requirements: This class is designed for students who are interested in gaining hands-on experience with measuring the neurobiological underpinnings of learning. Student projects will involve designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data. So some experience with MATLAB/Python or an equivalent programming language is required. Some background in neuroscience (at least 1 course) is also required as we will assume basic knowledge.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
EDUC 478:
Carceral Logics & Abolition in Education (AFRICAAM 278, CSRE 378)
Abolition is a complex concept, often moving against the grain in a society fixated on punishment. What happens when we begin with the concept that life is valuable and that concept should be the center of society when building institutions and responding to harm? In this short course, we will explore how abolition has been conceptualized over time, particularly in relation to carceral logics, and how both relate to education. We will explore what educators can learn from community-driven abolitionist projects and how we can apply these conceptualizations and strategies to education spaces towards liberation.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 2-5
EDUC 489:
RILE Colloquium on Race, Inequality, and Language in Education
This course is a workshop for PhD students focusing on interdisciplinary empirical work related to Race, Inequality, and Language in Education.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
10 times
(up to 20 units total)
EDUC 498:
Field Research in Educational Neuroscience
This field-based course is designed to provide students who already have had an introduction to Educational Neuroscience with the opportunity to learn how to conduct such research in the context of an ongoing research practice partnership, as well as review and integrate curricular content and professional development materials that will make such work more accessible to practitioners and students.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 20 units total)
ENERGY 203:
Stanford Climate Ventures
Solving the global climate challenge will require the creation and successful scale-up of hundreds of new ventures. This project-based course provides a launchpad for the development and creation of transformational climate ventures and innovation models. Interdisciplinary teams will research, analyze, and develop detailed launch plans for high-impact opportunities in the context of the new climate venture development framework offered in this course. Throughout the quarter, teams will complete 70+ interviews with customers, sector experts, and other partners in the emerging climatetech ecosystem, with introductions facilitated by the teaching team's unique networks in this space. Please see the course website scv.stanford.edu for more information and alumni highlights. Project lead applications are due by December 11 through tinyurl.com/scvprojectlead. Students interested in joining a project team, please briefly indicate your interest in the course at tinyurl.com/scvgeneralinterest. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center for Public Service.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 18 units total)
ENERGY 263:
Sustainable Energy Decisions (CEE 263H)
This course provides students from various backgrounds with knowledge of the principles and quantitative methods of decision analysis and policy analysis to tackle interdisciplinary questions in the context of sustainable energy systems. We consider engineering analysis, decision analysis and economic analysis in the formulation of answers to address energy system problems. We will use methods such as life-cycle assessment, benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analysis, microeconomics, distributional metrics, risk analysis methods, sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, multi-attribute utility theory, and simulation and optimization. The integration of uncertainty into formal methods is a fundamental component of the course.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 3
ENERGY 277A:
Engineering and Sustainable Development: Toolkit (ENERGY 177A)
The first of a two-quarter, project-based course sequence that address cultural, sociopolitical, organizational, technical, and ethical issues at the heart of implementing sustainable engineering projects in a developing world. Students work in interdisciplinary project teams to tackle real-world design challenges in partnership with social entrepreneurs, local communities, and/or NGOs. While students must have the skills and aptitude necessary to make meaningful contributions to technical product designs, the course is open to all backgrounds and majors. The first quarter focuses on cultural awareness, ethical implications, user requirements, conceptual design, feasibility analysis, and implementation planning. Admission is by application. Students should plan to enroll in ENERGY 177B/277B Engineering & Sustainable Development: Implementation following successful completion of this course. Designated a Cardinal Course by the Haas Center for Public Service. To satisfy a Ways requirement, students must register for an undergraduate course number (ENERGY 177A) and this course must be taken for at least 3 units.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
ENERGY 277B:
Engineering and Sustainable Development: Implementation (ENERGY 177B)
The second of a two-quarter, project-based course sequence that address cultural, political, organizational, technical and business issues at the heart of implementing sustainable engineering projects in the developing world. Students work in interdisciplinary project teams to tackle real-world design challenges in partnership with social entrepreneurs and/or NGOs. This quarter focuses on implementation, evaluation, and deployment of the designs developed in the winter quarter. Designated a Cardinal Course by the Haas Center for Public Service.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
ENERGY 301:
The Stanford Energy Seminar (CEE 301, MS&E 494)
Interdisciplinary exploration of current energy challenges and opportunities in the context of development, equity and sustainability objectives. Talks are presented by faculty, visitors, and students and include relevant technology, policy, and systems perspectives. More information about the seminar can be found on the website https://energyseminar.stanford.edu/May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
ENERGY 309:
Sustainable Energy Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar (CEE 372, MS&E 495)
Graduate students will present their ongoing research to an audience of faculty and graduate students with a diversity of disciplinary perspectives regarding sustainable energy.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
6 times
(up to 6 units total)
ENGLISH 300:
Medieval Methodologies
An introduction to the essential tool-kit for medievalists, this course will give all medievalists a great head start in knowing how to access and interpret major works and topics in the field. Stanford's medieval faculty will explain the key sources and methods in the major disciplines from History to Religion, French to Arabic, English to Chinese, and Art History to German and Music. In so doing, students will be introduced to the breadth and interdisciplinary potential of Medieval Studies. A workshop devoted to Digital Technologies and Codicology/Palaeography will offer elementary training in these fundamental skills.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 1-3
ENGLISH 300A:
Theories and Methods in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CSRE 300)
This course examines the concept of race, processes of racial formation, and theory and methods for the interdisciplinary study of race and ethnicity. The course will focus on expressions and representations of race and racialization through comparative analyses and conceptualizations, and will feature guest lecturers drawn from within and beyond Stanford.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
ENGLISH 367E:
Contemporary Theory Lab (COMPLIT 367E, ILAC 367E)
This new graduate seminar examines the question of whether a new canon of theoretical monographs-as opposed to influential standalone essays or papers-has coalesced in recent years. We focus on a post-Foucaultian, post-1989 moment, understanding theory as an autonomous, interdisciplinary enterprise that is not subservient or reducible to philosophy or literary criticism but shares many of the core concerns of each discipline. The seminar provides students with a safe space to discuss cutting-edge ideas, arguing for, with, and against influential trends. We will study six to eight monographs in great detail, at least two of which will be determined by class vote. Of special interest are conceptual formations and methodologies that do not have an institutional home or pursue a narrow political agenda. Topics include anticolonial thinking, new materialism, affect studies, and the shadow of the linguistic turn. We may draw from a roster of thinkers such as Bruno Latour, Saidiya Hartman, Verónica Gago, Sianne Ngai, Rob Nixon, Sara Ahmed, Martin Hägglund, Arturo Escobar, Mark Fisher, Wendy Brown, and Fred Moten. Previous experience with theory is recommended. Assignments sequence short papers with revisions, short student presentations, and a final paper. Stanford faculty and outside guests will be a mainstay. Broader community engagement with theory, as well as student integration of the subject matter towards their independent research projects, will be central goals. Open to co-terms, masters, and PhD students in the humanities and social sciences.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3-5
ENGR 350:
Data Impact Lab
In this lab, multi-disciplinary teams of students tackle high-impact, unsolved problems for social sector partners. Teams receive mentorship and coaching from Stanford faculty, domain experts, and data science experts from industry. Sample projects include innovations for: poverty alleviation in the developing world, local government services, education, and healthcare. Limited enrollment; application required. May be repeated for credit. See http://datalab.stanford.edu for more information.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 1-6
ENGR 391:
Engineering Education and Online Learning (EDUC 391)
A project based introduction to web-based learning design. In this course we will explore the evidence and theory behind principles of learning design and game design thinking. In addition to gaining a broad understanding of the emerging field of the science and engineering of learning, students will experiment with a variety of educational technologies, pedagogical techniques, game design principles, and assessment methods. Over the course of the quarter, interdisciplinary teams will create a prototype or a functioning piece of educational technology.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
ENVRES 220:
The Social Ocean: Human Dimensions of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems
This interdisciplinary seminar examines human dimensions of current ocean issues through a series of readings, discussions, and guest lecturer presentations. Through the lenses offered by multiple disciplines and fields, we will examine and reinterpret the challenges of fisheries management, climate change, conservation/restoration, and human rights. We will welcome specialists in industry, academia, law, and the nonprofit sector to discuss theories of change for ocean issues, with a particular emphasis on marine justice. We invite students to create and share their own "Social Ocean Project" synthesizing course themes and personal reflections.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
5 times
(up to 5 units total)
ENVRES 221:
New Frontiers and Opportunities in Sustainability
Interdisciplinary exploration of how companies, government and non-profit organizations address some of the world's most significant environmental & resource sustainability challenges. Each week we will explore with an experienced sustainability practitioner new frontiers and opportunities in clean tech, policy, energy, transportation, consumer goods, agriculture, food, and sustainable built environments..
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
ENVRES 240:
Environmental Decision-Making and Risk Perception
Mobilizing successful conservation efforts to mitigate climate change and preserve both local and global ecosystems requires a new way of thinking. This course will investigate the barriers to pro-environmental behavior and the heuristics and biases that cloud our ability to respond effectively to environmental problems, using insights from behavioral economics, neuroeconomics, and environmental risk perception. Emphasis on interdisciplinary applications of recent research, and implications for environmental policymaking and persuasive messaging.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 1-3
ENVRES 310:
Introduction to Interdisciplinary Environmental Research and Practice
Required core course restricted to first year E-IPER Ph.D. students. This course is designed for early-stage doctoral students pursuing interdisciplinary environmental research. It provides an overview of interdisciplinary research and practice, establishing a foundation for selecting a research approach best suited to a scholar's interests. The first half explores how scholars bring together different disciplines and/or fields of inquiry to conduct rigorous research. The second half focuses on the various ways scholars conduct applied research, exploring issues of power justice, and ethics with an emphasis on community-engaged research and co-production.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
ENVRES 330:
Research Approaches for Environmental Problem Solving
Required core course restricted to first year E-IPER Ph.D. students. How to develop and implement interdisciplinary research in environment and resources. Assignments include development of research questions and data collection and analysis plans, and a summer funding proposal. Course is structured around peer critique and student presentations of in-progress research. Corequisite: ENVRES 398 with a faculty member chosen to explore a possible dissertation topic.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
ENVRES 341:
Theoretical Underpinnings of Environmental Behavior: Exploration and reflection
Human behavior is studied in many fields and disciplines at a range of scales, from the micro to the macro, with some focusing on the individual as the core, while others take a more critical approach. Theories and approaches from each can be considered in context with implications for the environment, resources, and sustainability-related issues. Using interdisciplinary frames, students in this doctoral-level seminar will apply various perspectives and lenses to advance their own empirical work through intensive, focused writing sessions. The intention is to provide a supportive structure such that students may advance their own in-progress research and ongoing writing grounded in behavioral science and social-ecological systems theories.
Last offered: Summer 2023
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
12 times
(up to 36 units total)
EPI 235:
Designing Research-Based Interventions to Solve Global Health Problems (AFRICAST 135, AFRICAST 235, EDUC 135, EDUC 335, MED 235)
The excitement around social innovation and entrepreneurship has spawned numerous startups focused on tackling world problems, particularly in the fields of education and health. The best social ventures are launched with careful consideration paid to research, design, and efficacy. This course offers students an immersive educational experience into understanding how to effectively develop, evaluate, and scale social ventures. Students will also get a rare "behind-the-scenes" glimpse at the complex ethical dilemmas social entrepreneurs have tackled to navigate the odds. Partnered with TeachAids, a global award-winning nonprofit (scaled to 82 countries), this course introduces students to the major principles of research-based design and integrates instruction supported by several game-changing social leaders. Open to both undergraduate and graduate students, it culminates in a formal presentation to an interdisciplinary panel of diverse Silicon Valley leaders. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
EPI 271:
Preparation and Practice: Scientific Communication and Media I
Through tailored lecture, case study, and a practical final project, academic and professional leaders will help you gain insight into the science communications and media industry and the skills necessary to succeed within the various positions and levels available within it. Anticipated Learning Outcomes: To assist interdisciplinary graduate students, medical students, residents and fellows in all levels of training to develop and hone the communication skills necessary for post-training and internship success in a science communications/media field; To provide an understanding of the scope of career opportunities within the science communications sector, focusing on the development, organization, and management issues specific to it; To provide a forum for interacting with alumni, faculty, and other practitioners from a variety of fields and organizations who may assist candidates with defining and meeting their own professional goals; To increase awareness of industry terminology and theories, combined with hands-on experience with techniques and methodologies most useful for credential development on the job market; To develop and hone expertise in the areas of: publishing, editing, workflow, ethics, trends, principles of effective scholarly/news writing, interviewing techniques, and media/website management.
Last offered: Summer 2023
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
EPI 272:
The Science of Community Engagement in Health Research (CHPR 227)
The Science of Community Engagement in Health Research course will focus on how the science of community engagement can be applied to diverse health-related research topics across the translational spectrum with the ultimate goal of high quality research that transforms human health and addresses health disparities. The course will provide historical context, theoretical frameworks, foundational skills in diverse community engagement methodologies, and tools for examining the effectiveness of various engagement strategies aimed. Specifically, the course will cover: 1) Historical context for community engagement in health-related research; 2) Evolution of community engagement as a science; 3) Theoretical frameworks for various community engagement approaches; 4) Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR); 5) Community engagement strategies for different stages of translational research; and 6) Evaluation of various engagement strategies; and 7) Ethics of community engagement. Students will gain practical experience in various community engagement tools and strategies to help guide the development of a community engagement plan responsive to community needs. Challenges and benefits of establishing community partnerships will be highlighted by real-world examples. nThe course will include lectures; interactive student-led presentations and guided exercises; class discussions among invited speakers, students and instructors; individual and group assignments; and organized small-group and experiential activities. Course readings will demonstrate the need and opportunity for interdisciplinary community engagement approaches and will illustrate how to conduct innovative community-engaged research. nThe Science of Community Engagement course is intended to reach students with diverse research interests, including clinical research, community health, health research and policy, epidemiology, prevention research, environmental health, etc.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
EPS 218Z:
Shaping the Future of the Bay Area (CEE 218Z, EPS 118Z, ESS 118Z, ESS 218Z, GEOPHYS 118Z, GEOPHYS 218Z, POLISCI 118Z, PUBLPOL 118Z, PUBLPOL 218Z)
(Formerly GEOLSCI 118Z and 218Z) Students are placed in small interdisciplinary teams (engineers and non-engineers, undergraduate and graduate level) to work on complex design, engineering, and policy problems presented by external partners in a real urban setting. Multiple projects are offered and may span both Winter and Spring quarters; students are welcome to participate in one or both quarters. Students are expected to interact professionally with government and community stakeholders, conduct independent team work outside of class sessions, and submit deliverables over a series of milestones. Prerequisite: the Autumn (X) skills course or approval of instructors. For information about the projects and application process, visit http://bay.stanford.edu. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center. Change of Department Name: Earth and Planetary Science (Formerly Geologic Sciences).
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
ESS 209:
Biological and Social Networks (ESS 109)
This course introduces the analysis of social and biological networks with a focus on field data collected by interdisciplinary environmental and health scientists. Beginning from the premise that structure emerges from relationships between individual entities, we will concentrate in particular on the measurement of relationships, emphasizing especially practical methodology for mixed-method fieldwork suitable for interdisciplinary biosocial sciences (e.g., earth system science, epidemiology, demography, anthropology, conservation science). Topics include: social relationships in humans and other animals, ecological networks (e.g., trophic and mutualistic interactions), epidemiological networks, research design for collecting relational data, naturalistic observation, ethnographic network methods, sampling, data quality, missing data, graphs and graph theory, structural measures (e.g., density, centrality and centralization, clustering and community detection, embeddedness), network evolution, network diffusion, emergence, egocentric networks, multi-mode/multi-layer networks, inference for sampled networks. All computation and visualization will be done in R so some familiarity is assumed.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 3-5
ESS 218Z:
Shaping the Future of the Bay Area (CEE 218Z, EPS 118Z, EPS 218Z, ESS 118Z, GEOPHYS 118Z, GEOPHYS 218Z, POLISCI 118Z, PUBLPOL 118Z, PUBLPOL 218Z)
(Formerly GEOLSCI 118Z and 218Z) Students are placed in small interdisciplinary teams (engineers and non-engineers, undergraduate and graduate level) to work on complex design, engineering, and policy problems presented by external partners in a real urban setting. Multiple projects are offered and may span both Winter and Spring quarters; students are welcome to participate in one or both quarters. Students are expected to interact professionally with government and community stakeholders, conduct independent team work outside of class sessions, and submit deliverables over a series of milestones. Prerequisite: the Autumn (X) skills course or approval of instructors. For information about the projects and application process, visit http://bay.stanford.edu. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center. Change of Department Name: Earth and Planetary Science (Formerly Geologic Sciences).
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
ESS 227:
Decision Science for Environmental Threats (EARTHSYS 227)
Decision science is the study of how people make decisions. It aims to describe these processes in ways that will help people make better or more well-informed decisions. It is an interdisciplinary field that draws upon psychology, economics, political science, and management, among other disciplines. It is being used in a number of domain areas and for a variety of applications, including managing freshwater resources, designing decision support tools to aid in coastal adaptation to sea-level rise, and creating "nudges" to enhance energy efficiency behaviors. This course covers behavioral theories of probabilistic inference, intuitive prediction, preference, and decision making. Topics include heuristics and biases, risk perceptions and attitudes, strategies for combining different sources of information and dealing with conflicting objectives, and the roles of group and emotional processes in decision making. This course will introduce students to foundational theories of decision science, and will involve applying these theories to understand decisions about environmental threats.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
ESS 251:
Biological Oceanography (EARTHSYS 151, EARTHSYS 251, ESS 151)
Required for Earth Systems students in the oceans track. Interdisciplinary look at how oceanic environments control the form and function of marine life. Topics include distributions of planktonic production and abundance, nutrient cycling, the role of ocean biology in the climate system, expected effects of climate changes on ocean biology. Local weekend field trips.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
ESS 252:
Marine Chemistry (EARTHSYS 152, EARTHSYS 252, ESS 152, OCEANS 152, OCEANS 252)
Introduction to the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills required to critically evaluate problems in marine chemistry and related disciplines. Physical, chemical, and biological processes that determine the chemical composition of seawater. Air-sea gas exchange, carbonate chemistry, and chemical equilibria, nutrient and trace element cycling, particle reactivity, sediment chemistry, and diagenesis. Examination of chemical tracers of mixing and circulation and feedbacks of ocean processes on atmospheric chemistry and climate. Designed to be taken concurrently with Biological Oceanography (ESS/EARTHSYS 151/251)
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3-4
ETHICSOC 371R:
Inequality: Economic and Philosophical Perspectives (PHIL 371D, POLISCI 431L)
The nature of and problem of inequality is central to both economics and philosophy. Economists study the causes of inequality, design tools to measure it and track it over time, and examine its consequences. Philosophers are centrally concerned with the justification of inequality and the reasons why various types of inequality are or are not objectionable.nIn this class we bring both of these approaches together. Our class explores the different meanings of and measurements for understanding inequality, our best understandings of how much inequality there is, its causes, its consequences, and whether we ought to reduce it, and if so, how. nThis is an interdisciplinary graduate seminar. We propose some familiarity with basic ideas in economics and basic ideas in contemporary political philosophy; we will explain and learn about more complex ideas as we proceed. The class will be capped at 20 students.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 5
FEMGEN 256:
Current Topics and Controversies in Women's Health (HUMBIO 125, OBGYN 256)
(HUMBIO students must enroll in HUMBIO 125 or FEMGEN 256. PhD minor in FGSS must enroll in FEMGEN 256. Med students must enroll in OBGYN 256.) Interdisciplinary. Focus is primarily on the U.S., with selected global women's health topics. Topics include: leading causes of morbidity and mortality across the life course; reproductive (e.g. gynecologic & obstetric) health issues; sexual function; importance of lifestyle (e.g. diet, exercise, weight control), including eating disorders; mental health; sexual and relationship abuse; issues for special populations. In-class Student Debates on key controversies in women's health. Guest lecturers. Undergraduates must enroll for 3 units. PhD minor in FGSS should enroll for 3 units. Med students can enroll for 2 - 3 units. To receive a letter grade in any listing, students must enroll for 3 units. This course must be taken for a letter grade and a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for Ways credit. Enrollment limited to students with sophomore academic standing or above. Undergraduate prerequisite: At least 2 of the Human Biology Core or Biology Foundations or equivalent or consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-3
FEMGEN 332:
Intersectional Feminisms (AFRICAAM 138, CSRE 133, FEMGEN 132)
This course is focused on the feminist concept of intersectionality. As a mode of Black feminist thought, lived activist practice, and interdisciplinary research methodology, intersectionality allows us to think about overlapping forms of identity and the interlocking power structures that produce systematic oppression and discrimination. We will examine the origins and development of intersectional feminism and consider its far-reaching impact in social justice work and contemporary activist movements. As we learn the language, methods, and critiques of intersectionality, we will cover issues related to rights, ethics, privilege, and globalization while discussing social difference on micro- and macro-levels.
| Units: 4
FEMGEN 442:
(Re)Framing Difference: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Disability, Race and Culture (AFRICAAM 442, CSRE 343, EDUC 442, PEDS 242)
This course uses social theories of difference to examine the intersections of disability, race and culture. The course will examine these concepts drawing from scholarship published in history, sociology of education, urban sociology, cultural studies, disability studies, social studies of science, cultural psychology, educational and cultural anthropology, comparative education and special education. Implications for policy, research and practice will be covered.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
FILMEDIA 422:
Sergei Eisenstein: Theory, Practice, Method (SLAVIC 322)
The work of Sergei Eisenstein has been central to the study of film since before his death in 1948, but some of his most significant work was first published only in the new millennium and is generating rich interdisciplinary scholarship. This seminar explores contemporary Eisenstein scholarship together with Eisenstein's more recently published writings. It aims to place the Eisenstein we are coming to know in the twenty-first century in dialogue with longstanding as well as contemporary debates in film and media theory.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 5
FILMEDIA 469:
Drugs and the Visual Imagination (ARTHIST 469)
Drugs have profoundly shaped human culture across space and time, from ancient cave paintings to the psychedelic Sixties and contemporary opioid epidemic. This seminar explores the relationship between visual culture and "drugs," broadly conceived, asking how consciousness-altering substances have been understood and represented in various contexts. We will examine how drugs blur boundaries between nature and culture and describe major symbolic, narrative, and aesthetic structures by considering representations of drug use across media. This interdisciplinary seminar integrates perspectives from art, literature, popular culture, theory, film, philosophy, and science. Topics include perception, subjectivity, addiction, deviancy, capitalism, politics, technology, globalization, and critical approaches to race, class, sexuality, and gender. Limited to graduate students; undergraduates must contact instructor for permission (seniors only).
| Units: 5
FINANCE 333:
Financial Restructuring
Most GSB students will encounter distressed situations at various points during their careers, in their capacity as executives, business owners, investors, advisors, lenders, customers, suppliers, or competitors. Knowing how to handle these situations is a critical skill in business. Financial restructuring is the process by which distressed companies, and their key stakeholders, use in-court and out-of-court tools and methods to renegotiate their key contracts for the purpose of rehabilitation. In contrast with operational restructuring, financial restructuring focuses on resolving problems on the ¿right-hand side¿ of a company¿s balance sheet ¿ its debt and non-debt liabilities. This course provides an intensive overview of financial restructuring techniques and processes from the perspectives of distressed firms and their key stakeholders. It is intended for those who plan careers in general management, private equity and venture capital, entrepreneurship, credit and special situations investing, commercial and investment banking, turnaround management, or financial advisory services. While it is primarily a finance course, it incorporates interdisciplinary elements including negotiations, game theory, strategy, and business law. Enrolling students should be reasonably comfortable with financial analysis, valuation techniques, and basic financial modeling.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
FRENCH 243:
Letter Writing in 17th - and 18th - Century France: A Media Revolution (HISTORY 243F)
This interdisciplinary course examines the evolution of letter-writing practices in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France through the lens of a media revolution, and highlights the historical roots of contemporary media issues. We will read primary sources such as epistolary manuals, letters by notable early modern letter writers (Sévigné, Voltaire, and Catherine the Great), and epistolary novels, as well as secondary scholarship from the fields of cultural history, literary studies, and media studies. Topics include, but are not limited to, innovations to the postal system, the rise of social norms of letter writing, image management, the Republic of Letters and the Enlightenment, social activism through letter writing, the birth of media celebrities, surveillance, and privacy. Readings and discussions in English.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3-5
GEOPHYS 203:
Fluids and Flow in the Earth: Computational Methods (GEOPHYS 181)
Interdisciplinary problems involving the state and movement of fluids in crustal systems, and computational methods to model these processes. Examples of processes include: nonlinear, time-dependent flow in porous rocks; coupling in porous rocks between fluid flow, stress, deformation, and heat and chemical transport; percolation of partial melt; diagenetic processes; pressure solution and the formation of stylolites; and transient pore pressure in fault zones. MATLAB, Lattice-Boltzmann, and COMSOL Multiphysics. Term project. No experience with COMSOL Multiphysics required. Offered every other year, winter quarter.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 3
GEOPHYS 218Z:
Shaping the Future of the Bay Area (CEE 218Z, EPS 118Z, EPS 218Z, ESS 118Z, ESS 218Z, GEOPHYS 118Z, POLISCI 118Z, PUBLPOL 118Z, PUBLPOL 218Z)
(Formerly GEOLSCI 118Z and 218Z) Students are placed in small interdisciplinary teams (engineers and non-engineers, undergraduate and graduate level) to work on complex design, engineering, and policy problems presented by external partners in a real urban setting. Multiple projects are offered and may span both Winter and Spring quarters; students are welcome to participate in one or both quarters. Students are expected to interact professionally with government and community stakeholders, conduct independent team work outside of class sessions, and submit deliverables over a series of milestones. Prerequisite: the Autumn (X) skills course or approval of instructors. For information about the projects and application process, visit http://bay.stanford.edu. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center. Change of Department Name: Earth and Planetary Science (Formerly Geologic Sciences).
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
GSBGEN 208:
Leading with Values
With leadership comes responsibility. This course explores the numerous ethical issues faced by managers and organizations and provides both analytical frameworks and the latest findings on human behavior to inform ethical decisions and strategies. The readings present challenging and controversial case studies, provide insights from experimental psychology and economics, and discuss relevant philosophical concepts and arguments. Through class exercises, rigorous discussion, and personal reflection, you will clarify your own ethical stance, think through ethical dilemmas, and practice articulating recommendations compellingly. You will also discover the diversity of ethical viewpoints and find out how to avoid the social and cognitive pitfalls that can make ethical leadership challenging.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 259:
MSx: Leading with Values
With leadership comes responsibility. This course explores the numerous ethical issues faced by managers and organizations and provides analytical frameworks as well as the latest findings on human behavior to inform ethical decisions and strategies. Readings involve controversial case studies, insights from experimental psychology and economics, and a brief introduction to some relevant philosophy. Through class exercises, rigorous discussion, and personal reflection, you will clarify your own ethical stance, think through ethical dilemmas, practice articulating recommendations compellingly, discover the diversity of ethical viewpoints, and find out how to avoid the social and cognitive pitfalls that come in the way of ethical leadership.
Last offered: Summer 2023
| Units: 1
GSBGEN 299:
The Core Curriculum in the Workplace
GSB students are eligible to report on work experience that is relevant to their core studies under the direction of the Senior Associate Dean responsible for the MBA Program. Registration for this work must be approved by the Assistant Dean of the MBA Program and is limited to students who present a project which, in judgment of the Advisor, may be undertaken to enhance the material learned in the first year core required courses. It is expected that this research be carried on by the student with a large degree of independence and the expected result is a written report, typically due at the end of the quarter in which the course is taken. Specific assignment details and deadline information will be communicated to enrolled students. Units earned for this course do not meet the requirements needed for graduation.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
8 times
(up to 8 units total)
GSBGEN 305:
Impact: Investing for Good
Investing for Good will introduce students to the entire spectrum of purposeful, values-driven, and impact investing. We examine the field from the perspective of an institutional investor (i.e. fund manager, investment advisor, endowment manager, head of a family office, etc). Our goal is to have students emerge with a practical and analytical framework for: 1. evaluating impact and mission-aligned investments across multiple asset classes and sectors; 2. constructing a portfolio using impact as a lens; 3. designing an impact investment company; and 4. understanding the many practical and theoretical challenges confronting this exciting emerging field.We start by exploring some fundamental questions: what is a purposeful or impact investment; can impact investments be defined along a spectrum between conventional investing and philanthropy; whose money is it; what are the constraints and opportunities; how do we (re)define return and/or performance. We briefly analyze impact investing in the context of modern portfolio theory. We then develop a framework for portfolio construction and evaluation across four criteria: risk, return, liquidity, and impact. Through a combination of class dialogues, role plays, and case discussions, we will explore a wide variety of asset classes, impact themes, and investment challenges. A series of team-based investment committee simulations will comprise a significant portion of the course and will provide a significant experiential learning experience.Previous experience in finance, investing, social enterprise, entrepreneurship, or philanthropy is not required, but both helpful and welcomed. While first year students are encouraged to enroll, students who have limited familiarity with the basics of investing and corporate finance are strongly encouraged to purchase David Swensen's "Pioneering Portfolio Management" and cover the recommended chapters in advance of the course. It's is also important to note that this class will require financial modeling and detailed investment analysis.Many of the issues we'll be tackling have no unambiguous answers. Lively discussion and debate will be necessary and expected.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 306:
Real Estate Investment
The major objective of this course is to provide the student with an understanding of the fundamentals of real estate investment. The course covers land economics, market analysis, finance, taxation, investment analysis, investment vehicles, real estate risk, development and urban design. Major land uses are discussed including apartments, retail, office, and industrial. The course is designed for students with limited or no background in real estate.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 307:
Policy Time
Policy Time is about the policy choices faced by senior American policymakers. Our main perspective is American and executive: decisions faced by the U.S. President, Governors, and their advisors. The lessons can extend to certain international settings as well. We have two main goals:n1. To begin to build your personal policy approach, in which you will figure out how your values translate into real-world policy choices; and 2. To learn what it is like to be a senior policymaker. Each week will cover a different policy topic. Likely topics include immigration reform, economics, whether and when and how companies should take public positions on policy issues, guns and gun control, social media policy challenges, the opioid crisis, and trade and industrial policy. Our exact topic schedule is flexible based in part on current events. This class is heavily participatory and involves a lot of class discussion. You will write 5-10 weekly short memos to explain your choices. This class is for beginners and assumes you have no prior knowledge of policy or politics.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 309:
Housing and the Mortgage Market
Political gamesmanship, financial crises, and financial innovation come hand-in-hand with real estate finance, which has played a central role in the rise and fall of economies, financial institutions, and the lives of ordinary Americans. This course explores these issues in depth. We examine the past, present, and future of the complex political economy surrounding real estate finance, its impact on markets, and the business challenges and opportunities arising from it, both domestically and abroad, before and after the financial crisis. We then tackle recent trends like the rise of shadow banks, fintech, and proptech. Through a mix of speakers, case studies, and hands-on exercises, we examine the problems these industries are solving and creating.Greg Buchak is an Assistant Professor in the Finance group at Stanford. He received his PhD in financial economics and JD in law from the University of Chicago. His research focuses on the industrial organization of financial intermediation and it¿s consequences in the real estate industry.Chris Mahowald is actively involved in the real estate investment business as the managing partner of RSF Partners, a series of real estate private equity funds totaling over $1 billion in equity. The firm invests across product types throughout the U.S. During his career, he has focused on value investing with deep experience in distressed mortgage debt. He also teaches real estate investment at the GSB (GSBGEN 306: Real Estate Investment).
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 310:
Business and AI: Lessons from Entrepreneurs, Executives, and Investors
As AI technology advances at an unprecedented pace, both start-ups and established corporations are racing to harness its potential, aiming to revolutionize every sector with innovative applications. What are these opportunities, and how are these firms creating a sustainable competitive advantage? In this class, the teaching team will guide interactive classroom discussions on adopting AI in business. Guest speakers - CEOs or venture capitalists at the forefront of AI - will tell their stories, offering valuable insights from a myriad of industries and perspectives. The structure for this course will be a combination of: addressing what is different about starting an AI company; asking how AI companies (particularly Generative AI) are being valued and the associated risks; exploring how large companies are rapidly adopting AI; and introducing relevant economic models. Almost all days will have engaging speakers, and 50% of your course grade will be participation, as you interact with them and with your peers. There are two assignments and a group project. The faculty will provide a structured foundation to guide you, and short lectures on a number of topics. Students do not need in-depth technical knowledge of AI; you will be expected to learn the basics along the way, and will be taught about LLM models through examples.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 312:
I'm Just a Bill
This is a course about the American legislative process. You will learn how the United States Congress and President enact a law by role-playing as Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, or as senior advisors to the President. You will engage in legislative debate, offering amendments, voting, and extensive policy and legislative negotiation, with the goal of enacting new laws. The simulated legislative agenda involves four policy topics: economic growth and income distribution, climate change, regulation of "Big Tech," and an international issue. As a class, you will try to enact a new law in each of these four areas. This class is for beginners. You will: -Learn a bit about four policy issues (likely climate change, economics, regulation of "Big Tech," and an international issue); -Learn both the formal and informal rules of legislating-how a bill really becomes a law; and -Develop and practice your "soft skills," including persuasion, negotiation, leadership, strategy, and organizational analysis.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 315:
Strategic Communication
Business leaders have marketing strategies, expansion strategies, finance strategies, even exit strategies. Successful leaders, however, also have communication strategies. This course will explore how individuals and organizations can develop and execute effective communication strategies for a variety of business settings. This course introduces the essentials of communication strategy and persuasion: audience analysis, communicator credibility, message construction and delivery. Deliverables will include written documents and oral presentations and you will present both individually and in a team. You will receive feedback to improve your communication effectiveness. This practical course helps students develop confidence in their speaking and writing through weekly presentations and assignments, lectures and discussions, guest speakers, simulated activities, and videotaped feedback. An important feature of this course is that there are two faculty members working in concert to ensure that students get rigorous and individualized coaching and feedback. In this course you will learn to: - Create communication strategies at an individual and organizational level - Develop clearly organized and effective presentations and documents - Diagnose and expand your personal writing and oral delivery style - Adapt your delivery style to different material and audiences - Enhance oral delivery through effective visual aids Students at all levels of comfort and expertise with public speaking and business writing will benefit from this course.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 316:
Civic Workshop
Small teams of students will propose and implement projects to provide immediate volunteer civic assistance to a group or community dealing with the effects of coronavirus. We assume most or all of this assistance will be online or otherwise virtual. The first goal of this course is to channel your skills, abilities, and civic impulses to provide immediate practical assistance to communities struggling with new, unsettling, and painful coronavirus realities. The second goal is to allow you to practice leadership, management, problem-solving, and interactive skills in a small team through a project they build from scratch and implement immediately. The third goal is to build and strengthen your interest in participating in leadership roles in the civic layer of society after graduation. Students will form teams of four, either before or shortly after the course begins. A team will propose a target group to assist: a place, a group of people, or a non-governmental civic organization. Your team will interact directly with leaders of that target group to discover what value you can provide immediately and virtually. Weekly class sessions will include some guest speakers and work sessions in which the various teams will share their ongoing efforts, to cross-fertilize ideas and assist each other. Teams will also meet extensively outside of class hours to build and implement their project. This course is an active learning experience. Teams will be evaluated in part based on their ability to deliver rapid results of value to a target community. Doing so will require significant commitment and effort from the team, and a willingness to adapt to difficult, changing conditions. All projects must be targeted entirely at addressing new needs created by the coronavirus crisis, not at solving problems that existed before then. They should be easy to begin initial execution in the first 2-3 weeks of the quarter, to provide rapid assistance to the target group. Projects must be nongovernmental and apolitical: no politics, no government work or government services, no interest groups whose primary purpose is to influence public officials. Teams should instead aim to provide direct benefits to a community in the civic layer between individuals and government including businesses, volunteer groups, community organizations, non-profits, clubs, charities, religious and fraternal organizations. Many of these efforts are arising spontaneously each day; our goal is to foster and amplify this trend. Since projects must be feasible with the team dispersed and in self-isolation, most efforts will be online or virtual, and teams are encouraged to think of creative uses of tools like Zoom, Google Apps, social media, and simple database setups. Interdisciplinary teams from across Stanford graduate programs are encouraged, as long as three of the four team members are from the GSB. International students are strongly encouraged to participate, both in joining teams with an American focus and in forming teams to target communities for assistance outside the U.S. Teams are encouraged to look at opportunities to form bridging capital, aiding groups and communities that might not overlap much with the Stanford student population. We hope several teams will be geographically-focused, targeting the people who live in a specific place for assistance. In addition to the project itself, each student will be expected to keep a project journal and to write an end-of-project memo to those considering similar civic efforts in the future.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 317:
Reputation Management: Strategies for Successful Communicators
Successful leaders have to conceive, author, rebuild, pivot, differentiate, and finally maintain a personal reputation to make a lasting, recognizable and powerful identity. Reputation Management will explore how you can effectively communicate to create, adapt and maintain your personal reputation. Your reputation remains fluid as you navigate your career decisions and interact with different professionals along your journey. The course is designed along three interlocking elements: reputation management literature, relevant case studies, and curated guest speakers. Students will learn the fundamentals of strategic corporate communication and the risk of not managing reputation effectively. These frameworks will be extended with specific case studies to illustrate where individuals, groups, and firms have faced the challenge of managing reputation effectively. We will focus on both traditional and virtual components of communication including the relevancy of online reputation management. Finally we will invite well-known leaders from a range of industries who have built and sustained their reputations, through effective communication. Each leader has had to manage their reputations in the public eye, and alongside their peers, supervisors, and employees. Guests will be invited to discuss their conscious and unplanned strategies of how to successfully communicate the kind of person, leader, innovator, or public figure they strive to be. Students will benefit from a rich blend of frameworks, cases, and speakers enabling them to successfully enter the work force and create their own, personal reputations. Students will create a case study drawn from their own experience (or personal network), of a reputation dilemma. A final assignment requires students to research their own reputation history by projecting what they think their reputation is, creating their own survey for friends, colleagues and employers to take, conduct three interviews about their personal reputation with three individuals who have worked closely with them, and then synthesize all this feedback into a cohesive paper and short video that reflects their authentic work and personal reputation. Throughout the course students will post at least one blog drawn from class concepts and respond to posts by peers in the class.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 319:
Strategic Philanthropy and Impact Investing
The course will be structured around the perspective of a foundation or a high net worth individual who has decided to devote substantial resources to philanthropy and wishes to decide which philanthropic goals to pursue and how best to achieve them. Although there are no formal prerequisites for the course, we will assume that students have experience working at a foundation, nonprofit organization, impact investing fund, or similar organization, or have taken an introductory course in strategic philanthropy such as GSBGEN 381. (With the exception of several classes on strategy and evaluation, there is no substantial overlap with Paul Brest's course, Problem Solving for Social Change (GSBGEN 367) , which has a different focus from this one.)
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 320:
Neuroscience and the Connection to Sustained Excellence
Recent work on human performance is beginning to unravel biological, neurobiological and psychological factors that separate the best performers from the rest, providing rich insights into how we all can (re)wire our mind and body for manifesting sustained excellence. Adopting the format of a retreat, the thrust of this course is two-fold. First, expose students to neurobiological frameworks, serving as scaffolding for appreciating the importance of practices aimed hacking the body and the mind such as breathing, naps, laughter, fitness, etc. for setting oneself up for peak performance. Second, give students a chance to transform their own body and mind by experimenting with various techniques such as parasympathetic breathing, micro-breaks, the I(Interrupt)-R(Relax)-R(Reframe), the Invisioning-Envisioning series of exercises, etc. Students will be encouraged to monitor their transformation, including regular measurements of their Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a key marker for the emotional resilience and vibrancy that are at the core of manifesting sustained excellence.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 323:
Blockchain Governance
This course offers an overview of blockchain governance and DAOs, including the governance of layer-1 blockchains, DAO tooling, on-chain and off-chain voting, delegation and constitutional design, identity, and privacy. We will cover these topics both from a technical perspective and from a social scientific perspective, and will include a range of guests from the web3 space.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 326:
Resource Allocation in Education
This course covers economic principles and tools for informing resource allocation decisions in education. Students will review concepts related to educational goods and values; the costs and benefits of different levels and types of schooling; public versus private schooling; as well as adequacy and equity in education financing. Students will also learn about the use of educational production functions, teacher value-added estimation, cost effectiveness analysis, experimental program evaluation, systematic reviews, and causal chain analysis. Prerequisites: introductory statistics and regression analysis.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 332:
Climate Tech for Rapid Decarbonization
This course examines alternative pathways for economies around the world to achieve deep decarbonization within a couple of decades. The overall perspective is to analyze the global decarbonization process at the intersection of technological improvements, financial fundamentals and the parameters set by public policies.The first part of the course will be concerned with the science and the political economy of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and the proliferation of net-zero pledges by governments and corporations. Included in this part is a closer look at countries for which the production and export of fossil fuels is a key economic activity. We then turn to the competitiveness of carbon-free or low-carbon technologies in different segments of the economy, including i) power generation, ii) energy storage, iii) transportation, iv) industrial production and v) food and Ag Tech. The final part of the course turns to the emergence of energy technologies with future commercial potential, including hydrogen, fission/fusion, carbon capture and utilization and synthetic hydrocarbons.The course will rely on lectures from each of the three instructors, guest presentations and select case studies.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 333:
Technology Licensing: Strategy and Negotiation
Licensing of technology and its corresponding intellectual property is big business, and integral to the business plans and competitive strategies of start-ups and Fortune 500 companies alike. Because licenses are complex agreements with important legal consequences, it is tempting for business executives to delegate to lawyers the negotiation of the 'non-economic terms' of their companies' technology license agreements. The problem with such an approach, however, is that at their core, issues of license structure, scope and risk require business judgments, and not merely legal ones. Do we need exclusive rights, and if so, to what, where and for how long? Will this prospective licensee bring our technology to market, and how do we mitigate the risk that it fails to do so? Can this licensor support our development efforts, and will it stand behind its IP in the event of a problem? Do we expose the guts of our technology to the world and try to protect it with patents, or do we keep it close and rely upon trade secrets? While counsel can offer advice on all these questions, they cannot know your business and competitive environment as you do, or be relied upon to optimize business trade-offs that must align not just with your company's present markets and strategies, but with those you expect it to pursue in the future. This course is organized around two hypothetical companies seeking to negotiate a technology license agreement. Divided into teams representing one or the other of these companies, students collaborate over multiple sessions to develop a strategic business approach and then to negotiate the critical terms of a licensing agreement. Lectures are focused on the business, and to a lesser extent, legal issues arising in complex licensing arrangements, and are designed to give students the context and perspective they need to participate effectively in licensing strategy development and negotiation. By immersing teams of business students in a multi-session licensing negotiation, it is the objective of this course to enable them to better understand and more effectively navigate the strategic business issues that arise in the conceptualization and negotiation of technology license agreements.
Last offered: Autumn 2022
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 334:
Family Business
Believe it or not, the "Silicon Valley model" is irrelevant to most businesses. Most companies are not started by MBAs; most startups are not funded by VCs; most employees don't work for tech firms; and most firms don't sell out to other businesses or go public. Rather, the vast majority of companies world-wide are started, funded, owned, and governed by families, and these firms create most of the employment in the global economy. Despite the prominence of family firms, most MBA courses focus on the widely-held or Silicon Valley model of the firm. This course explores the challenges and opportunities faced by family businesses. It is co-taught by Leo Linbeck III, Lecturer since 2005 at the GSB and President and CEO of Aquinas Companies, LLC, and Thomas Brenninkmeijer, a leader in his family business of Cofra Holdings AG. This course is an outlier in a world obsessed with tech startups and venture capital; it is a "Minority Report" from the heart of Silicon Valley. The course is intended for four main audiences: (1) Students whose family owns a business. (2) Students who are considering working for a family firm. (3) Students who are interested in acquiring or consulting with a private firm either directly (search funds, management consultants, etc) or indirectly (private equity, etc). (4) Students who are sick of only learning about cool, sexy startups and the geniuses who get rich from them. The course uses a combination of case studies, guest speakers, lectures, movies, projects, and reflections to explore the central ideas of the course, which are likely to appear irrelevant to everyone (save the instructors) but are intended to be informative and entertaining.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 336:
Energy Markets and Policy
This is a course on how energy and environmental markets work, and the regulatory mechanisms that have been and can be used to achieve desired policy goals. The course uses a electricity market game as a central teaching tool. In the game, students play the role of electricity generators and retailers in order to gain an understanding of how market rules(including environmental regulations and renewable energy mandates) affect the business strategy of market participants, and in turn economic and environmental outcomes. The goal of the course is to provide students with both theoretical and hands-on understanding of important energy and environmental market concepts that are critical to market functioning but not always widely appreciated. Concepts covered include: 1)regulated price-setting versus price-setting through market mechanisms, 2) BTU arbitrage in input energy choices, 3) uniform price vs. pay-as-bid auctions, 4) the ability and incentive to exercise unilateral market power, 5) unilateral versus coordinated exercise of market power, 6) transmission congestion, 7) forward contracts and their effect on market functioning, 8) dynamic pricing of electricity and active involvement of final demand, 9)the nature of energy reserves, 10) carbon pricing mechanisms including taxes and cap-and trade systems, 11) renewable portfolio standards and other renewable energy incentives,12) determination of levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and its impact on new capacity investment decisions, and 13) interactions between environmental mechanisms and regulations. We will also discuss the key features of the markets for major sources of energy such as oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, solar, wind, and biomass. The course is useful background for private sector roles in energy production, research, management, trading, investment, and government and regulatory affairs; government positions in policymaking and regulation; research and policy functions in academia, think tanks, or consultancies; and non-profit advocacy roles related to energy and the environment.
Last offered: Winter 2022
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 339:
Negotiation Dynamics in Sports, Entertainment and Media
Negotiation is a central part of business in the worlds of sports and entertainment. This course will examine negotiation dynamics and key takeaways for general management from multiple different settings where negotiations had an important role--these will include preparing for a negotiation, the negotiation process itself, contractual outcomes of negotiation and their execution and in some cases litigation. The settings will include negotiations over player and actor contracts, negotiations between leagues and players associations, negotiations between investors and movie companies, and negotiations between content providers (both in sports and entertainment) and distribution partners (such as cable stations, international media companies, and online companies such as Netflix). Each of the six sessions is planned to include at least one and in some cases two guests that have had extensive experience in negotiations.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 341:
Climate Change, Economics, Technology
This course covers (1) the causes and consequences of climate change, (2) the predicted economic impacts, policy modeling, and ethical concerns, and (3) the technological pathways that the world is likely to follow. The first part focuses on both basics and common misunderstandings. This includes the role of income growth, population growth, regional growth, efficiency growth, and poverty. The second part begins with integrated assessment models and reasons for disagreement among prominent models. (Students are expected to understand public goods dilemmas and free-riding.) It then proceeds to an obvious but often overlooked basic and essential fact: these models upon which all activist and government actions are based are unrealistic academic exercises. They are not even asking the right questions. Thus, United Nations treaties and carbon footprint initiatives are distractions rather than solutions. The third part discusses where clean and other technology is as of 2022 and what it will still take to reduce global warming. It also discusses why some prominently proposed technologies are hopeless, too; while other cheaper actions have remained unused (lost opportunities). Dissent and discussion, seminar-style, is encouraged. The grade will be based primarily on a midterm and take-home final, with some flexibility for students interested in doing more.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 345:
Disruptions in Education
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted higher education significantly, surfacing novel needs, while at the same putting decades long trends into sharper focus. This course explores the contemporary higher education industry, focusing especially on the places where disruptions of all kinds present significant opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs, investors, and the businesses that serve this huge global market, as well as for faculty, students, and higher education institutions and leaders, both incumbents and alternatives. Using a variety of readings and case studies to better understand recent disruptions and the unbundling occurring across the postsecondary landscape, from outside and inside the academy, both for-profit and non-profit, the course will examine technology in teaching and learning; the future of the degree and alternatives to the traditional credential; accreditation; competency based education; affordability, student debt, and education financing models; investing in the education space; workforce, skills development, and lifelong learning; and tertiary products and platforms that serve the student services market. Guests will include higher education leaders and practitioners, as well as investors, entrepreneurs, and social entrepreneurs. (Please note, the focus of this course is post-secondary education, skilling/lifelong learning, and learning in the workplace. It does not cover K-12 or early childhood education).
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 346:
Freedom, Democracy, and Capitalism
This is a civics course about the ideas that comprise a modern implementation of liberal democracy: freedom, democracy, capitalism, and a rules-based international order. Our principal focus will be on the post-WWII American implementation of these ideas. We will explore these ideas from the midpoint of theory and real-world implementation.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 347:
Education Policy in the United States
The course will provide students from different disciplines with an understanding of the broad educational policy context. The course will cover topics including a) school finance systems; b) an overview of policies defining and shaping the sectors and institutional forms of schooling, c) an overview of school governance, d) educational human-resource policy, e) school accountability policies at the federal and state levels; and f) school assignment policies and law, including intra- and inter-district choice policies, desegregation law and policy.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 348:
The Economics of Higher Education
(Same as EDUC 347) Topics: the worth of college and graduate degrees, and the utilization of highly educated graduates; faculty labor markets, careers, and workload; costs and pricing; discounting, merit aid, and access to higher education; sponsored research; academic medical centers; and technology and productivity. Emphasis is on theoretical frameworks, policy matters, and the concept of higher education as a public good. Stratification by gender, race, and social class.
Last offered: Autumn 2022
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 350:
International Internship
Last offered: Autumn 2022
| Units: 1-4
GSBGEN 352:
Winning Writing
This once-a-week full-quarter workshop will offer techniques and practical in-class exercises for writing better -- better memos, emails, cold-call letters, speeches, feedback for colleagues, news releases, responses to questions from the media and from interviewers, and opinion pieces. Glenn Kramon, an editor who has helped New York Times reporters win 10 Pulitzer Prizes, will teach the course along with accomplished journalists with expertise in powerful, persuasive writing for business. They will provide not only helpful tips but constructive feedback on students' work. They will also share thoughts on how best to work with the news media.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 356:
Dynamics of the Global Wine Industry
This course will examine the world of wine with a fresh and contemporary lens. It will explore the market dynamics of this fascinating global industry. The goal of the course is to provide insight into the branding, marketing, and distribution dynamics that shape what consumers can buy and consume with a focus on the strategies of some of the world's leading wine brands. Attention will also be paid to the legal, regulatory, and market dynamics that define the U.S. wine industry as well as to issues of contested authenticity in the world of wine.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 357:
U.S.-China: Strategic Competition and Cooperation
This is a course to help future business leaders understand the policy risks that result from the changing relationship between the United States and China.Driven in part by policy decisions over the past decade in Washington and Beijing, the world built by the West after World War II is changing. Most American policymakers now label the relationship between the U.S. and China as one of strategic competition. They are often less clear on whether this term applies to the governments, the peoples, the businesses based within each country, or the two nation-states. At the same time, these two superpowers also have shared interests. We seek to understand the changing relationships between the U.S. and China, and what both competition and possible cooperation between their governments mean for others. American business leaders may be caught between two governments with conflicting interests. Business leaders in other countries may be caught among three governments: America, China, and their home-country government. This is a course not about China per se, but instead about the interactions between these two superpowers' governments and policies.We will look at the U.S.-China relationship by unpacking and examining distinct elements, devoting 1 or 2 class sessions on each topic.Relying in part on guests with practical expertise in some element of the U.S.-China relationship, our goals are to understand:* The most significant changes in Chinese policy direction in the Xi era;* Changes among Western leaders' policy approaches as they have realized their 50-year-old policy toward China either was wrong or is now out-of-date;* What the strategic competition label might mean and how it could translate into specific policy changes in both countries;* What opportunities exist for cooperation and mutual benefit despite strategic competition;* How China might try to change the post-WWII international rules and organizations;* How leaders of global businesses, in the U.S., China, and other countries, are caught between these two governments;* What decoupling in certain industries might mean; and* Possible ways to think about these issues as the U.S.-China relationship evolves.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 360:
Sports Business Management
This course will examine the diverse management challenges facing the sports industry. The course will cover issues at the league level, the team level, the athlete/agent level, and the college level. The diverse constituencies with interests in sports issues (athletes, fans, media companies, advertisers, and legislators to name a few) will be discussed. Sports issues at a global level (the IOC) and both U.S. and outside U.S. will be covered. There will be coverage of evolving business ventures related to the sports industry (such as venture backed sports companies and sports networks). A key focus is on how the sports industry is similar to and different from other industries. Key concepts underlying the course are: value creation/value sharing; revenue ecosystem; virtuous circles and vicious circles; disruptive technologies; growth facilitators and growth inhibitors; leveragable assets/inherited liabilities; and entrepreneurship/new product innovations. Over 80% of the sessions typically will include a guest co-lecturer from the sporting industry.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 363:
Fiscal Policy
This is a class about American economic policy, with an emphasis on the U.S. federal budget: government spending, taxes, deficits, and debt. We will examine decisions faced by elected officials and their advisors in the real world. These decisions are made at the messy intersection of economic theory, numbers and accounting, other policy considerations, the Constitution & the law, politics and communications, and the real-world challenges of practical governance. This class is for beginners and assumes you have no prior knowledge of policy or politics.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 367:
Problem Solving for Social Change
Stanford graduates will play important roles in solving many of today's and tomorrow's major societal problems-in areas such as education, health, energy, and domestic and global poverty-that call for actions by nonprofit, business, and hybrid organizations as well as governments. This course teaches skills and bodies of knowledge relevant to these roles, covering topics such as designing, implementing, scaling, and evaluating social strategies; systems thinking; decision making under risk; psychological biases that adversely affect people's decisions; methods for influencing behavior; and pay-for-success programs. The large majority of the course will be devoted to students' working in teams to apply these concepts and tools to an actual problem, with teams choosing whatever problem interests them.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 368:
Managing Difficult Conversations
This elective 3- unit course is offered with Pass-Fail grading to MBA students who aspire to improve their ability to deal effectively with difficult professional and personal interpersonal situations. Class is held Tuesday, 3:10-6:10 PM. The course will be taught by William F. Meehan III, the Raccoon Partners Lecturer in Management and Senior Partner Emeritus, McKinsey and Company, and Charles G. Prober, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology & Immunology and Senior Associate Vice Provost for Health Education, Stanford School of Medicine. The course, which is case/vignette-based, involves frequent student-to-student and student-to-instructor role-playing in authentic business and medical interactions. GSBGEN 368 is cross-listed with Inde 238, which draws primarily medical students, and part of the learning environment of the course is the mix of perspectives and vignettes we role play and discuss. Topic-specific experts often will be present to participate as class guests. Relevant principles of professionalism, leadership, and psychology underlie the course pedagogy. Students will be expected to attend all classes unless excused in advance.nClass preparation will include reading of assigned cases/vignettes, analysis of the situations presented and recommendations as to how to confront specific difficult conversations; and reading of assigned background material. It is important that all students participate actively in classroom discussions. Class size will be limited to 45 students per the following: (1) a maximum of 30 MBA students and (2) a maximum of 15 medical or other non-GSB graduate students. GSB students enroll under GSBGEN 368. Please email Dr. Prober or Professor Meehan directly if you have any questions.n.
Last offered: Winter 2022
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 370:
Power of You: Women in Leadership
All leaders face a host of challenges, but women leaders encounter an additional set of obstacles and considerations-institutional, economic, cultural-that their men counterparts most likely never will. Women from underrepresented groups experience these challenges even more acutely. GG370 Power of You: Women in Leadership will prepare students to successfully identify and respond to these challenges, and, ideally, transform them into opportunities for growth and advancement. Students will come away from this course with a vast portfolio of strategies, tools and tactics to not only meet these workplace challenges head-on, but also create more inclusive processes, policies and cultures for the future. The course is based on the instructor's `accessible leadership' model that inspires and equips students to access the leader within themselves, empower others to access their own leadership potential, and create greater access through their giving. Through readings and guided, weekly written reflections, students will deeply explore issues including, but not limited to: the likeability paradox; sexism in the workplace; diversity, inclusivity, and belonging; intersectional identities; managing voice, narrative and reputation; negotiation through a gendered lens; leadership styles and adaptivity; mentorship and sponsorship; and creating social value. Students will engage directly with industry leaders such as Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook), Meg Whitman (Quibi), Dr. Priscilla Chan (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative), Mary Barra (General Motors), Judy Smith (Smith & Company) and Indra Nooyi (Pepsi Co.), among others.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 373:
Mission and Money in Education
Educational institutions are defined by their academic missions and their financial structures. When we refer to public/private or nonprofit/profit sectors, these are shorthand descriptions of the different capital structures that underlie educational organizations. Increasingly, these options - and novel variations on them - exist throughout the education enterprise: in K-12 schools, higher education, and ancillary service providers. In this course we will explore the relationships between academic goals and financial structures, with particular focus on management and decision making in educational organizations.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 377:
Diverse Leadership as an Imperative for Impact
Our society implicitly prizes a particular approach to leadership - but today's cross-sectoral, impact-oriented leader cannot afford to be restricted to a single approach. If we aspire to address challenges across social, economic, and political arenas, with highly charged moral implications and multiple stakeholders, we have an imperative to use all available tools by discovering, celebrating, and advancing diversity in leadership.In this course, we will: (1) study a range of effective leadership approaches; (2) develop broad, transportable skills and frameworks required to lead in any complex setting - business, public sector, nonprofit sector; (3) delve into leadership tradeoffs and tensions; (4) explore and understand our own values and tacit and explicit decision-making criteria; and (5) recognize barriers to diversity and tactics to address them. Guiding questions will include: How does the context shape the solution set? What does inspired and inspiring leadership look like? How do race/gender/other identities enter into the equation? How do I develop my own brand of leadership? We will examine contemporary leaders and controversies in education and elsewhere, draw upon timeless historical thinkers, enjoy the wisdom of guest speakers, and work intensively in small groups to highlight challenges, opportunities, and tradeoffs. By exploring a range of approaches and situations, we will strive for deeper understanding of ourselves and of the context to become a more capable, empathetic and effective leaders.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 381:
Individual Philanthropy: Giving Models, Purpose & Practicum
A philanthropist is anyone who gives anything- time, expertise, networks, credibility, dollars, experience- in any amount to create a better world. Philanthropy is resource, background, age, profession, and industry agnostic, and "Individual Philanthropy: Giving Models, Purpose & Practicum" will amplify your ability to make your giving, volunteering, service and leadership matter more. You have extraordinary potential to create social change, and this course will empower you with the perspective, experience and inspiration to actualize that potential both immediately and over your lifetime. You will be exposed to a diverse array of giving models and approaches, and be given structured space to weigh and appraise your individual philanthropic point of view and approach. Through deep introspection, you will define and/or refine your social change purpose and create a theory of change that maps how you will transform your values, beliefs and resources (including intellectual, human, network, experiential and financial capital) into measurable social value. Class activities will include debates and simulations such as discussing the benefits and challenges of diverse giving models, creating personal giving strategies, giving fundraising pitches and assessing actual foundation grant proposals. Each student will select and complete due diligence on a local nonprofit and create a formal grant proposal. Students will peer-review grant proposals, participate in a multi-stage grantmaking process and allocate $20,000 of grants funded by the Learning by Giving Foundation and Andreessen Philanthropies. Students will also have the unique opportunity to directly connect and engage with globally renowned philanthropic leaders, including Darren Walker (Ford Foundation), Laura Muñoz Arnold (Arnold Ventures), Justin Steele (Google.org), Crystal Hayling (Libra Foundation) and Holden Karnofsky (Open Philanthropy Project), among others.
Last offered: Autumn 2019
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 382:
Social Innovation Practicum: Designing New Interventions and Social Ventures
Social Innovation Practicum is an experiential learning course. Through the format of an interactive workshop, students will learn about the social sector by researching a problem or unmet need in society and then developing, testing, and refining a new idea or innovative approach that aims to address that problem. Our point of view will be that of the students as the designer of a new intervention and - presuming the intervention proves to be compelling and merits advancement - future founder(s) of a new social venture (nonprofit, for-profit or hybrid) or champion of a new intervention adopted by an existing social sector organization. We will explore in-depth the elements of successful interventions in the social sector that can achieve outsized impact. This will be achieved through lectures by the instructor on the topics at hand; discussion of illustrative case studies of many of today's award-winning impact models, and class-time in which students will be able to develop their ideas and benefit from guidance and feedback from the instructor, their classmates, and class guests. Students will work in teams as appropriate. Those students that have a pre-conceived idea for a new intervention will be encouraged to recruit others (from the GSB and/or from other disciplines across Stanford) to join their team. Any student who does not yet have an idea should contact the instructor to be paired with a team working on an area of interest to that student.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 383:
Practical Policy and Politics
This is a skills / toolbox class, designed for beginners. It is a practical course about policy-making in the U.S. federal government. It will cover three broad subject areas: (1) an assortment of current policy topics; (2) governing processes - how policy gets made in an environment constrained by politics and elections; and (3) practical skills business leaders may need in interacting with government and with policymakers. This class is for beginners and assumes you have no prior experience or knowledge of policy or politics.
Last offered: Autumn 2019
| Units: 4
GSBGEN 386:
Public Policy for Climate Innovation
This course considers the form and content that climate innovation policies should take as well as implementation strategies to help climate tech companies cross the proverbial ¿valley of death¿. The course begins with an evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of different regulatory approaches to environmental innovation, such as technology forcing standards, command and control oversight, subsidies, carbon taxes and choice architecture ¿nudges¿. Subsequently, specific examples of global and national regulatory dynamics that affect technology development are discussed in areas such as renewable energy, energy storage, solid waste reduction, food production, cement and steel production, hydrogen, autonomous/ electric vehicles, shipping, and the fashion industry. Relevant experiences of different countries will be presented including Danish policies to encourage a local wind-turbine industry, German programs to expand solar energy and Israeli government initiatives to foster sustainable Watech and Food tech companies. Potential outcomes of the recently enacted the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act will then be considered. The final section of the course involves analysis of specific case studies assessing Climate Tech companies in different stages of their development. Students will research a range of clean tech companies¿ experience and consider the way policies affect their business plans, financing, research portfolios and ultimate success or failure. The course will be based on instructor¿s lectures, interactive, virtual presentations by climate tech managers, and presentation of group projects.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 390:
Individual Research
Need approval from sponsoring faculty member and GSB Registrar. There is a limit on the number of units in courses of independent study that may be applied toward degree requirements.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 10 units total)
Instructors: ;
Aaker, J. (PI);
Abbey, D. (PI);
Abrahams, M. (PI);
Admati, A. (PI);
Aka, A. (PI);
Akbarpour, M. (PI);
Allende Santa Cruz, C. (PI);
Alper, B. (PI);
Andrews, C. (PI);
Antoni, F. (PI);
Armstrong, C. (PI);
Athey, S. (PI);
Atwell, J. (PI);
Bannick, M. (PI);
Barnett, W. (PI);
Bartlett, R. (PI);
Bayati, M. (PI);
Begenau, J. (PI);
Belo-Osagie, H. (PI);
Bendor, J. (PI);
Benkard, L. (PI);
Berg, J. (PI);
Berk, J. (PI);
Beyer, A. (PI);
Bimpikis, K. (PI);
Blattner, L. (PI);
Brady, S. (PI);
Brenninkmeijer, T. (PI);
Brest, P. (PI);
Buchak, G. (PI);
Bulow, J. (PI);
Burgelman, R. (PI);
Callander, S. (PI);
Camara, M. (PI);
Carmel-Hurwitz, D. (PI);
Carroll, G. (PI);
Casey, K. (PI);
Chess, R. (PI);
Chin, L. (PI);
Choi, J. (PI);
Ciesinski, S. (PI);
Clement, J. (PI);
Coppola, A. (PI);
Corney, A. (PI);
Coulson, S. (PI);
Davis, S. (PI);
DeMarzo, P. (PI);
Demarest, D. (PI);
Di Tella, S. (PI);
Diamond, R. (PI);
Ding, Y. (PI);
Dobbs, C. (PI);
Dodson, D. (PI);
Donkor, K. (PI);
Duffie, D. (PI);
Dulski, J. (PI);
Eberhardt, J. (PI);
Ellis, J. (PI);
Epstein, J. (PI);
Feinberg, Y. (PI);
Flanagan, R. (PI);
Flynn, F. (PI);
Foarta, D. (PI);
Foroughi, J. (PI);
Foster, G. (PI);
Francis, P. (PI);
Frank, G. (PI);
Frankel, R. (PI);
Galen, D. (PI);
Garfinkel, J. (PI);
Gelfand, M. (PI);
Gipper, B. (PI);
Glickman, M. (PI);
Goldberg, A. (PI);
Goldsworthy, A. (PI);
Grenadier, S. (PI);
Grousbeck, H. (PI);
Gruenfeld, D. (PI);
Gur, Y. (PI);
Guttentag, B. (PI);
Halevy, N. (PI);
Hall, A. (PI);
Harmon, M. (PI);
Harstad, B. (PI);
Hartmann, W. (PI);
Hebert, B. (PI);
Hennessey, K. (PI);
Hu, Y. (PI);
Huang, S. (PI);
Iancu, D. (PI);
Imbens, G. (PI);
Immelt, J. (PI);
Jackson, S. (PI);
Jha, S. (PI);
Jones, C. (PI);
Jones, P. (PI);
Joss, R. (PI);
Karaduman, O. (PI);
Kasznik, R. (PI);
Keelan, H. (PI);
Kelly, P. (PI);
Kepler, J. (PI);
Kessler, D. (PI);
Kim, J. (PI);
Kim, Y. (PI);
Kluger, A. (PI);
Konrad, R. (PI);
Kosinski, M. (PI);
Kramon, G. (PI);
Krishnamurthy, A. (PI);
Krubert, C. (PI);
Kupor, S. (PI);
LaBlanc, G. (PI);
Lam, L. (PI);
Lattin, J. (PI);
Lee, G. (PI);
Lee, H. (PI);
Lei, L. (PI);
Lester, R. (PI);
Levav, J. (PI);
Levin, J. (PI);
Lisbonne, B. (PI);
Lowery, B. (PI);
Lustig, H. (PI);
Maggiori, M. (PI);
Mahowald, C. (PI);
Mak, K. (PI);
Malhotra, N. (PI);
Mandelbaum, F. (PI);
Marinovic, I. (PI);
Martin, A. (PI);
Martin, G. (PI);
McGonigal, K. (PI);
McLennan, S. (PI);
McNichols, M. (PI);
Melnikoff, D. (PI);
Mendelson, H. (PI);
Miller, D. (PI);
Miton, H. (PI);
Monin, B. (PI);
Most, H. (PI);
Munce, C. (PI);
Nair, H. (PI);
Nakache, P. (PI);
Narayanan, S. (PI);
Noh, S. (PI);
O'Reilly, C. (PI);
Osborne, G. (PI);
Ostrovsky, M. (PI);
Oyer, P. (PI);
Parker, G. (PI);
Patel, H. (PI);
Pfeffer, J. (PI);
Pfleiderer, P. (PI);
Piotroski, J. (PI);
Plambeck, E. (PI);
Rao, H. (PI);
Rauh, J. (PI);
Reichelstein, S. (PI);
Reiss, P. (PI);
Rice, C. (PI);
Risk, G. (PI);
Robles Garcia, C. (PI);
Rogers, M. (PI);
Saban, D. (PI);
Sahni, N. (PI);
Saloner, G. (PI);
Sannikov, Y. (PI);
Schifrin, D. (PI);
Schulman, K. (PI);
Seru, A. (PI);
Sharabi Levine, Y. (PI);
Shaw, K. (PI);
Shiv, B. (PI);
Shotts, K. (PI);
Siegel, R. (PI);
Siegelman, R. (PI);
Singer, S. (PI);
Singh, H. (PI);
Skrzypacz, A. (PI);
Smith, K. (PI);
Somaini, P. (PI);
Sorensen, J. (PI);
Soule, S. (PI);
Spiess, J. (PI);
Sterling, A. (PI);
Strebulaev, I. (PI);
Suarez Serrato, J. (PI);
Sugaya, T. (PI);
Tonetti, C. (PI);
Tormala, Z. (PI);
Urstein, R. (PI);
Vasserman, S. (PI);
Vig, V. (PI);
Voorsanger, M. (PI);
Wager, S. (PI);
Wallace, C. (PI);
Wang, Y. (PI);
Weaver, G. (PI);
Wein, L. (PI);
Weintraub, G. (PI);
Wheeler, S. (PI);
Williams Cosey, F. (PI);
Wilson, R. (PI);
Xu, C. (PI);
Xu, J. (PI);
Xu, K. (PI);
Yurukoglu, A. (PI);
Zenios, S. (PI);
Zhong, W. (PI);
Ziebelman, P. (PI);
Zwiebel, J. (PI);
deHaan, E. (PI);
Alvarez, G. (GP);
Bagalso, R. (GP);
Baxter, L. (GP);
Davis, S. (GP);
Dubon, M. (GP);
Flores, K. (GP);
Flores-Solano, J. (GP);
Garcia, C. (GP);
Kankolongo Ngoba, N. (GP);
Lion-Transler, C. (GP);
Long, M. (GP);
Lumagui, S. (GP);
Mattish, P. (GP);
Molina, M. (GP);
Oseguera, J. (GP);
Rodriguez, T. (GP);
Shaker, S. (GP);
Smeton, K. (GP);
Sonora, P. (GP);
Vera, K. (GP);
Yan, J. (GP);
Zweig, S. (GP)
GSBGEN 391:
Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Education Technology Seminar
The last few years we have created significant challenges and opportunities in education; there has never been a more pressing and urgent need in our history to foster entrepreneurship in education by leveraging new technologies. This course will help you develop the skills and strategies necessary to effectively create and evaluate educational services and education technology startups much like educators, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and venture capital investors do. Some questions we will discuss include: How do entrepreneurs, educators, and VCs evaluate and grow successful education and edtech startups? Why do most startups in edtech fail, and what are the key ingredients for success, especially in today's challenging times? What does it take to get venture capital financing in edtech? Each week will feature a different edtech entrepreneur as a guest speaker; these leaders hail from a variety of innovative for-profit and non-profit education technology startups. As we hear from the speakers, we'll evaluate all aspects of their invention, particularly in the context of emerging distance learning and hybrid learning trends. A fundamental question we'll explore in this course is how educators and technologists can better collaborate to leverage the scale and impact of technology to improve educational equity and access. This course will be taught in person; attendance at each session is required. Juniors, Seniors and graduate students of all Stanford schools are welcome. Syllabus can be viewed here: https://monsalve.people.stanford.edu/courses-and-seminars
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 392:
Financial Management for Entrepreneurs
The course provides future CEOs, CFOs, and investors with the necessary tools for successfully managing financial aspects and investing in entrepreneurial ventures. We cover topics related to both fundraising and ongoing capital management in startups, ranging from early to late stages. We analyze the incentives of all parties in major financial transactions of startups and growing organizations: founders, employees, angels, VCs, corporate investors, and public markets. In addition, we will look at issues of financial management such as KPIs, dashboards, financial reporting, and forecasting.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 394:
Leadership for Society: Big Arguments, Courageous Leadership
More and more, CEOs and other business leaders are asked to engage in dialogue on large-scale issues of societal importance. This class is designed to help students build the ability to foster open and productive conversation on these issues, particularly in contentious discussions amongst those who disagree. Throughout this course, students will learn and practice creating space for multiple competing viewpoints and generating productive conversations. Students will then put these new skills to work by hosting debriefs of the Leadership for Society webinar series GSBGEN 495. This Fall, the series will address the theme Reimagining Work Post-COVID. Students enrolled in GSBGEN394 will participate in class sessions on Mondays and Thursdays from 1:30-2:50 and, as a practicum, manage 45-minute debriefs of the GSBGEN 495 webinar series each week. Students will be able to note their preferred time for the practicum, which will be offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays from 12:15-1:00 or 6:15-7:00.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 490:
Leadership for Society: Reflections on History in the Making
Reflections on History in the Making (GSBGEN 490) provides students the opportunity to reflect on, and create an account of their experience of the historic transformations societies around the world are undergoing in the wake of the COVID pandemic, related economic recession, and growing civil unrest. The world hit pause and gave us a unique opportunity to think deeply about how we, as a society, might resume life. This course provides the space for students to process their personal experience, to reflect on their place and role in society, and to envision what the world could look like when we emerge from these crises. The class will share the unique perspective of the Stanford GSB community through the creation of a class blog.
Last offered: Summer 2020
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
GSBGEN 494:
Leadership for Society: Creating Daring Dialogues
What does it take to engage with people on issues of societal importance? How can you, as leader, spark this engagement? In this course, Leadership for Society Scholars will learn the skills necessary to create an environment that supports honest and productive dialogue on sometimes contentious societal issues. Scholars will put these understandings into practice by leading weekly peer dialogues on the theme Tensions: Business, Civic Society and Politics, explored during GSBGEN 495. GSBGEN 494 enrollment is limited to Leadership for Society Scholars and Scholars are prohibited from enrolling in GSBGEN 495.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 495:
Leadership for Society: Daring Dialogues
The Leadership for Society program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business will continue their speakers series in January 2024 with the theme Tensions: Business, Civic Society and Politics. Maintaining a functioning society is a delicate balance of people, planet, and profit. Balancing short term return on investments with long-term goals of sustainability, equity, and social stability creates both significant opportunities and major challenges around the globe. In winter of 2024, Leadership for Society Conversations will explore this topic further through a series of discussions with leaders from a variety of sectors. Students will then delve further into these topics by engaging in peer dialogues led by the Leadership for Society Scholars.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 6 units total)
GSBGEN 496:
Leadership for Society: Leading in Challenging Times
This course asks you to consider how you will react to challenges that all future leaders are likely to face. Where are you likely to thrive? What will you find most testing? When the pressure is on, how will you balance competing priorities? The lessons you learn in answering these questions are designed to help prepare for and understand how you will behave in future leadership positions. To maximize your learning we will examine case studies, host leaders for Q&As and hold a weekend-long simulation that all students are required to attend. Enrollment is limited to MBA1 and MBA2 students.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 498:
Faculty Lecture & Discussion Series
This class features GSB instructors discussing their research and its applications to the business world. Each session will present one speaker. To earn the 1 unit credit, students must commit to attend at least 6 out of the 8 talks. This is done on the honor system. If you enroll, you enter your attendance in Canvas. You can "attend" by watching the video of the lecture within two days. Attending synchronously is preferred and allows you to submit questions. The class will be graded pass/fail.
Last offered: Summer 2020
| Units: 1
GSBGEN 499:
The Last Lecture Series
This class is an opportunity to hear a Last Lecture from esteemed GSB instructors. Each session will present one speaker. To earn the 1 unit credit, students must commit to attend at least 7 out of the 9 talks. This is done on the honor system. If you enroll, you enter your attendance in Canvas. You can "attend" by watching the video of the lecture within two days. Attending synchronously is preferred and allows you to submit questions. The class will be graded PASS/FAIL.nnThe class meets Wednesdays from 6:30 PM-7:50 PM.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 1
GSBGEN 503:
The Business of Healthcare
Healthcare spending is now nearly 18% of the entire GDP of the U.S. economy. The S&P healthcare sector has been one of the best producing segments of the market for the last decade, and growth of healthcare expenditures continue to escalate at a rapid pace. Given the experiences of COVID, every single company must now at least understand how healthcare affects their business. This has triggered an abundance of opportunities for those interested in a career in healthcare management, investing, or entrepreneurialism. The Business of Healthcare-2022-23 will present the current market framework from the eyes of a clinician and with the perspective of the consumer-patient, but with the experience of a successful business builder and investor. Course will begin with the discussion of the channels of distribution of healthcare delivery, from providers, to practitioners, to consumer-facing 'healthcare lite' sectors of the market. Impact of the regulatory environment, with specific focus on the Affordable Care Act and the impending plans to Repeal/Replace, will be evaluated. High-level exploration of international health care markets and how they compare to the American market will be included. Overview of venture and private equity investing will be deeply probed, with many specific market examples of how investors develop an investment thesis, identify specific targets, diligence companies, and close an investment. Discussion around building financial modeling for target acquisitions will be presented, and the course will delve into the burgeoning area of healthcare analytics and outcomes management, including Artificial Intelligence, and its future impact on positioning, reimbursement and clinical outcomes, as well as value-based care. Sectors that will be discussed include: Healthcare services, Healthcare IT, Life Sciences, Pharma and Biotechnology, and Managed Care. The topic of the emerging importance of consumerism will be probed and consumer-directed healthcare related products and services will be explored, e.g. nutraceuticals, wellness, fitness, etc. Course will include preparatory readings, presentations from successful and powerful industry leaders, and robust in-class discussion and case studies requiring student engagement. Final grade will consist of class participation, one minor in-class presentation, and a final paper developing either a new healthcare business start-up proposition or presenting an identified investment target in the healthcare industry. Course will be especially valuable for those interested in a career in starting a healthcare company, healthcare investing, healthcare administration, or other healthcare-related management and goal of class will be provide an in-depth overview of how to get started or advance a professional interest in the industry.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 505:
Impact: Investing for Good
Investing for Good will introduce students to the entire spectrum of purposeful, values-driven, and impact investing. We examine the field from the perspective of an institutional investor (i.e. fund manager, investment advisor, endowment manager, head of a family office, etc). Our goal is to have students emerge with a practical and analytical framework for: 1. evaluating impact and mission-aligned investments across multiple asset classes and sectors; 2. constructing a portfolio using impact as a lens; 3. designing an impact investment company; and 4. understanding the many practical and theoretical challenges confronting this exciting emerging field.We start by exploring some fundamental questions: what is a purposeful or impact investment; can impact investments be defined along a spectrum between conventional investing and philanthropy; whose money is it; what are the constraints and opportunities; how do we (re)define return and/or performance. We briefly analyze impact investing in the context of modern portfolio theory. We then develop a framework for portfolio construction and evaluation across four criteria: risk, return, liquidity, and impact. Through a combination of class dialogues, role plays, and case discussions, we will explore a wide variety of asset classes, impact themes, and investment challenges. A series of team-based investment committee simulations will comprise a significant portion of the course and will provide a significant experiential learning experience.Previous experience in finance, investing, social enterprise, entrepreneurship, or philanthropy is not required, but both helpful and welcomed. While first year students are encouraged to enroll, students who have limited familiarity with the basics of investing and corporate finance are strongly encouraged to purchase David Swensen's "Pioneering Portfolio Management" and cover the recommended chapters in advance of the course. It's is also important to note that this class will require financial modeling and detailed investment analysis.Many of the issues we'll be tackling have no unambiguous answers. Lively discussion and debate will be necessary and expected. This course is a 2-unit version of GSBGEN 305.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 508:
Strategic Pivoting for your Next Chapter
Many students come to the GSB with the intent to pivot upon leaving the institution. Some students feel they have outgrown their position or business, or they feel drawn to a new area that better suits their values and interests, where they can make a greater contribution. Some students have no idea what they want to do after graduating, they just know they want to make a purposeful change. And finally, some students want to strategically change their direction for reputation reasons. The average U.S. employee tenure is only 4-5 years and job roles often change dramatically within that timeframe. Pivoting is an intentional, methodical process for nimbly navigating career changes. A recent Gallup study revealed that almost 90% of workers are either 'not engaged' or 'actively disengaged; from their jobs. A pivot is a change made of your own volition when you have reached a point in your career when you are ready for increased challenge and impact. Strategic Pivoting is a course specifically developed for any student who already plans to pivot in their career and wants to figure out how to successfully build and create their next chapter. In this course we will discuss four stages for how to best pivot: 1) Planting, how to assess and set a strong foundation of values, strengths and interests. 2) Scanning, researching new and related skills, talking to others, and mapping potential opportunities. 3) Piloting, students conduct small, low-risk experiments to test their new direction, as well as gather real-time data and feedback. And 4) Launching, pulling the trigger, fully committed, to your carefully plotted pivot. The ultimate pay-off to Strategic Pivoting is acknowledging and adapting to a rapidly changing society when it comes to career paths. Because our careers are so fundamentally tied to our livelihood and sense of confidence, purpose and meaning, changes can be traumatic without a road map for traversing them. "Navigating this accelerated pace of change and this transitional career state, and learning to embrace it instead of resisting it, can become an edge and advantage." Alex Rodriguez, Major League Baseball icon, ABC/Fox Sports/ESPN commentator, entrepreneur, and CEO of A-Rod Corp will be a featured Guest Speaker in this course. Alex has also had a history of successfully pivoting his career and defying expectations. He is presently getting ready to host his own ESPN interview show called, "Pivot."
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 511:
Making Social Ventures Happen by Attracting Financial and Human Capital
Social ventures require leadership, funding, expertise, skills and networks to get off the ground, grow and scale. This course will focus on the key strategies for building and leveraging a network of champions to capitalize a social venture at early-stage, and for sustaining and growing that network as the venture grows. This class is applicable to intrapreneurs, changemakers within major institutions, (private or public), board members, impact investors, those who aspire to be senior leaders within social ventures and social entrepreneurs (founders). Co-led by a practicing venture philanthropist and a social entrepreneur, this interactive, pragmatic course will: - Discuss the critical financial and human capital needs of organizations and companies at different life stages. - Explore the concept of champions and the different types of champions including board chairs, co-founders, mentors, faculty advisors, donors, investors, community evangelists, and fellow entrepreneurs. - Learn about effective networks and how to build them, including the role of communications, relationship-building, and crisis management. - Explore the concept of a powerful vulnerability and the art of "influence without authority" in attracting financial and human capital to the mission and making social ventures happen. Special emphasis will be given to developing co-founders and founding teams, boards and funders/investors as champions. - Develop a roadmap for the ways you will support social ventures throughout your career. - Meet social entrepreneurs and their champions who promote them within various power structures (major corporations, government, the institutional funding community) to learn about the successes and failures of their partnerships. Guest speakers will be posted prior to start of class. - Invite you to join instructors, guest speakers and fellow students for casual dinner on both Wednesdays after class.- Get to know your fellow classmates who share a passion for addressing the world's intractable problems and for creating systemic change.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 514:
Creating and Scaling High Potential Ventures in Developing Economies (Cases)
GSBGEN 514 - Creating High Potential Ventures in Developing Economies (2 Units) This course addresses the distinctive challenges and opportunities of launching and growing high-potential new ventures in developing economies. Developing economies are attractive targets for entrepreneurs because many are just starting to move up the growth curve, and they offer low-cost operating environments that can be great development labs for potentially disruptive innovations. They increase in attractiveness when their political institutions stabilize and they become more market-friendly. At the same time, developing economies pose serious challenges. Pioneering entrepreneurs take on significant risks to gain early mover advantages. Specifically, entrepreneurs will not be able to count on the same kind of supportive operating environments that we take for granted in the developed world. They often face cumbersome permit and licensing processes, poorly developed financial and labor markets, problematic import and export procedures, unreliable local supply chains, weak infrastructure, corruption, currency risks, limited investment capital, lack of financial exits and more. This course is designed to help would-be entrepreneurs - both founders and members of entrepreneurial teams - better understand and prepare for these issues as they pursue the opportunities and address the challenges to start, grow, and harvest their ventures in these environments. GSBGEN 514 is a seminar/discussion format in which students will read about and discuss the key challenges described above and potential solutions. Guests will describe their own startup and investing experiences in developing economies and answer questions. A framework based on the World Economic Forum (WEF) report on "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Around the Globe and Company Growth Dynamics" will be used to structure the course. Each student will prepare a short write-up as a final assignment on a case chosen from a selection provided by the instructors. Note: Groups of students who want to work as a team to investigate a specific new venture idea in addition to participating in the seminar/discussion sessions should also consider enrolling in GSB534, offered in Spring term.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 515:
Essentials of Strategic Communication
Successful leaders understand the power of authentic, memorable communication. This course uses the lens of oral communication and presentations, to introduce the essential elements of the strategic communication strategies that make authentic, memorable communication work. Focusing on oral communication and presentation, we introduce the essentials of communication strategy and persuasion: audience analysis, message construction, communicator credibility, and delivery. Deliverables include written documents, focusing on individual and team presentations, with students receiving continuous feedback to improve their communication effectiveness, and to sharpen their authentic leadership voice. This highly interactive, practical course, is focused on feedback to help students at all levels of communication mastery develop confidence in their speaking and writing. Course includes presentations, assignments, lectures, discussions, simulated activities, in-class feedback, and filmed feedback. In this course you will learn to:-Recognize strategically effective communication-Implement the principles of strategic communication across different platforms-Develop clearly organized and effective presentations and documents-Diagnose and expand, your personal authentic communication style.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 519:
Contemporary Issues in Strategic Philanthropy and Impact Investing
We will examine selected issues that today's high net worth philanthropists are grappling with. After a brief introduction to strategic, or outcome-oriented philanthropy, we will consider issues including: tensions between philanthropy and democracy; alternative ways of serving marginalized communities; policy advocacy; dealing with uncertainty and long time horizons in philanthropy, including how they are handled in the Effective Altruism movement; whether foundations and donor advised funds should exist in perpetuity or should be required to spend down; the role of intermediary organizations that either advise donors on where to give or regrant their funds in sectors such as climate and poverty; trust-based and participatory philanthropy; the lessons that can and shouldn't be learned from the for-profit business sector in the practice of effective philanthropy; impact and ESG investing. Students will be graded pass/fail, based on contributions to class discussion and the submission of three papers commenting on the assigned readings.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 520:
Designing Solutions by Leveraging the Frinky Science of the Human Mind
The thrust of this course is on leveraging deep insights into brain-body systems for peak performance in highly demanding environments. These insights will enable you to perform at your peak day in and day out by unraveling the workings of the human brain, leveraging frameworks that essentially capture the way brain-body systems shape our decisions, experiences and behaviors. Featuring mini-case studies and in-class exercises to illustrate the various topics, the course culminates in an individual assignment that will give you an opportunity to design a life filled with passion and focus, navigating potential physiological and psychological curveballs along the way.
Last offered: Autumn 2022
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 527:
Global eCommerce
Global eCommerce represents a vast market, driven by advances in internet and smartphone penetration, improving supply chains, lower online prices and variety and a growing, aspirational middle class with increasing demand for branded goods. This class will deep dive into the eCommerce industry to understand its competitive dynamics, success factors, business models and strategic dimensions. The class will have a global perspective, focusing on various aspects of eCommerce in the US as well as Asia, including China and India in particular. More broadly, the class will use the industry as a microcosm for how to build and succeed in modern data and technology driven markets. This is important because success in eCommerce requires bringing together in a meaningful way several disparate aspects including efficient supply chains, well functioning product marketplaces, frictionless payment systems, meaningful content, hardware and devices, as well as facilitating advanced search, advertising and marketing technology. Additional factors such as managing vendor and supplier relationships, fraud, user reviews and private labels make the industry complex and provide learnings for several other verticals. For instruction, we will use a mix of cases and lectures, and leverage significant participation from several eCommerce industry leaders.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 531:
Global Trip Leadership Skills
This course is open only to leaders of GSB Global Study Trips. It is experiential and designed to highlight and support opportunities for developing leadership skills through trip design and execution. Lectures will include best practices from past trips that can inform and speed trip design. Role plays, cases, and exercises will be used to demonstrate and try out skills needed to successfully lead a group of peers as they develop into a learning community that explores an academic topic in locations around the world. Topics covered in the class include creating a high performing team, setting and managing expectations among various stakeholders, creating trip culture, holding peers accountable, managing crises on the ground, and more. In addition to the weekly class, meetings with teammates and coaches and advisors are considered a part of the course time commitment.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 532:
Clean Energy Opportunities: Business Models and Innovations
This course examines business models and opportunities related to an emerging industry that is now commonly referred to as 'Climate Tech'. We examine emerging trends for this sector in the context of technological change, business opportunities and the parameters set by public policy. Specific topics to be examined include: Climate Change and Carbon Emissions; Corporate Carbon Reduction Pledges; Advances in Renewable Energy; Financing Climate Tech Ventures and Infrastructure; Energy Storage; Electric Vehicle Transportation; Industrial Decarbonization; The Circular Carbon Economy
Last offered: Winter 2022
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 534:
Creating a New Venture in a Developing Economy
This course addresses the distinctive challenges and opportunities of launching high-potential new ventures in developing economies. Developing economies are attractive targets for entrepreneurs because many are just starting to move up the growth curve, and they offer low-cost operating environments that can be great development labs for potentially disruptive innovations. They increase in attractiveness when their political institutions stabilize and they become more market-friendly. At the same time, developing economies pose serious challenges. Pioneering entrepreneurs take on significant risks to gain early mover advantages. Specifically, entrepreneurs will not be able to count on the same kind of supportive operating environments that we take for granted in the developed world. They often face cumbersome permit and licensing processes, poorly developed financial and labor markets, problematic import and export procedures, unreliable local supply chains, weak infrastructure, corruption, currency risks, limited investment capital, lack of financial exits and more. This course is designed to help would-be entrepreneurs - both founders and members of entrepreneurial teams - better understand and prepare for these issues as they pursue the opportunities and address the challenges to start, grow, and harvest their ventures in these environments. GSB534 uses a team-based project to learn about and develop solutions to the key challenges described above and potential solutions. A framework based on the recently published World Economic Forum (WEF) report on "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Around the Globe and Company Growth Dynamics" will be used to structure the course along with a few lectures and guests who describe their own startup and investing experiences in developing economies and answer questions. The team-based projects are based on students' ideas; classmates will form teams of their choosing to explore a specific country and investigate an idea's viability. Students must come in willing to be team players and do the work necessary to complete this exercise over the full quarter. Teams of AT LEAST 3 STUDENTS EACH will be formed before the start of class or on the first day of class at the latest so students can decide if they want to enroll. The team will describe, in a final presentation, the challenges and opportunities in their country using the WEF framework. The final presentation will also include the team's thoughts on the viability of their proposed venture and how it capitalizes on their country's assets and addresses its challenges. A detailed business plan is not required; however, specific recommendations and plans for next steps that would be carried out during a 3 to 6-month field and market research study in the country will be part of the final presentation. Students who would prefer to learn more about this subject in a lecture/case discussion format should also enroll in GSB514, offered in Winter term.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 535:
Global Trip Leadership Skills (B)
This course is open only to leaders of Global Study Trips. It is designed to support GST leaders as they design and deliver a new version of GSTs that accommodate current pandemic limitations on travel. The course will support leaders in emergent design as well as leadership team considerations over Autumn and Winter quarters. A seminar format will enable cross-fertilization of approaches among trips. Some combination of lectures, role plays, cases, and exercises will be used to demonstrate and practice skills needed.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 1
GSBGEN 537:
Sustainable Human Behavior
What is sustainability? It is not just about air travel, ocean health or reducing plastic waste. It is about rethinking our role as humans and leaders in this ever-changing world and developing a mindset that leads to positive habits and creates strong relationships to nurture our planet. In a world where success is frequently regarded as a stopping point rather than a stepping stone to future endeavors, this mindset is critical to leading a life of purpose and meaning. In this class we invite you to rethink: - a sustainable self, by moving away from focusing on the short-run win associated with attaining a goal to the longer-term benefits associated with continued improvement after the goal has been achieved thereby sustaining healthy habits. - sustainable connections, by helping people feel they are valued members of a winning team on an inspired mission.n- sustainable planet, in small ways that ripple out small communities and the planet; the hope is to create a culture of shared prosperity. The goal of the class is to facilitate dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collaboration among students and guests to create a sustainable toolkit to cultivate positive habits for our future based on a sense of shared prosperity. Lastly, we'll map out how to use time in ways that will help build sustainable lives (calm mind and healthy body), impactful teams and a beautiful planet, so each of our lives will have meaningful, lasting impact in the world.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 538:
Power in Finance
There is a growing sense that both capitalism and democracy are in crisis. Is the focus on financial metrics and markets to blame for the eroding trust in corporations and governments? How do power dynamics shape the financial system and determine economic and political outcomes? In this course we explore the complex interactions among individuals, corporations and governments that help answer these questions. Topics include corporate governance, financial regulation, investor power, financial innovation, and the roles of auditors, regulators, whistleblowers, courts, and the media. The course draws on multiple fields in the social sciences but we will pay particular attention to issues around incentives, legal rights and responsibilities, and governance of all institutions. Visitors with extensive experience will enrich class discussions.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 542:
Engineering a Remarkable Life
The skills and attitudes learned as a graduate business student can (with a bit of coaching) be applied to managing one's life. This course will help students think through the 'brand' they want to have, how to modify a personal 'operating system,' how to set achievable goals, and how to: 1) Summarize one's non financial assets/liabilities, 2) Manage a professional career (or careers), 3) Extend themselves into service, political or educational opportunities, 4) Deal with difficult bosses, unresponsive people, job transitions, 5) Turn around an enterprise, 6) Build durable relationships (professional and personal), 7) Overcome challenges (personal and professional), 8) Manage litigation, conflicts, reversals, 9) Negotiate win-win outcomes, 10) Set MAD goals, establish habits, 11) Add value beyond business goods and services, 12) Help aging parents, siblings, 13) Plan for retirement (money, geography, location, activities), 14) Set up traditions, travel, continuing education, etc. 15) Deal with wealth, gifts to children/others/charity, 16) Manage a non-profit (and any number of other challenges our grads face). The course will involve readings, faculty-led discussions, short papers, in-class exercises and role plays. In addition, GSB alums at various stages of life will return to campus to share their journeys and challenges. The final product will be a confidential 'Life Plan.' The course will be offered on a Pass-Fail basis.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 543:
Family Business
Believe it or not, the "Silicon Valley model" is irrelevant to most businesses. Most companies are not started by MBAs; most startups are not funded by VCs; most employees don't work for tech firms; and most firms don't sell out to other businesses or go public. Rather, the vast majority of companies world-wide are started, funded, owned, and governed by families, and these firms create most of the employment in the global economy. Despite the prominence of family firms, most MBA courses focus on the widely-held or Silicon Valley model of the firm. This course explores the challenges and opportunities faced by family businesses. It is co-taught by Leo Linbeck III, Lecturer since 2005 at the GSB and President and CEO of Aquinas Companies, LLC, and Thomas Brenninkmeijer, a leader in his family business of Cofra Holdings AG. This course is an outlier in a world obsessed with tech startups and venture capital; it is a "Minority Report" from the heart of Silicon Valley. The course is intended for four main audiences: (1) Students whose family owns a business. (2) Students who are considering working for a family firm. (3) Students who are interested in acquiring or consulting with a private firm either directly (search funds, management consultants, etc) or indirectly (private equity, etc). (4) Students who are sick of only learning about cool, sexy startups and the geniuses who get rich from them. The course uses a combination of case studies, guest speakers, lectures, movies, projects, and reflections to explore the central ideas of the course, which are likely to appear irrelevant to everyone (save the instructors) but are intended to be informative and entertaining. This is a compressed version of GSBGEN 334.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 544:
How Software Ate Finance
Software is eating the world, with radical consequences for financial services. This course will give you a foundation for understanding the future of financial services, and guide you in creating fintech businesses in the 2020s and beyond. The course has three objectives. First, we study the transformation of financial services through software, surveying payments, deposits and credit cards, securities and derivatives, capital markets, digital assets (including cryptocurrencies and blockchain mechanisms), financing and lending, wealth and asset management, and regulation and compliance. Second, we invite leading innovators to address how software has shaped their experiences; identify fundamental drivers; and forecast trends, challenges, and opportunities. Third, we present a roadmap for the evolution of the financial system, where traditional dichotomies -- trader / engineer, buy side / sell side, regulated / non-regulated, infrastructure provider / infrastructure user, data provider / data consumer -- give way to an ecosystem organized around producers and consumers of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), the rise of platforms and financial cloud providers, and the transformation of Wall Street economics into software economics. The lecturer is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, executive, investor, and risk manager. As a Stanford doctoral student, he worked on machine learning and probabilistic inference in the late 80s. Over the past 19 years, he has held multiple roles as a partner and senior leader of Goldman Sachs, including Chief Information Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and global co-head of the Firm's largest and most complex business, the Securities Division. He also founded and led Kiodex, an early software-as-a-service company for risk analytics. Kiodex became a part of SunGard (now FIS) in 2004.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 546:
Freedom, Democracy, and Capitalism
This is an American civics course for future business leaders, intended to briefly (re-)introduce students to a few of the ideas that form the foundation of the American implementation of "the Western model" of freedom, liberal democracy, capitalism, and a rules-based international order. As time permits, we will learn to apply and combine these concepts to examine current policy topics in the news.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 550:
Leadership Demystified
This seminar will explore the nature and role of leadership in organizations. We will examine such questions as (1) What is leadership? (2) Why is it important? (3) What is it that leaders actually do? (4) How do they do it? (5) How are leaders developed? (6) Why do leaders succeed or fail? (7) What about your potential for leadership and your strategy for developing it? Our primary objective in this seminar is to achieve a deeper understanding of the nature and role of leadership in organizations. Our approach will be to examine a small sample of the literature, together with the amazing story of Ernest Shackleton and his Endurance crew, and then to probe several key questions through lively class discussion. The discussion, informed by the readings and also by our collective experiences, will seek to develop some general principles and observations about leadership - particularly about how you might better develop yourself as a leader.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 551:
Innovation and Management in Health Care
The health care system accounts for almost 20% US GDP and is one of the fastest growing segments of the economy. This two unit class focuses on the interplay and tension between the main players in the health care field - providers of health care services (individual doctors, group practices, integrated health care systems), payors (insurances companies, employers, consumers, and government), patients, and innovator companies (biopharma, medical device, diagnostics, and health care IT). The course is designed for students with a broad diversity of backgrounds and interests who want to better understand the health care business and system. No prior experience in the health care or medical field is assumed or needed. The focus of the class will be primarily on the US health care system, but there will be limited discussion of non-US systems as well. The course is divided into four modules:¿ An overview of the US Health Care System and the interplay between payers, providers, innovators, and patients¿ Provider delivery models, health care information technology, and incentive structures- The relationship between quality, cost, and access- Integrated systems, value-based, and fee for service models- New IT technologies, including electronic data records- The role of information and incentives¿ Innovator business models and issues- Financing and managing new product development- Clinical trial management and gaining regulatory approval- Marketing, reimbursement, and sales strategies- Business models to drive innovation ¿ Health care system reform and comparisons of the structure of the US Health Care system to that of other countries. The class will be taught primarily from the perspective of a business person operating a company rather than that of a policy maker, academic, or investor. While there will be a few lectures to provide background and frameworks for course topics, most classes will involve a case discussion and prominent guest speakers from the health care industry. Speakers will include CEOs, senior executives, and partners from leading companies and venture firms.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 552:
Winning Writing
This twice-a-week, half-quarter workshop will offer techniques and practical in-class exercises for writing better -- better memos, emails, feedback for colleagues, news releases, responses to questions from the media and from interviewers, and opinion pieces. Glenn Kramon, an editor who has helped New York Times reporters win 10 Pulitzer Prizes, will teach the course along with accomplished journalists with expertise in powerful, persuasive writing for business. They will provide not only helpful tips but constructive feedback on students' work. They will also share thoughts on how best to work with the news media.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 553:
Corporate Dilemmas
The neoliberal orthodoxy that corporate managers' sole duty is to maximize shareholders' financial value (shareholder primacy) has never been entirely adhered to in practice and has been increasingly challenged in recent decades. While acknowledging the importance of shareholder value, commentators have argued that corporations should purposively benefit other stakeholders, including customers, employees, and the communities they affect (stakeholderism). At the same time, there has been an upswing of investments aligned with investors' social interests, including public equity investments in companies with high environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings and private equity 'impact investments' that typically incur greater risks than pure risk-adjusted market rate investments. This course will consider a variety of legal, ethical, and policy issues related to corporations' purposes and responsibilities, including: the meanings and measures of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG criteria; disclosure of a company's environmental and social harms or risks; when is it legally and ethically appropriate for corporate managers or institutional investors to compromise shareholder value in the pursuit of social, environmental and other non-pecuniary goals; constituency statutes and benefit corporations that reflect interests other than profit maximization; the power of investors to influence corporate behavior through affirmative investments, divestments and shareholder activism; the power of various stakeholder groups to influence corporate behavior; proposals for broadening the purpose of corporations; barriers to these various practices and proposals; and whether they can be accommodated within a neoliberal framework or require a new framework.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 559:
The Technology, Politics, and Finance for Solving Global Warming
There is increasing scientific consensus that global warming threatens our world. This course explores how the next generation of leaders can use a combination of forward-looking public policy, political power, and financing new technologies to solve this vexing challenge. The course will integrate public policy and politics with finance and real life cases on companies from Impossible Foods to Tesla. The instructor will bring entrepreneurs, regulatory leaders, elected officials and venture capitalists to class to explain how each of these leaders drive change and discuss what obstacles they must overcome in the process. There will be a heavy emphasis on class participation and students will be asked to apply what they've learned in every aspect of their GSB education, from finance and accounting to marketing and organizational behavior. Students will be asked to make their own case on which new technology, piece of legislation, or regulatory mandate will have the greatest impact on solving global warming and what role they see themselves playing in making change.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 561:
Impact Leadership: Building Business Models and Learning from those that Created Them
Learning from those that shaped the space of impact investing. Exploring the business models that scaled or broke in the effort to scale. The goal is to hone the skills of identifying companies that perform in the long term with an integration of social and environmental impact.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 564:
The Entertainment Industry - An Intersection of Art and Commerce
In this seminar we will explore the intersection of art and commerce in the entertainment industry. We will look at creating films and television programing that are artistically meaningful and/or have the potential for commercial success. The class will also look in depth at the rapidly changing business of entertainment. Films are increasingly used as a tool for social change, and we will examine this power. The entertainment industry is one of enormous importance - both from a business and cultural standpoint, and has influence on virtually every sphere of our society. Sometimes the industry can seem baffling, mercurial, and characterized more by madness than method. But despite its uncertainties, Hollywood does have its own rules, rhythms, methods and strategies - and examining and evaluating them will be a key part of this seminar. This is a time when many existing formulas are being reconsidered, retooled, or jettisoned, and new technologies and expanding markets are having a profound impact on the industry and tracking and analyzing this will be a key part of the course. I will also bring some of my professional experiences into the classroom (including directing, writing, and producing for film and television, etc.), and discuss these experiences through the intersection of the business and creative sides of the industry. We will discuss the entertainment industry's future, and address varied and effective paths for creating entertainment product with artistic and/or commercial merit. Students taking the course will be asked to be part of an in-class group exercise, and also complete a final group project where they will present their work in class.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 565:
Political Communication: How Leaders Become Leaders
This year -- 2023 -- will be a fascinating backdrop for national as well as state and local politics. Implications of the recent pandemic, its dramatic economic impacts and an uneven but recovering economy, Inflation fears, a war in Ukraine, and the looming presidential year elections in 2024 in the U.S. will continue to complicate the political landscape Politics, perhaps like no other arena, provides a rich and dramatic laboratory for studying the art and science of influential communication. Whether it is a local school bond election or a Congressional race, a Presidential debate or a State of the Union Address, the demanding communications of politics provide insights into our own strengths and gaps as communicators and leaders. Political campaigns, by their very nature, are highly visible, oriented toward very specific objectives, and increasingly leverage a variety of new media platforms. They are often emotionally charged, and rife with conflict and drama. The principles of political communications transcend politics, and are useful guides for leaders in business, the non-profit community, as well as government. How candidates, elected officials, and leaders in all kinds of organizations communicate vision, values, and experience, as well as how they perform in very fluid environments, not the least of which may be during a crisis, has a great deal to do with their career success. In its 15th year, this highly interactive course allows students to explore both theory and practice behind effective positioning and presentation. Students will analyze and evaluate both successful and unsuccessful communications strategies of political campaigns and candidates. History is a great learning tool, something emphasized throughout the class. As such students will explore historic examples of US Presidential debates, from Nixon/Kennedy to the present, as well other political events from the near and distant past. Popular culture, the effect of social media, disinformation will also be topics of discussion. Students will experience discussion of political events as they happen -- with each class drawing lessons from political developments around the nation and the world. Students will also hone their own strategic communications skills in activities requiring both written and spoken communication. This is not a course in political science, American government, or in public speaking. However, the engaged student will gain insights into those areas as well. The course is taught by David Demarest, former Vice President of Public Affairs for Stanford University. Demarest has broad communications experience across the public and private sector in financial services, education, and government. Typically, Prof. Demarest shares many of his experiences -- some successful, some less so -- through storytelling, and while those stories may be entertaining, they also provide real-life examples of communications challenges and strategies, After serving as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, and Assistant Secretary of Labor in the Reagan Administration, in 1988 he served as Communications Director for Vice President George H. W. Bush's successful presidential campaign. He then became a member of the White House senior staff as White House Communications Director. After leaving government in 1993, he spent the next decade leading communications for two Fortune 50 companies, before coming to Stanford in 2005 to head the university's public affairs efforts.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 566:
Dilemmas and Decisions
GSBGEN 566 is an elective course offered to 2nd-year MBA and MSx students. The goal of this course is to improve students' judgment in confronting challenging, real business situations encountered in the normal progression of corporate activities. The course aims to sharpen moral reasoning and build judgment without favoring a particular position. The course will be taught by Mark Leslie and Peter Levine, Lecturers. The course is taught using 'vignettes'. At the beginning of each class students will be given a one-page reading that describes a business situation which requires a decision to be made. After in-depth discussion, a second page will be handed out, describing how the situation actually unfolded and challenges the class with new information. This new information typically changes the dynamics of the case and requires a new decision to be made. Often there is a third and fourth page that continues the dialogue. Frequent student-to-student and student-to-instructor role-playing will be employed in the development of the session. Note that for most classes there is little or no advanced preparation required, which is often the case when making real-world business decisions. Cases are drawn from a wide selection of ACTUAL BUSINESS SITUATIONS with protagonists joining the class as guests whenever available. Vignettes are based on topics such as raising venture capital, managing major industrial customers, product distribution agreements, board of director and fiduciary conflicts, developing financial instruments, palace revolt / mutiny, work/life balance, rape accusation of an executive, etc. The class is extremely engaging - it is quite usual to find continuing discussion of the day's case outside the classroom among small groups of students. This class is for two GSB credits and will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Sixty percent of the final grade will be derived from classroom performance; the remainder will be based on a final written assignment describing a personal ethical situation that the student has faced in their careers.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 568:
Managing Difficult Conversations
This elective 2-unit course is designed for those who aspire to improve their ability to deal effectively with difficult professional and interpersonal conversations. The course is taught by William F. Meehan III, the Raccoon Partners Lecturer in Strategic Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business and Senior Partner Emeritus, McKinsey and Company. The course is case/vignette-based and classes usually include frequent role-playing in authentic business, entrepreneurial, professional (e.g, consulting, law, medicine, non-profits) and other difficult interactions as was as selected interpersonal situations. Outside guests with experience relevant to the vignette theme will often participate as our guests. All students are also asked to prepare their own vignette from their own actual professional or personal experience, which will be role-played during the course. Students will be expected to attend all classes unless excused in advance. Class preparation will include reading of assigned cases/vignettes; analysis of the cases/vignettes and recommendations as to how to confront specific difficult conversations (consistent with assigned study questions); and reading of assigned background material. All students are expected to participate actively in class role plays and discussions. Grading will be on a Pass/Fail basis. MBA's and MSx's are eligible to register.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 569:
The Open Road: Innovation in Cars, Driving, and Mobility
This course will look at ongoing and upcoming innovation in cars, driving, and mobility from three perspectives: (1) technology, (2) economics & business models, and (3) policy. We'll survey changes in powering vehicles (e.g. electrification and biofuels), in-vehicle connectivity and communications, and most especially changes in autonomy and self-driving vehicles. We'll examine at changes in the economics of cars, vehicles, and driving new business models, shared ownership, mobility as a service, as well as who some of the major players are in this nascent field and what they are doing/developing. And we'll explore the interactions of technology and economics with policy and broader societal changes direct effects like safety, legal liability, and who can drive; indirect effects on traffic, insurance, infrastructure needs, fuel taxes, and the environment; as well as longer-term and even bigger changes in daily life and where and how we live, work, and drive. The class is structured a bit like a large seminar. At the beginning of the quarter each student will, with the instructor, choose a topic to research. The student will interview experts on that topic and then write a memo. Most of our class sessions will be dedicated to discussing the memos written by you and your peers.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 570:
Power of You: Women in Leadership
All leaders face a host of challenges, but women leaders encounter an additional set of obstacles and considerations-institutional, social, economic, cultural-that their men counterparts most likely never will. Women from underrepresented groups experience these challenges even more acutely. GG570 Power of You: Women in Leadership will equip students with 200+ research-based strategies, tools and tactics to not only meet these workplace challenges head-on, but also create more inclusive processes, policies and cultures for the future. The course is based on the instructor's `accessible leadership' model that catalyzes students to access the leader within themselves, empower others to access their own leadership potential and create greater access through their giving. Through readings, discussions and guided, written reflections, students will deeply explore issues including, but not limited to: the likeability paradox; leadership styles and adaptivity; diversity, inclusivity, intersectionality and belonging; developing your voice and narrative; negotiation through a gendered lens; mentorship and sponsorship; family, relationships and career; resilience and self-compassion; and creating social value. Students will also write an "Accessible Leadership Action Plan," which will articulate how they will lead going forward. Students will engage directly with industry leaders such as Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook), Meg Whitman (former CEO of Quibi, HP, eBay), Dr. Priscilla Chan (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative), Mary Barra (General Motors), Judy Smith (Smith & Company) and Indra Nooyi (former CEO of Pepsi Co.), among others. This is a compressed version of Super Round course GSBGEN 370.
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 576:
The Africa Story
This course is designed to introduce GSB students to the peculiar challenges of doing business in a continent, Africa, that shows tremendous promise and at the same time exhibits apparently great perils. How is it to be understood and analyzed? What is its reality? What is its future? What could be its future? How is a successful path to be built by business leaders in the midst of so much ignorance and competing narratives? This course will provide nuance and insight to students that have so far had to be content with sweeping single narratives. It is aimed at both students who have had extensive experience on the continent and those who have had no experience. Some of the lessons learnt will be applicable to other emerging markets.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 580:
IMPACT: Philanthropic Institutions & Justice
This is a three week compressed course, and Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, will co-teach week three. Many of today's philanthropic institutions operate with unprecedented innovation and influence and lead in a way that rapidly adapts to society's ever-evolving needs, issues and crises. In this course we will look at the different types of philanthropic institutions (including foundations, LLCs and corporate philanthropy) that are driving this innovation and the diverse models that shape their operations and grantmaking. We will explore how to create philanthropic strategy, investment criteria, social change goals, short-, intermediate- and long-term indicators of success as well as how each of these factors merge to drive a unique grantmaking process. Students will drill down into the best practices of grantee-centric philanthropy as well as how to comprehensively assess nonprofits, evaluate grant proposals and make strategic funding recommendations. We will hear from globally renowned and new generation philanthropic leaders implementing the most innovative and impactful approaches across issue areas including climate change, movement building, policy change, voting rights, the arts and education, all through the lens of justice. Speakers will potentially include Laura Muñoz Arnold (Arnold Foundation), Crystal Hayling and Ashley Clark (Libra Foundation), Hal Harvey (Energy Innovation), Justin Steele (Google.org) and Jon Stryker (Arcus Foundation). Students will engage in skill-building assignments including informal assessments of local nonprofits and a formal, written assignment that entails analyzing actual grant proposals and presenting a hypothetical funding recommendation.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 581:
Philanthropy, Inclusivity and Leadership
A philanthropist is anyone who gives anything-time, expertise, networks, credibility, influence, dollars, experience-in any amount to create a better world. Regardless of one's age, background or profession, everyone has the potential to lead in a way that both tackles the complex social problems our interconnected world faces and creates greater inclusivity, access and impact. This demanding two-week, compressed course will provide passionate students with a brave space to develop and refine a plan for their own social change journey and amplify their potential to give, live and lead in a way that matters more. Using design thinking, students will challenge their preconceptions and wrestle with their social change approach, their privileged position as future Stanford graduates and philanthropy's role in society. Lectures and class discussions will inspire and prepare students to create social value with greater intentionality and humility. For the first class, students will submit a proposed social impact plan for their professional, philanthropic and civic lives. Over the course's six sessions, students will refine their plan, creating a formal theory of change that strategically utilizes their unique leadership platform and asset portfolio to advance opportunity and justice for a target population. Potential guest speakers include Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation; Justin Steele, Principal at Google.org; Crystal Hayling, Executive Director of the Libra Foundation; Rob Reich of Stanford PACS and Laura Muñoz Arnold, Co-Chair of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.
Last offered: Autumn 2020
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 585:
Project You: Building and Extending your Personal Brand
GSB Graduates will be entering and re-entering the workforce needing to know and understand how to build, broadcast, maintain and protect their personal brand. Project You will help each student realize: What is a personal brand and how can it be unleashed as a valuable, competitive advantage? Why do you need a personal brand? How do you differentiate yourself and create a brand identity and strategy? How do you use social and traditional media to enhance your brand effectively as well as measure the metrics of social media responses? And how do you know when to pivot and evolve your brand for sustainability? GSB Lecturer, Allison Kluger, a former Television Executive and Co-Lecturer, Tyra Banks, Supermodel/Entrepreneur/Television Executive/Business CEO, will lead this class. They will help students create their own specific image to support their brand, teach them how to navigate on-air exposure, and help them create a long-term strategy for how to promote their personal brand across several media platforms. Within a highly interactive learning environment, image transformations, live broadcasting of presentations at a television station, live streaming of portions of the class on Facebook Live, and YouTube recordings of presentations will all be part of the assignments and requirements. The class culminates with the students sharing their honed personal brand to the public via three viable platforms (Facebook Live, local television, YouTube) to jump-start their personal brand extension. A 1:30 video stating "Who you are, what your personal brand is, and what you want it to be" will be a mandatory requirement before Class #1.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 587:
Policy Practicum: Alabama Innovation
Client: Innovate Alabama, https://innovatealabama.org/. The newly established Alabama Innovation Commission, known as Innovate Alabama, has sought policy recommendations from a group of faculty at Stanford University, including representatives from Stanford Law School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The goal of the Alabama Innovation Commission is to identify and present to policymakers policies that will promote innovation, entrepreneurship, economic development, and high-skilled jobs in the state. In this policy lab, students will work on papers whose results will be incorporated with attribution into the recommendations provided to the Commission and the Governor. Where possible, projects will be conducted in partnership with students at the major research universities in Alabama. Available topics for projects include building on the state's existing competencies in medical research and space and defense technology; assessing financial incentives for attracting businesses; deploying broadband-based education; fostering the role of universities in economic development; and drawing high-skilled workers through opportunities for outdoor recreation. Students admitted to the lab will work on one of the following projects (to be determined according to the priorities of the client): 1.) Business Incentives and Prosperity. High profile competitions for the headquarters of large corporations often lead states to offer large incentive packages. States that land the deal are often perceived as the winners. Some recruitment initiatives indeed bring substantial local economic benefits, yet recent research has called into question many commonly-held beliefs about state incentives. Such incentives often may have costs that exceed benefits, and there is some question even as to whether they increase local economic activity at the margin in most cases. This project will evaluate Alabama's existing incentives for attracting businesses and make recommendations based on the successes and failures of recent incentive programs around the country. The project will weigh the potential for traditional recruitment tactics such as tax incentives and subsidized industrial sites against alternatives such as infrastructure development, skills development programs, and customized business services. (S. Haber and J. Rauh). 2.) Deploying Broadband-Based Education. The future of Alabama rests on the talent and knowledge of its citizens so the success of K-12 public education must be a potent driver of human capital development. The work of the Stanford-AL team will look at the current and potential for deploying broadband-based education throughout the state to augment the current capacities of K-12 educators to deliver high quality instruction, especially in the priority areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) which ties in closely to economic development plans for the state. (M. Raymond). 3.) Fostering the Role of Universities. It is widely recognized that universities are key to the development of innovative economic activity at the state and local level. The most productive local innovation economies in the US have emerged in locations such as Silicon Valley, North Carolina's Research Triangle, and the Boston area, powered by research that has emerged from local universities. Success stories of the impact of universities on the innovative ecosystem also abound in smaller markets in recent decades. This project will aim to make specific, concrete recommendations for state government policy to build on the strength of Alabama's universities to grow Alabama's technology and innovation economy. (R. Banks and J. Rauh). 4.) The Outdoor Recreation Lab. Persuading someone to move thousands of miles to a new home, a new community, and a new state is not an event; it is a process. It often starts with a short visit that plants a seed in a person's mind. Those crucial, initial, short visits often occur because of tourism; and when it comes to people who have invested in human capital that is specific to high technology industries, that tourism tends to be focused on outdoor recreation. Outdoor recreation tourism is not, however, simply a way to draw high-skilled workers into a state; it is also a way to share the economic rents generated by high tech industries with rural areas. It is the working hypothesis of the Outdoor Recreation Lab that Alabama's Cumberland Plateau has necessary environmental characteristics to be a draw for high tech workers and entrepreneurs/and thus be an important part of building and sustaining a more innovative Alabama economy--but that potential has not been fully developed. The purpose of the Outdoor Recreation Lab is to assess the hypothesis that the Cumberland Plateau is an underdeveloped resource for the State of Alabama. Specifically, the lab will assess its natural endowments as compared to its physical and business infrastructure. An important component of this assessment is the extent of public lands, the interpretation of "public trust" in Alabama law regarding access to navigable rivers and streams, and the number and identity of agencies that would have to be coordinated to provide access to those lands and waterways. It will also learn about the attempts--both successful and not--by other states to leverage natural endowments to generate in-migration by tech workers and entrepreneurs. (S. Haber). Additional sub-projects if students are interested may include deep dives into how Alabama can build on existing competencies in Medical Research and in Space/Defense technology to foster the further development of its economy and technology center. The lab seeks students from the law and business schools, the graduate MS&E program, and other graduate students with a background in entrepreneurship and/or local governance. Students who have ties to Alabama are especially invited to apply. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Performance, Class Participation, Written Assignments. Cross-listed with the Law School. GSB students should sign up under GSBGEN 587. SLS students should go through the SLS Registrar's application portal: https://registrar.law.stanford.edu/.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 591:
Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Education Technology Seminar
The last few years have created significant educational challenges and opportunities, especially given the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI); there has never been a more pressing and urgent need in our history to foster entrepreneurship in education by leveraging new technologies. This course will help you develop the skills and strategies necessary to effectively create and evaluate educational services and education technology startups, much like educators, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and venture capital investors do. Some questions we will discuss include: How do entrepreneurs, educators, and VCs evaluate and grow successful education and edtech startups? Why do most startups in edtech fail, and what are the critical ingredients for success, especially in today's challenging times? What does it take to get venture capital financing in edtech? Why now? Each week will feature a different entrepreneur as a guest speaker; these leaders hail from a variety of innovative for-profit and non-profit startups. As we hear from the speakers, we'll evaluate all aspects of their invention, particularly in the context of AI, distance learning and hybrid learning ecosystems. A fundamental question we'll explore in this course is how educators and technologists can better collaborate to leverage the scale and impact of technology to improve educational equity and access. This course will be taught in person; attendance at each session is required. The maximum capacity is 50 students. Juniors, Seniors and graduate students of all Stanford schools are welcome. Syllabus can be viewed here: https://monsalve.people.stanford.edu/courses-and-seminars
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 593:
Businesses and Governments: Power and Engagement in the 21st Century World
Complex interactions among governments, businesses, and other institutions such as media, non-governmental, and international organizations, shape our world and our lives. In this course we will explore the workings of these interactions and the challenges they present for societies around the globe. As specific examples, we will discuss the 21st century economic and political forces affecting internet governance, global supply chains, and the workings of different legal systems. We will see how the competence and integrity of people and institutions, their respect of human rights, and the structure and effectiveness of governance and accountability mechanisms in the private and the public sectors, are key determinants of the outcomes. At one extreme, people and institutions may be highly effective but lack concern for human rights. At the other extreme, compassionate individuals and institutions might be ineffective or incompetent. It is also a truism that power can corrupt and may be abused. In fact, standard success metrics in business and in government, combined with weak governance mechanisms, may encourage and enable such abuse. The course will challenge you to consider your own roles as business leaders and as citizens, and your opportunities to help create trustworthy institutions and markets.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 595:
High-Stakes Decision Making
Effective decision making is a critical skill for political and business leaders. Decisions must be made under pressure and often with incomplete information. George Osborne was Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the global economic crisis, and this class will study three of the biggest challenges global economic policy makers faced during this time. Students will gain a framework for how senior leaders approach decision making, and will be given the chance to put this into practice. Each class will include a simulation where students are put in the role of a senior policy maker facing a key decision.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
GSBGEN 596:
Designing AI to Cultivate Human Well-Being
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to drive us towards a better future for all of humanity, but it also comes with significant risks and challenges. At its best, AI can help humans mitigate climate change, diagnose and treat diseases more effectively, enhance learning, and improve access to capital throughout the world. But it also has the potential to exacerbate human biases, destroy trust in information flow, displace entire industries, and amplify inequality throughout the world. We have arrived at a pivotal moment in the development of the technology in which we must establish a foundation for how we will design AI to capture the positive potential and mitigate the negative risks. To do this, we must be intentional about human-centered design because, 'Only once we have thought hard about what sort of future we want, will we be able to begin steering a course toward a desirable future. If we don't know what we want, we're unlikely to get it.' Thus, building AI must be an inclusive, interactive, and introspective process guided by an affirmative vision of a beneficial AI-future. The goal of this interdisciplinary class is to bridge the gap between technological and societal objectives: How do we design AI to promote human well-being? The ultimate aim is to provide tools and frameworks to build a more harmonious human society based on cooperation toward a shared vision. Thus, students are trained in basic science to understand what brings about the conditions for human flourishing and will create meaningful AI technologies that aligns with the PACE framework:·has a clear and meaningful purpose ·augments human dignity and autonomy ·creates a feeling of inclusivity and collaboration· creates shared prosperity and a sense of forward movement (excellence)Toward this end, students work in interdisciplinary teams on a final project and propose a solution that tackles a significant societal challenge by leveraging technology and frameworks on human thriving.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 597:
Growth in the Developing Countries, Emerging Economies and the Global Economy
This course deals with growth, or slightly more broadly with growth patterns. It starts with developing country growth, a distinctive features of the post WWII global order. The economics, the policies and the political economy for growth and development will be addressed. We then turn to the so-called emerging economies and the middle to high income transitions that are underway in a wide range of countries. The course then shifts to more general characteristics and issues associated with growth patterns, including in developed economies: specifically distribution or inequality, major technological changes and transitions, especially the digital one currently underway, and finally sustainability, as a large fraction of the world's population converges on high income country patterns of production, consumption and energy use.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 598:
Stanford-Tsinghua Exchange Program (A)
This course is open only to students participating in the Stanford-Tsinghua Exchange Program and is required of those students. Requirements include researching and reporting on companies to be visited, planning the business meetings during the Beijing and Stanford weeks, and attending lectures and discussions at Stanford and Tsinghua. Offered Pass/No Pass only. 1 unit. Autumn quarter.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 1
GSBGEN 599:
Stanford-Tsinghua Exchange Program (B)
This course is open only to students participating in the Stanford-Tsinghua Exchange Program and is required of those students. Requirements include researching and reporting on companies to be visited, planning the business meetings during the Beijing and Stanford weeks, attending lectures and discussions at Stanford and Tsinghua, and completing the peer evaluations and reflection videos. Offered Pass/No Pass only. 1 units. Winter quarter.
Last offered: Winter 2022
| Units: 1
GSBGEN 622:
Presentation and Communication Skills for Academics
Academics must effectively communicate the importance of their research to a wide range of audiences, including colleagues, students, stakeholders, and the general public, as well as in a variety of contexts, from academic conferences and job talks to one-on-one conversations, news interviews, and social media. This highly interactive course is designed to equip PhD students with the skills to confidently present their research and connect with varied audiences. Students will craft an elevator pitch for academic settings, learn how to document and tell the 'story' of their research, develop both stage and screen presence for live and virtual talks, practice responding to Q&A and research critiques, and prepare for media interviews about their research. This class combines best practices from public speaking with elements from related fields, including the art of improv, the science of communication, and narrative journalism.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 623:
Altruism: Theories and Practice
Humans are remarkably generous. Americans, for instance, donate roughly 3% of GDP to charity and volunteer over 4% of hours worked. Yet, our generosity is replete with quirks. We are highly sensitive to whether a gift originates with us--and especially whether its seen originating with us--but care less about whether the gift was needed or impactful. Indeed, highly ineffective charities persist for decades even in the presence of far more effective alternatives engaged in identical activities. The same people who are quick to give when asked are even quicker to 'avoid the ask' or take advantage of a plausible excuse. And, we often care deeply not just whether someone did a good turn but their motive for doing it. We'll discuss the origins of human generosity and its accompanying quirks, and also develop practical takeaways in the form of guidance for the design of interventions to motivate more altruistic behaviors. The class draws upon a diversity of literatures and methods, including evolutionary dynamics, game theory, survey experiments, and field experiments. Expect weekly readings and to present about these readings in class, a handful of optional problem sets, and a final project in which you incorporate some of the course material into your research via e.g., a literature review, a novel experiment design, or a novel intervention.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 641:
Introduction to Structural Econometrics
This course introduces students to the role of theory-based structural econometric models in i) estimating determinants of behavior from revealed preference data, ii) evaluating counterfactual decisions or policies by firms, organizations and/or the government and iii) assessing identification when using descriptive or "model-free" approaches to inference. It begins with discrete choice models applied in consumer choice contexts, then extends those models to consider state-dependence, forward-looking dynamics and equilibrium peer effects. A focus throughout is the role of heterogeneity for both identification and firm decisions. The class also considers simulation-based estimation and empirical pricing or advertising models. The emphasis is on an intuitive understanding and coding and estimation of entry-level models of consumer behavior.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 646:
Behavioral Economics and the Psychology of Decision Making
This seminar examines research on the psychology of judgment and choice. Although the normative issue of how decisions should be made is relevant, the descriptive issue of how decisions are made is the main focus of the course. Topics of discussion include choice, judgment heuristics and biases, decision framing, prospect theory, mental accounting, context effects, task effects, regret, and other topics. The goal of the seminar is twofold: to foster a critical appreciation of existing knowledge in behavioral decision theory, to develop the students' skills in identifying and testing interesting research ideas, and to explore research opportunities for adding to that knowledge.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 675:
Microeconomic Theory
This course provides an introduction to microeconomic theory designed to meet the needs of students in the GSB non-Economics PhD programs. The course will cover the standard economic models of individual decision-making, models of consumer behavior and producer behavior under perfect competition, the Arrow-Debreu general equilibrium model, and some basic issues in welfare measurement. This class assumes a basic knowledge of undergraduate intermediate microeconomics, comfort with multivariable calculus and linear algebra and some exposure to real analysis.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 691:
PhD Directed Reading (ACCT 691, FINANCE 691, HRMGT 691, MGTECON 691, MKTG 691, OB 691, OIT 691, POLECON 691, STRAMGT 691)
This course is offered for students requiring specialized training in an area not covered by existing courses. To register, a student must obtain permission from the faculty member who is willing to supervise the reading.
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
GSBGEN 692:
PhD Dissertation Research (ACCT 692, FINANCE 692, HRMGT 692, MGTECON 692, MKTG 692, OB 692, OIT 692, POLECON 692, STRAMGT 692)
This course is elected as soon as a student is ready to begin research for the dissertation, usually shortly after admission to candidacy. To register, a student must obtain permission from the faculty member who is willing to supervise the research.
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
GSBGEN 693:
The Financial Economics of Climate and Sustainability
The purpose of the course is to (a) introduce graduate students to questions and methods in the rapidly evolving fields of climate/sustainable finance; (b) connect researchers from across the globe interested in this topic to stimulate more rigorous, relevant, and collaborative work. Addressing climate change demands changes in natural, social, and economic systems and will require greater collaboration. In that spirit, this course is being offered by a team of professors from different schools and universities across the globe. Each instructor will deliver one or more lectures and there will be students from a number of different schools. Our teaching group consists of current and former AFA and EFA presidents and some of the leading climate finance scholars, including Laura Starks (current AFA President), Patrick Bolton (former AFA President), Stefano Giglio, Marcin Kacperczyk (former EFA President), Caroline Flammer, Geoff Heal, Stefan Reichelstein, Ben Caldecott and Peter Tufano. Pre-requisites and finance context: The course will assume that participants have a background in core graduate-level finance. The course will cover topics from a variety of subfields in finance (asset pricing, financial intermediation, household finance, corporate finance). The introductory block of three classes is intended to orient students to the science of climate change as well as to refresh key concepts from economics and finance; the remaining classes will dive into detail on current research in different subfield. We will conclude with a discussion of open topics in this field. We expect that the course will be useful to doctoral students in finance, economics, and accounting. As a global class, we will largely be on Zoom. Beyond weekly preparation and participation, students will be expected to write a paper either laying out a potential research topic or synthesizing a set of related papers that were not discussed in class.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
GSBGEN 697:
Research Fellows Practicum
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-7
| Repeatable
10 times
(up to 99 units total)
Instructors: ;
Allende Santa Cruz, C. (PI);
Athey, S. (PI);
Diamond, R. (PI);
Ding, Y. (PI);
Hall, A. (PI);
Henry, P. (PI);
Kepler, J. (PI);
Leino, J. (PI);
Lester, R. (PI);
Maggiori, M. (PI);
McNichols, M. (PI);
Noh, S. (PI);
Seru, A. (PI);
Suarez Serrato, J. (PI);
Vasserman, S. (PI);
Wein, L. (PI);
Xu, C. (PI);
Coppola, A. (SI);
Kasznik, R. (SI);
Kim, J. (SI);
deHaan, E. (SI);
Dubon, M. (GP);
Flores, K. (GP);
Flores-Solano, J. (GP);
Garcia, C. (GP);
Henry, P. (GP);
Kankolongo Ngoba, N. (GP);
Leino, J. (GP);
Lion-Transler, C. (GP);
Long, M. (GP);
Lumagui, S. (GP);
Mattish, P. (GP);
Molina, M. (GP);
Rivera, S. (GP);
Smith, J. (GP);
Sonora, P. (GP);
Yan, J. (GP);
Zweig, S. (GP)
GSBGEN 802:
TGR Dissertation (ACCT 802, FINANCE 802, HRMGT 802, MGTECON 802, MKTG 802, OB 802, OIT 802, POLECON 802, STRAMGT 802)
| Units: 0
| Repeatable
for credit
GSBGID 307:
Lytics Seminar
Students will learn to design technology mediated learning environments for adult learners, conduct research in those environments, and learn from prior EdTech failures. Grounded in various theoretical frameworks that inform the design of learning environments, the course explores how people learn and the evidence of learning that can be collected and modeled in online environments in real world contexts. The course also examines specific case studies of failed EdTech ventures to identify patterns and causes of failure. Throughout the course we will consider ethical issues related to design and research in human learning. Overall, this course will provide students with a foundation in learning theory and the skills and knowledge needed to design, implement, and evaluate effective technology mediated learning environments.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGID 330:
Leading Environmental Sustainability by Design
This course is intended for Master's level students. It surveys our planet's greatest sustainability challenges, and some of the possible ways that humankind might overcome each through proactive leadership. The course material includes readings from multiple disciplines: from the natural sciences, the social sciences, and from business and policy studies. By the end of the course, you should have a basic understanding of the global biological, cultural, social, and economic processes involved in environmental sustainability. Our objective is for you to carry forward this understanding into your career, to enable you to make a difference for the future of our world.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGID 333:
Taxes and Business Strategy
Taxes affect a wide variety of business decisions, including the efficient formation of businesses, the creation of cash and equity compensation plans, operational planning across jurisdictions with competing tax regimes, M&A tax structure, and retirement planning (to name a few). This course first provides a conceptual framework for incorporating taxation into business decisions, linking concepts from accounting, corporate finance, business law, and economics. The course then provides real-world examples to illustrate both the business impact and the societal impact of specific tax policies, including the effects on business investment, job creation, and cross-border tax competition. The course provides a holistic view of how the business of taxes impacts companies, tax advisors, citizens, and the government.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGID 500:
Building Trustworthy Products in a Divided World
Advances in technology improve our lives but also present many challenges. Today, tech companies wield immense power to shape society, yet face enormous trust deficits. How can leaders design and build new technology products, make decisions, and develop and enforce product policies that society can trust? How can leaders effectively include outside stakeholders in these decisions, and are there cases where leaders can most effectively lead by giving up the power to make certain especially weighty decisions? In this class, we will host a variety of leaders from the tech space and beyond to discuss these questions and to explore how we can harness new developments in AI, AR/VR, social media, and web3 to maximize good outcomes, minimize harms, and rebuild trust between technology and society.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
GSBGID 501:
Climate Finance in Private Markets
Climate change poses one of the most salient emerging risks ¿ and opportunities ¿ to financial markets. This course discusses the fast-moving frontiers of climate finance. It will particularly focus on the role that private markets play in accelerating the growth of the companies facilitating the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. The course will consist of a mix of lectures introducing frameworks and relevant background information, case studies, and guest speakers. There will be two hands-on homework exercises where students evaluate real-world investment opportunities - one at the venture-capital stage and one at the private-equity stage. After taking this course, students will (a) be familiar with the unique challenges of financing climate tech at scale; (b) understand the key climate disclosure requirements, frameworks for financed emissions, and methods for ¿impact measurement¿; and (c) develop some practical experience with portfolio allocation for sustainability-focused investment funds. No prior finance knowledge is required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
GSBGID 502:
Assessing Leadership Potential
As a leader, some of the most critical decisions you will make will be about people. Whom should you hire? With whom should you partner or collaborate? In whom should you invest? Whether you are a manager, a founder, or an investor, developing your ability to evaluate and select exceptional talent will accelerate your impact. This course has been designed to teach leaders the practical skills of talent assessment, so you can deepen your knowledge of leadership behaviors, recognize leadership potential, and increase your confidence in selection choices. During interactive lectures, you will contemplate prominent leadership theories to understand the behaviors associated with high performance leadership, and you will debate the efficacy of selection data and methodologies. In highly experiential classes, you will learn how to design an effective selection process and how to conduct structured behavioral based interviews to evaluate leadership potential. Using 360 input from supervisors, peers, and subordinates, you also will deepen your understanding of your own leadership potential, identifying which leadership behaviors you can develop further to accelerate your impact. Through this process of self-reflection, you will deepen your understanding of assessment, sharpen your evaluation instincts, and learn to identify growth opportunities for yourself and others.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
GSBGID 575:
Entrepreneurship in Education: A Comparative Analysis of the US and Emerging Markets
This course provides an in-depth exploration of education entrepreneurship across diverse global landscapes. We adopt a comparative approach, spanning from the United States to emerging markets such as China, India, and Brazil. We will analyze the critical factors influencing the education industry across the various contexts, investigating key drivers like government policies, market dynamics, cultural nuances, and funding sources. This course will help students to better understand the unique characteristics, challenges, and opportunities inherent to each region. Through case studies, readings, and interactive discussions, students will also uncover the secrets behind entrepreneurial success in the education sector and gain insights into the essential skills and competencies entrepreneurs need. In this course, we will learn not only theoretically but also practically. Students will engage in the hands-on process of creating a business plan, and will be taught effective techniques to articulate and present the educational startup ideas compellingly. To further enrich our curriculum, we are privileged to host guest speakers that range from seasoned investors and thriving entrepreneurs to top-tier education executives. Their firsthand experiences and insights will deepen our discussions and elevate the overall learning experience. This course is tailored for those curious about the intersection of education and entrepreneurship on a global scale. It will serve as a foundational springboard for those looking to further their studies or embark on careers in the global education business.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
HISTORY 243F:
Letter Writing in 17th - and 18th - Century France: A Media Revolution (FRENCH 243)
This interdisciplinary course examines the evolution of letter-writing practices in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France through the lens of a media revolution, and highlights the historical roots of contemporary media issues. We will read primary sources such as epistolary manuals, letters by notable early modern letter writers (Sévigné, Voltaire, and Catherine the Great), and epistolary novels, as well as secondary scholarship from the fields of cultural history, literary studies, and media studies. Topics include, but are not limited to, innovations to the postal system, the rise of social norms of letter writing, image management, the Republic of Letters and the Enlightenment, social activism through letter writing, the birth of media celebrities, surveillance, and privacy. Readings and discussions in English.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3-5
HISTORY 302:
Technopolitics: Materiality, Power, Theory (ANTHRO 302A)
This graduate readings seminar provides a lively introduction to some of the major themes and issues in the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS). How do technologies and material assemblages perform power? How are their designs and uses shaped by social, cultural, and political dynamics? How do they shape those dynamics? The course draws on an interdisciplinary body of literature in humanities and social science, mixing theoretical material with more empirically oriented studies, and classics with new scholarship.
Last offered: Autumn 2019
| Units: 4-5
HISTORY 331:
Leonardo's World: Science, Technology, and Art (ARTHIST 231, ARTHIST 431, HISTORY 231, ITALIAN 231, ITALIAN 331)
Leonardo da Vinci is emblematic of creativity and innovation. His art is iconic, his inventions legendary. His understanding of nature, the human body, and machines made him a scientist and engineer as well as an artist. His fascination with drawing buildings made him an architect, at least on paper. This class explores the historical Leonardo, considering his interests and accomplishments as a product of the society of Renaissance Italy. Why did this world produce a Leonardo? Special attention will be given to interdisciplinary connections between religion, art, science, and technology.
Last offered: Autumn 2018
| Units: 4-5
HISTORY 337B:
Michelangelo: Gateway to Early Modern Italy (ARTHIST 218A, ARTHIST 418A, HISTORY 237B, ITALIAN 237, ITALIAN 337)
Revered as one of the greatest artists in history, Michelangelo Buonarroti's extraordinarily long and prodigious existence (1475-1564) spanned the Renaissance and the Reformation in Italy. The celebrity artist left behind not only sculptures, paintings, drawings, and architectural designs, but also an abundantly rich and heterogeneous collection of artifacts, including direct and indirect correspondence (approximately 1400 letters), an eclectic assortment of personal notes, documents and contracts, and 302 poems and 41 poetic fragments. This course will explore the life and production of Michelangelo in relation to those of his contemporaries. Using the biography of the artist as a thread, this interdisciplinary course will draw on a range of critical methodologies and approaches to investigate the civilization and culture of Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Course themes will follow key tensions that defined the period and that found expression in Michelangelo: physical-spiritual, classical-Christian, tradition-innovation, individual-collective.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 3-5
HISTORY 337C:
Street History: Learning the Past in School and Out (EDUC 356)
Interdisciplinary. Since Herodotus, history and memory have competed to shape minds: history cultivates doubt and demands interpretation; memory seeks certainty and detests that which thwarts its aims. History and memory collide in modern society, often violently. How do young people become historical amidst these forces; how do school, family, nation, and mass media contribute to the process?
Last offered: Spring 2009
| Units: 3-5
HISTORY 349:
Bodies, Technologies, and Natures in Africa (AFRICAST 249, ANTHRO 348B)
This interdisciplinary course explores how modern African histories, bodies, and natures have been entangled with technological activities. Viewing Africans as experts and innovators, we consider how technologies have mediated, represented, or performed power in African societies. Topics include infrastructure, extraction, medicine, weapons, communications, sanitation, and more. Themes woven through the course include citizenship, mobility, labor, bricolage, in/formal economies, and technopolitical geographies, among others. Readings draw from history, anthropology, geography, and social/cultural theory.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4-5
HRP 211:
Law and Biosciences: Neuroscience
(Same as LAW 3006) Legal, social, and ethical issues arising from advances in neuroscience, including effects upon law and society through improvements in predicting illnesses and behaviors, reading minds through neuroimaging, understanding responsibility and consciousness, treating criminal behavior, and cognitive enhancement.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
HRP 224:
Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab (SE Lab) - Human & Planetary Health (MED 224, PUBLPOL 224)
Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab (SE Lab) - Global & Planetary Health is a Collaboratory workshop for students/fellows to design and develop innovative social ventures addressing key challenges in health and the environment, especially in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2030). Your mandate in identifying problems and designing solutions is broad and flexible! SE Lab is open to students and fellows across Stanford and combines design thinking exercises, short lectures & case studies, workshops, small group teamwork, presentations, guest speakers, and faculty, practitioner and peer feedback to support you and your team in generating and developing ideas and projects that will change the world! Join SE Lab with an idea or simply the desire to join a team. Enrollment limited to 30.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 15 units total)
HRP 285:
Global Leaders and Innovators in Human and Planetary Health: Sustainable Societies Lab (MED 285, SUSTAIN 345)
Are you interested in innovative ideas and strategies for addressing urgent challenges in human and planetary health and creating sustainable societies? This 7 session lecture series features a selection of noteworthy leaders, innovators, and experts across diverse sectors/topics in health and the environment such as: health innovation and environmental sustainability, social and environmental justice and equality, social innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems, foundations and venture capital, tech innovation, media and AI, biotech and ag-tech, pandemics, public health and community wellbeing, food systems and agricultural innovation, hunger and nutrition, clean water and air, nonprofits and community action, public policy innovation and systems change, and the role of academia and you. Co-convened and co-designed by faculty, fellows and students collaborating across several Stanford centers, departments, schools, the course invites the discussion of global problems, interdisciplinary perspectives, and systemic solutions for the climate crisis and human health. The course will address root causes of the climate crisis and urgent challenges of human and planetary health, including sociological constraints, political objectives, economic incentives, technological limitations, and preservation of global stability, and suggest models of leadership, innovation and sustainable social change. We will also delve into efforts to catalyze long-term sustainability across the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. Students from all backgrounds are encouraged to enroll - registration is open to all Stanford students and fellows. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 8 units total)
ILAC 367E:
Contemporary Theory Lab (COMPLIT 367E, ENGLISH 367E)
This new graduate seminar examines the question of whether a new canon of theoretical monographs-as opposed to influential standalone essays or papers-has coalesced in recent years. We focus on a post-Foucaultian, post-1989 moment, understanding theory as an autonomous, interdisciplinary enterprise that is not subservient or reducible to philosophy or literary criticism but shares many of the core concerns of each discipline. The seminar provides students with a safe space to discuss cutting-edge ideas, arguing for, with, and against influential trends. We will study six to eight monographs in great detail, at least two of which will be determined by class vote. Of special interest are conceptual formations and methodologies that do not have an institutional home or pursue a narrow political agenda. Topics include anticolonial thinking, new materialism, affect studies, and the shadow of the linguistic turn. We may draw from a roster of thinkers such as Bruno Latour, Saidiya Hartman, Verónica Gago, Sianne Ngai, Rob Nixon, Sara Ahmed, Martin Hägglund, Arturo Escobar, Mark Fisher, Wendy Brown, and Fred Moten. Previous experience with theory is recommended. Assignments sequence short papers with revisions, short student presentations, and a final paper. Stanford faculty and outside guests will be a mainstay. Broader community engagement with theory, as well as student integration of the subject matter towards their independent research projects, will be central goals. Open to co-terms, masters, and PhD students in the humanities and social sciences.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3-5
INDE 201:
Practice of Medicine I
Six quarter series extending throughout the first two years of the MD program, interweaving core skills training in medical interviewing and the physical examination with other major threads addressing the context of medical practice: information literacy, nutrition principles, clinical epidemiology and biostatistics, evidence-based practice, psychiatry, biomedical ethics, health policy, population health. Core clinical skills are acquired through hands-on practice, and evaluated through an extensive program of simulated medical encounters, in which students interview, examine, and manage patients in a mock clinic. The information literacy thread introduces students to informatics and knowledge management, biomedical informatics, and evidence-based medicine searching. Nutrition principles are acquired through interactive, web-based instruction, and reinforced through problem-based learning cases, which run in parallel to the basic science components over the first year. In epdemiology students learn the taxonomy of epidemiological studies, how to critically read a journal article, and how to recognize and understand the concepts behind different clinical study designs. Topics include bias, confounding, diagnostic testing and screening, and "how statistics can lie." Psychiatry introduces students to the unique role of medical students in talking with patients, the difference between process and content in patient communication, how to respond to breaks in the patient-physician relationship, and the relationship between the quality of the patient-physician interaction and health outcomes. Health care policy covers such topics as health insurance, physician payment, health care costs, access, measurement and improvement of quality, regulation and health care reform. Biomedical ethics includes important ethical issues in medical practice, such as confidentiality, privacy, and ethical issues relating to medical students. The population health curriculum exposes students to concepts of public health, community action, and advocacy, and includes a year-long, community-based project. At the end of this quarter students participate in a performance-based assessment of the medical interview skills.nCourse offered to MD and MSPA students only.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 8
INDE 202:
Practice of Medicine II
Medical interview and physical examination skills, information literacy, nutrition principles, evidence-based practice, health policy, and population health are covered. At the end of this quarter, students participate in a performance-based assessment of their medical interview and physical examination skills. See INDE 201 for a complete description of the Practice of Medicine course series. Course open to MD and MSPA students only.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
INDE 203:
Practice of Medicine III
Medical interview and physical examination skills, biomedical literature retrieval and appraisal, nutrition principles, evidence-based practice, biomedical ethics, and population health are covered. Students begin clinical problem-solving sessions to learn the approach to common and important clinical problems. Cases integrate other course themes of population health, evidence-based practice, clinical ethics, nutrition, health policy, and behavioral medicine. Students begin transition from comprehensive to problem-focused patient encounters. Students also gain exposure to geriatrics, pediatrics, and interprofessional healthcare teams, and practice mental health interview skills. At the end of this quarter, students participate in a performance-based assessment of their medical interview and physical examination skills. See INDE 201 for a complete description of the Practice of Medicine course series. Course open to MD and MSPA students only.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 6
INDE 204A:
Practice of Medicine IV-A
The second year of the Practice of Medicine series (INDE 204 and 205) emphasizes clinical reasoning, clinical practicum, and clinical procedures. Students continue clinical problem-solving sessions to learn the approach to common and important clinical problems. Cases integrate other course themes of population health, evidence-based practice, clinical ethics, nutrition, health policy, and behavioral medicine. Students spend one-half day per week in a clinical setting, practicing medical interview, physical examination skills, oral presentations, and clinical note-writing under the mentorship of a clinical tutor. In the practicum, students also gain experience with other practical aspects of patient care. The Clinical Procedures segment introduces common and important procedures in clinical practice, including phlebotomy, intravenous line insertion, and electrocardiography.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
INDE 204B:
Practice of Medicine IV-B
The second year of the Practice of Medicine series (INDE 204 and 205) emphasizes clinical reasoning, clinical practicum, and clinical procedures. Students continue clinical problem-solving sessions to learn the approach to common and important clinical problems. Cases integrate other course themes of population health, evidence-based practice, clinical ethics, nutrition, health policy, and behavioral medicine. Students spend one-half day per week in a clinical setting, practicing medical interview, physical examination skills, oral presentations, and clinical note-writing under the mentorship of a clinical tutor. In the practicum, students also gain experience with other practical aspects of patient care. The Clinical Procedures segment introduces common and important procedures in clinical practice, including phlebotomy, intravenous line insertion, and electrocardiography.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
INDE 205A:
Practice of Medicine V
Continued emphasis on clinical reasoning, clinical practicum, and clinical procedures. Students continue clinical problem-solving sessions to learn the approach to common and important clinical problems Cases integrate other course themes of population health, evidence-based practice, clinical ethics, nutrition, health policy, and behavioral medicine. Students spend one-half day per week in a clinical setting, practicing medical interview, physical examination skills, oral presentations, and clinical note-writing under the mentorship of a clinical tutor. In the practicum, students also gain experience with other practical aspects of patient care. For the Clinical Procedures segment, students will have an opportunity in the Emergency Department to practice performing procedures learned in the previous quarter. At the end of this quarter, students participate in a comprehensive four-station objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) performance-based assessment of their medical interview, physical examination, and clinical problem-solving skills.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
INDE 205B:
Practice of Medicine V
Continued emphasis on clinical reasoning, clinical practicum, and clinical procedures. Students continue clinical problem-solving sessions to learn the approach to common and important clinical problems Cases integrate other course themes of population health, evidence-based practice, clinical ethics, nutrition, health policy, and behavioral medicine. Students spend one-half day per week in a clinical setting, practicing medical interview, physical examination skills, oral presentations, and clinical note-writing under the mentorship of a clinical tutor. In the practicum, students also gain experience with other practical aspects of patient care. For the Clinical Procedures segment, students will have an opportunity in the Emergency Department to practice performing procedures learned in the previous quarter. At the end of this quarter, students participate in a comprehensive four-station objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) performance-based assessment of their medical interview, physical examination, and clinical problem-solving skills.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
INDE 206:
Practice of Medicine VI
This final three week POM course builds upon foundational knowledge to refine your expertise in direct patient care; reinforce and advance your core clinical skills; clarify your clerkship responsibilities; and increase your confidence about upcoming clinical rotations. These goals are accomplished through small group sessions, workshops, and engaging didactics focusing on clinical skills (eg. hands-on procedures, immersive rounds), specialty sessions (eg. radiology, ethics), and professionalism (eg. a 'day in the life', feedback and evaluation). Students must enroll in both INDE 224 and INDE 206.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
INDE 207D:
Professional Mandarin I
Designed for students who seek professional development via Mandarin. Coursework includes lectures, online classes, language partnerships, selected topics, projects and field activities. Goal is to enhance students' language abilities as professionals and facilitate a career. Students choose to enroll for 2 units or 3 units depending upon an agreed- upon workload approved by the instructor.
Terms: Aut, Sum
| Units: 2-3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
INDE 209:
Analysis of Public Companies in the Life Sciences
Student lead: Life Science companies are often valued with a different methodology than traditional valuation metrics. This course will serve to teach students how to analyze a publicly traded life science company or sector using publicly available materials online such as 10-K, 13-F, conference calls, and financial & technical analysis. In addition, students will learn how to access various Stanford resources (analyst reports, Bloomberg, etc). Students will work in teams throughout class and publish an investment analysis at the end of the course.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
5 times
(up to 10 units total)
INDE 210:
Foundations of Cancer Biology and Pathology
This course builds foundational understanding of cancer biology from molecular to cellular to organismal levels through 10 large group and 2 small group instructional hours. Sessions include: Tissue Biology; Regulation of Cell Growth, Proliferation, and Differentiation; Cell Injury, Cell Death, and Adaptation; Inflammation and Repair; Basics of Cancer Biology; Clinical Aspects of Cancer; Local Cancer Treatments; Systemic Cancer Treatments; Cancer Epidemiology, Screening and Prevention; Laboratory: This session will focus on clinical aspects of cancer including case histories, clinical test orders and results, radiologic images, gross pathology specimens, digital histopathology slides, pathology reports, and overviews of treatment planning
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
INDE 211:
Creative Writing
For medical students - all levels of writing skill. Examines uses of creative writing, including understanding the experience of medical training. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
INDE 212:
Medical Humanities and the Arts
The interdisciplinary field of medical humanities: the use of the arts and humanities to examine medicine in personal, social, and cultural contexts. Topics include the doctor/patient relationship, the patient perspective, the meaning of doctoring, and the meaning of illness. Sources include visual and performing arts, film, and literary genres such as poetry, fiction, and scholarly writing. Designed for medical students in the Biomedical Ethics and Medical Humanities Scholarly Concentration, but all students are welcome.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
INDE 214:
Stanford Medical Student Journal
Provides an opportunity for editors of all levels to cultivate their skills and assist in preparing pieces submitted by colleagues for publication in the Stanford Medical Student Journal. Students enrolled in the course work closely with student authors as well as other editors. Editors examine multiple categories of writing, including opinion pieces, poetry, memoirs, book reviews, case reports and investigative reports. The Journal is published two to three times per year and highlights the diverse talents of Stanford medical students in both scientific writing and the humanities.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
INDE 215:
Queer Health & Medicine
Explores specific, pertinent, and timely issues impacting the health of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community; examines the role of the primary care physician in addressing the health care needs of this community. Guest lecturers provide a gender-sensitive approach to the medical care of the LGBT patient, breaking down homophobic barriers and reaffirming patient diversity. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 3 units total)
INDE 217:
Physician Scientist Hour
Enrollment is limited to MD, PhD, or MD-PhD students interested in careers as physician scientists. Focus is on aspects of developing careers in biomedical research through a mix of research lectures, clinical case presentations, and physician-scientist guest speakers.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
15 times
(up to 15 units total)
INDE 218:
Histology
This course focuses on the microscopic structure of the major organ systems, including the cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, renal, and reproductive systems. Sessions examine the unique features of the cells and tissues that comprise the major organs, describe how they contribute to the organs' functions, and explore how the form the foundation for many pathologic processes. Course open to MD and MSPA students only.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
INDE 221:
Science of Medicine I
First course in three-sequence Science of Medicine block. Focus is on structure, function, disease, and therapeutics of the respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. The Science of Medicine block presents organ system-based histology, pathology, physiology, pharmacology, and infectious disease in a sequence of interdisciplinary courses. Each organ-specific integrated course includes a review of the anatomy and related histology, normal function of that organ system, how the organ system is affected by and responds to disease including infection, and how diseases of that organ system are treated (therapeutics).
Terms: Spr
| Units: 12
INDE 222A:
Science of Medicine II-A
Focus is on structure, function, disease, and therapeutics of the renal, gastrointestinal, and hepatic systems. Science of Medicine presents organ system-based histology, pathology, physiology, pharmacology, and infectious disease in a sequence of interdisciplinary courses. Each integrated course includes a review of the anatomy, related histology, and normal function of one or more organ systems, how the organ systems are affected by and respond to disease including infection, and how diseases of those organ systems are treated (therapeutics).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 7
INDE 222B:
Science of Medicine II-B
Focus is on structure, function, disease, and therapeutics of the endocrine and musculoskeletal systems and on Women's Health. Science of Medicine presents organ system-based histology, pathology, physiology, pharmacology, and infectious disease in a sequence of interdisciplinary courses. Each integrated course includes a review of the anatomy, related histology, and normal function of one or more organ systems, how the organ systems are affected by and respond to disease including infection, and how diseases of those organ systems are treated (therapeutics).nPrerequisites if applicable: INDE-221, completed or concurrent INDE-222-A
Terms: Aut
| Units: 7
INDE 223A:
Science of Medicine III-A
Focus is on structure, function, disease, and therapeutics of the nervous system and skin. Science of Medicine presents organ system-based histology, pathology, physiology, pharmacology, and infectious disease in a sequence of interdisciplinary courses. Each integrated course includes a review of the anatomy, related histology, and normal function of one or more organ systems, how the organ systems are affected by and respond to disease including infection, and how diseases of those organ systems are treated (therapeutics).nnPrerequisites if applicable: INDE-221, INDE-222-A
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
INDE 223B:
Science of Medicine III-B
Focus is on structure, function, disease, and therapeutics in the areas of Hematology and Autoimmune Disease. Science of Medicine presents organ system-based histology, pathology, physiology, pharmacology, and infectious disease in a sequence of interdisciplinary courses. Each integrated course includes a review of the anatomy, related histology, and normal function of one or more organ systems, how the organ systems are affected by and respond to disease including infection, and how diseases of those organ systems are treated (therapeutics).
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
INDE 224:
Pathophysiology Capstone
The Pathophysiology Capstone (PC) is a newly developed Science of Medicine (SOM) Year 2 capstone experience in Quarter 6 that will be integrated with the Practice of Medicine (PON) course called "Transition to Clerkships." This four-week long intensive spring quarter course, including 25-32 hours of instruction, focuses on the re-introduction of core pathophysiology concepts as well as delving into advanced topics, treatment, and breakthroughs based on essentials taught in the SOM series in quarters 3-5.Students must enroll in both INDE 224 and INDE 206. Prerequisites: Successful completion of Science of Medicine (SOM) I,II,III
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
INDE 230A:
Topics in Scientific Management
Broadly discusses foundational topics in pursuing academic careers, including the academic and faculty career landscape, establishing a writing practice, establishing an independent research agenda, issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, presentation skills, self-advocacy, creativity in research, establishing collaborations, and grantsmanship. Topics may vary annually.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 3 units total)
INDE 230B:
Topics in Scientific Management
Reviews management skills necessary for successfully assuming leadership roles in scientific research. Addresses some of the most difficult aspects of developing, directing, and managing people and projects and running a research group, especially issues that new faculty have traditionally learned by trial and error over a number of years. Topics include: the faculty job search process and strategies, key elements in starting a lab, basic principles regarding legal dimensions of scientific activity (intellectual property, royalties, links with industry), team science, research ethics, communication and negotiation skills, writing and securing grants. Topics may vary annually.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 3 units total)
INDE 230C:
Topics in Scientific Management
Deep dive into topics in mentorship, which may include mentoring in a research environment, navigating all directions of mentoring relationships within academia, conflict management and resolution, communication styles, setting expectations, giving feedback, cultivating ethical behavior, promoting research self-efficacy, and navigating intercultural dynamics. Topics may vary annually.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 3 units total)
INDE 231:
MSTP Journal club
Discussion of research papers and topics relevant for physician scientists.
Terms: Win, Sum
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 4 units total)
INDE 232:
REACH Seminar in Health Equity
This REACH scholar led seminar will examine the manufacture of health disparities as well as the pathophysiology in the evolution of disparities into health and health system inequity. We will also explore approaches to achieve health equity using a variety of approaches that transform scholarship into impact. We will invite members of the Stanford and wider community as well as REACH scholars to present their work. Students are expected to be curious and interactive. REACH scholars will present. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 6 units total)
INDE 238:
Managing Difficult Conversations
(Crosslisted with GSBGEN 368). This elective 3-unit course is offered to all medical students, residents, and fellows and other graduate students with instructor's permission who aspire to improve their ability to deal effectively with difficult professional and personal interpersonal situations. Class is held Tuesday, 3:10-6:10 PM. The course will be taught by William F. Meehan III, the Raccoon Partners Lecturer in Management and Senior Partner Emeritus, McKinsey and Company, and Charles G. Prober, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology & Immunology and Senior Associate Vice Provost for Health Education, Stanford School of Medicine. The course, which is case/vignette-based, involves frequent student-to-student and student-to-instructor role-playing in authentic business and medical interactions. Inde 238 is cross-listed with GSBGEN 368 which draws MBA students, and part of the learning environment of the course is the mix of perspectives and vignettes we role play and discuss. Topic-specific experts often will be present to participate as class guests. Relevant principles of professionalism, leadership, and psychology underlie the course pedagogy. Students will be expected to attend all classes unless excused in advance. Class preparation will include reading of assigned cases; analysis of the cases and recommendations as to how to confront specific difficult conversations (consistent with assigned study questions); and reading of assigned background material. It is important that all students participate actively in classroom discussions. Class size will be limited to 40 students per the following: (1) a maximum of 20 MBA students and (2) a maximum of 20 non-GSB graduate students. MD student enrollment only in INDE 238, GSB students enroll under GSBGEN 368. Please email Dr. Prober or Professor Meehan directly if you have any questions.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
INDE 242:
Perspectives on Cancer Care
This seminar is intended to introduce medical students to diverse perspectives in cancer care. Through a weekly series of guest speakers and panel discussions, this course will examine clinical care in the field of hematology/oncology through an equity lens. We will invite faculty across a range of specialties, including adult and pediatric medical, surgical, radiation, psychiatric oncology and palliative medicine. These discussions will also encompass a range of topics including novel therapies, survivorship, health disparities, palliative care, and spiritual counseling for cancer patients.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
INDE 258:
Physician Scientist Career Development Symposium
Enrollment is open to senior MD program students, particularly MSTP students, Berg Scholars, and PSTP students. Focus is on providing guidance to students who are pursuing physician-scientist careers. Topics include introduction to physician investigator careers, identifying a research area and mentor, how to maintain a research focus in a clinical environment, clinical research: challenges and rewards, staffing and funding a research group. Guest speakers include Stanford faculty physician-scientists and physician-scientist assistant professors for a panel discussion. Prerequisite: must have completed the first year of Medical School.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
INDE 260A:
Pharmacological Treatment of Disease
This course will provide an overview of how drugs and therapeutics are used in the treatment and prevention of diseases and disorders. It aims to review the general principles of drug action, including drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of the major drug classes. For each major drug class, we will review selected prototype drugs and discuss their molecular mechanisms of action, therapeutic indication, adverse effects, contra-indications and drug-drug interactions.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
INDE 260B:
Pharmacological Treatment of Disease
This course will provide an overview of how drugs and therapeutics are used in the treatment and prevention of diseases and disorders. It aims to review the general principles of drug action, including drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of the major drug classes. For each major drug class, we will review selected prototype drugs and discuss their molecular mechanisms of action, therapeutic indication, adverse effects, contra-indications and drug-drug interactions.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
INDE 263:
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases I
First course in a two-course series exploring microbiology and infectious diseases. The emphasis of the course is learning the biology of microbes as it relates to clinical aspects of individuals with infectious diseases. In this course, multiple learning tools are provided to complete pre-class work, participate in class activities and discussions, and complete post-class quizzes. The first course starts with an Introduction Series to bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites and ends with exploring clinical syndromes caused by multiple different pathogens.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
INDE 265:
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases II
Second course in a two-course series exploring microbiology and infectious diseases. The emphasis of the course is learning the biology of microbes as it relates to clinical aspects of individuals with infectious diseases. In this course, multiple learning tools are provided to complete pre-class work, participate in class activities and discussions, and complete post-class quizzes. The first course starts with an Introduction Series to bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites and ends with exploring clinical syndromes caused by multiple different pathogens. Prior completion of INDE 263 required for enrollment.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
INDE 267:
Planning and Writing a Research Proposal
Students will gain fundamental skills in developing research questions and writing research proposals through a series of engaging workshops. Topics include developing a research idea; writing an executive summary, i.e. NIH-style 1-page specific aims; outlining the research plan to include rigor; and designing career development training plans. Students will develop early drafts of key proposal documents, such as the 1-page Specific Aims, and receive feedback from an instructor or Grant Coach. Students in the Medical Scholars Research Program or Biosciences Program may enroll in the course.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 4 units total)
INDE 268:
Early Clinical Engagement (ECE)
Early Clinical Engagement (ECE) is an innovative course for first year medical students to participate in clinical experiences that inform their vision as future physicians. Course goals include integration into the clinical setting with preceptors, development of concrete skills, and introduction to different career paths. ECE includes three components: (1) clinical experiences, (2) interactive large group seminars, and (3) small group sessions for reflection of clinical sessions.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
INDE 273:
Medical Improvisation
Medicine, like theater, is both a skill set and an art form. The practice of medicine demands exceptional communicative, cognitive, and interpersonal skills in order to respond to unpredictable situations while interacting with a wide variety of individuals. Improvisational theater skills have a surprising and substantial overlap with those required of clinicians. Improv is a genre of performance art grounded in principles of spontaneity, adaptability, collaboration, and skilled listening. In this course, the principles and training techniques of improvisational theater are used to highlight and improve awareness, communication, and teamwork in the field of medicine. Limited enrollment. Class meets on six consecutive Mondays 10/2, 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, and 11/6 from 5:30-7:30 pm.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
INDE 274:
Medical Spanish
Medical Spanish is an elective course for MD and MSPA students to engage in 40-hours of medical Spanish curriculum through an online platform then solidify their knowledge through workshops for practical dialogue with faculty members at Stanford Medicine in multiple subspecialties who have native Spanish fluency. Students take part in online curriculum that is differentiated into 3 proficiency levels, therefore all levels of learners from beginners to native speakers are encouraged to participate. The online content covers over 36 medical specialties to provide a broad base of clinically relevant knowledge. The platform has validated pedagogy to meet the needs of individual learners with clinical scenarios that are relevant to medical engagements across all disciplines and inclusive of a culturally relevant approach to clinical care. Subspecialty faculty will lead the language workshops: Dr. Reena Thomas, Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology; Dr. Matias Bruzoni, Associate Professor of Surgery; Dr. Katherine Bianco, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Dr. Felipe Perez, Clinical Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology; Dr. Cesar Padilla Clinical Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology. Dr. Cesar Padilla will also be leading standardize patient encounters for students to practice their medical Spanish skills. All language workshops will be held in person. In person attendance is required for all workshops.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
5 times
(up to 10 units total)
INDE 280:
Student Community Outreach and Physician Support (S-CORPS)
In S-CORPS, pre-clerkship medical students participate in the clinical care and support for vulnerable patient populations who are disproportionately affected by the challenges of the complex healthcare system. Under the guidance of a paired physician mentor, students will engage with at-risk patients via a team-based care model, providing care in the model of future practice: in person, via virtual video, and telephone calls. In addition to contributing to the care of patients, students participate in didactics and debrief in small group sessions to reflect on their early patient experiences and professional identity formation. This course fulfills the ECE graduation requirement for students who complete one quarter. Students who participate in INDE 280 will have priority for continuity preceptor placement in Ambulatory Medicine, Family Medicine, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care specialties as MS2+. Students co-enrolled in INDE 290 attend the INDE 290 didactics to meet the course didactic requirement. Open to Medical Students only.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
INDE 281:
Ethics, Science, and Society (IMMUNOL 258)
This discussion focused Ethics, Science, and Society interactive course will engage Immunology graduate students and faculty in learning and conversations on topics in responsible research (including animal subjects, authorship, collaboration, conflicts of interest, data management, human subjects, mentor-mentee relationships, peer review, publication, research misconduct, and social responsibility) and diversity in science, informed by readings, case studies, individual reflections, and more. Some of the driving themes in this course include: what it means to do research well and how to and not to achieve this, why doing research well and with integrity is important, and who are researchers currently and who should they be. Prerequisite: MED 255
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 4 units total)
INDE 284:
Leadership in Health Disparities Program
The Leadership in Health Disparities Program (LHDP) is focused on creating the next generation of physician leaders committed to addressing health disparities. The program consists of four individual courses focused on addressing health inequities including a health disparities journal club examining research articles by Stanford researchers addressing health inequities, a clinical skills and professional identity course, an introduction to Anatomy course, and a leadership course for emerging physician leaders. In addition, the program will provide an RA to provide time for students to participate in a research experience over the summer. Students will also serve as mentors to a parallel summer community college program assisting pre-medical students. Faculty Director of the program is Dr. Felipe Perez. Students must be granted permission by the Office of Diversity in Medical Education (ODME) to register for the course. Prerequisites: Matriculated Stanford Medical Student.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 9
INDE 290A:
Walk With Me: A Patient and Family Engaged Exploration of Health & The Health Care System
This patient-engaged course for pre-clerkship students places patients, families, and caregivers front and center on the shared journey to explore health from a person-centered perspective and increase understanding of the challenges of managing optimal health in a complex healthcare system. The curriculum is organized around a monthly workshop series. Each month we explore a different health systems science topic through expert lectures incorporating the perspectives of patients and family caregivers, with time to engage in discussion and explore person-centered solutions to real-world problems. Students are paired with a patient partner for 3 quarters and meet 2 to 3 times each quarter outside of class to explore the patient experience, in clinical and non-clinical settings according to shared interests and schedules. This course fulfills the ECE requirement for first-year medical students. Enrollment by instructor approval after completion of a brief interest survey: https://stanfordmedicine.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cZJQW3tHyX2eIu2. Please complete the survey by September 10th at 11:59 PM. Please email any questions to TA Saachi Datta, sdatta01@stanford.edu
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
INDE 290B:
Walk With Me: A Patient and Family Engaged Exploration of Health & The Health Care System
Continuation of monthly workshop series begun in INDE 290A, with new monthly topics. Students will continue the partnership with their patient and gain further understanding of the challenges of managing optimal health in a complex health care system. Enrollment by Instructor Approval Only.nnThis course can be fulfills the ECE requirement for pre-clinical students.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
INDE 290C:
Walk With Me: A Patient and Family Engaged Exploration of Health & The Health Care System
Continuation of monthly workshop series begun in INDE 290A and INDE 290B, with new monthly topics. Students will continue the partnership with their patient and gain further understanding of the challenges of managing optimal health in a complex health care system. Enrollment by Instructor Approval Only.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
INDE 292:
Exploration of The Health Care System : Clinical Partnership Development
For second year medical students who wish to continue their existing longitudinal clinical partnerships begun in year 2. 1/2 day clinical immersion, by arrangement woth preceptor. 2-unit option includes clinical quality improvement or other approved project. Director approval required.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 6 units total)
INDE 297:
Reflection and Contextual Medicine
Required for all MD students enrolled in clerkships at Stanford affiliated sites. Two-year curriculum designed to provide structured time for students to step back from clerkships, in order to promote reflection on and reinforcement for their learning in the clinical environment. The goals of this course are: to offer a regular opportunity for students to discuss challenging issues faced in their clinical training; to ground students in strategies for managing challenging situations they are likely to experience in their personal and professional lives while on clerkships; and to provide opportunities for students to develop and expand their reflective and communication skills. Components of this curriculum include the "Doctoring with CARE" small groups, the "MeD-ReST" Medical Student Resiliency Skills Training' sessions, and the "Contextual Medicine: Communication, Connection and Creativity in Practice" lunch and lecture series. All students in clinical clerkships must participate in all aspects of RCM Days. Students enrolled in Selective II Clerkships (Sub-internships) may choose to participate in clinical duties but are expected to communicate their absence to course faculty/staff in advance. Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in clinical clerkships. Please note, students will enroll in this course their final quarter of enrollment prior to graduation to receive retroactive credit for all session. Only enroll the last quarter of enrollment.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 4
INDE 298:
Women's Health Independent Project
Women's Health Scholarly Concentration. Students pursue individual projects under the supervision of a faculty member. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1
INTLPOL 227:
Finance, Corporations, and Society (ECON 143, POLISCI 127A, PUBLPOL 143, SUSTAIN 143)
As society faces major challenges, democracies and "free-market" capitalism appear to be in crisis. This interdisciplinary course will explore the complex interactions between corporations, governments, and individuals, drawing on insights from the social sciences, business, and law to understand how institutions and collective actions translate to a set of rules and to outcomes for people and nature. The course aims to help students become savvier in their interactions with our economic and political systems and understand the governance issues that are critical to whether and how well institutions in the private and public sectors serve us. Topics include financial decisions, financial markets, banks and institutional investors; corporations and corporate governance; political economy and the rule of law as it applies to people and to organizations, and the role and functioning of the media. We will connect the material to specific issues such as climate change and justice, and discuss current events regularly throughout the course. Students will have the opportunity to explore a situation of their choosing in more depth through group final projects. Visitors with relevant experiences will regularly enrich our class discussion.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
INTLPOL 234:
Israel: Society, Politics, and Policy (JEWISHST 214, POLISCI 214)
The course "Israel: Society, Politics, and Policy" invites students to explore modern Israel in comparative perspective. Few countries in the world have captured the American imagination as much as Israel and are at the same time as poorly understood. Whether for reasons of cultural difference, rapid domestic change, or competing political agendas, this intriguing and increasingly influential country is rarely subject to dispassionate, theoretically and empirically grounded analysis. The purpose of the course is to do just that: to examine Israel as a society, polity, constitutional system, and policy actor that is best understood in comparative analytical perspective. The course is broadly divided into four sections: (1) framing; (2) evolution; (3) society, politics, constitutionalism; and (4) policy and strategic culture. The course draws upon primary and secondary historical, political, economic, legal, and cultural sources to produce a rich interdisciplinary learning experience. Students should expect to gain a strong, up-to-date overview of modern Israel and to expand their understanding of the Middle East, US-Israeli ties, and the broader international system.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
INTLPOL 250:
International Conflict Resolution (PSYCH 383)
(Formerly IPS 250) (Same as LAW 5009; formerly Law 656) This seminar examines the challenges of managing and resolving intractable political and violent intergroup and international conflicts. Employing an interdisciplinary approach drawing on social psychology, political science, game theory, and international law, the course identifies various tactical, psychological, and structural barriers that can impede the achievement of efficient solutions to conflicts. We will explore a conceptual framework for conflict management and resolution that draws not only on theoretical insights, but also builds on historical examples and practical experience in the realm of conflict resolution. This approach examines the need for the parties to conflicts to address the following questions in order to have prospects of creating peaceful relationships: (1) how can the parties to conflict develop a vision of a mutually bearable shared future; (2) how can parties develop trust in the enemy; (3) how can each side be persuaded, as part of a negotiated settlement, to accept losses that it will find very painful; and (4) how do we overcome the perceptions of injustice that each side are likely to have towards any compromise solution? We will consider both particular conflicts, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the South African transition to majority rule, as well as cross-cutting issues, such as the role international legal rules play in facilitating or impeding conflict resolution, the ways intragroup dynamics affect intergroup conflict resolution efforts, and the role of criminal accountability for atrocities following civil wars. Special Instructions: Section 01: Grades will be based on class participation, written assignments, and a final exam. Section 02: Up to five students, with consent of the instructor, will have the option to write an independent research paper for Research (R) credit in lieu of the written assignments and final exam for Section 01. After the term begins, students (max 5) accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 2
ITALIAN 331:
Leonardo's World: Science, Technology, and Art (ARTHIST 231, ARTHIST 431, HISTORY 231, HISTORY 331, ITALIAN 231)
Leonardo da Vinci is emblematic of creativity and innovation. His art is iconic, his inventions legendary. His understanding of nature, the human body, and machines made him a scientist and engineer as well as an artist. His fascination with drawing buildings made him an architect, at least on paper. This class explores the historical Leonardo, considering his interests and accomplishments as a product of the society of Renaissance Italy. Why did this world produce a Leonardo? Special attention will be given to interdisciplinary connections between religion, art, science, and technology.
Last offered: Autumn 2018
| Units: 4-5
ITALIAN 337:
Michelangelo: Gateway to Early Modern Italy (ARTHIST 218A, ARTHIST 418A, HISTORY 237B, HISTORY 337B, ITALIAN 237)
Revered as one of the greatest artists in history, Michelangelo Buonarroti's extraordinarily long and prodigious existence (1475-1564) spanned the Renaissance and the Reformation in Italy. The celebrity artist left behind not only sculptures, paintings, drawings, and architectural designs, but also an abundantly rich and heterogeneous collection of artifacts, including direct and indirect correspondence (approximately 1400 letters), an eclectic assortment of personal notes, documents and contracts, and 302 poems and 41 poetic fragments. This course will explore the life and production of Michelangelo in relation to those of his contemporaries. Using the biography of the artist as a thread, this interdisciplinary course will draw on a range of critical methodologies and approaches to investigate the civilization and culture of Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Course themes will follow key tensions that defined the period and that found expression in Michelangelo: physical-spiritual, classical-Christian, tradition-innovation, individual-collective.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 3-5
JEWISHST 291X:
Learning Religion: How People Acquire Religious Commitments (AMSTUD 231X, EDUC 231, RELIGST 231X)
This course will examine how people learn religion outside of school, and in conversation with popular cultural texts and practices. Taking a broad social-constructivist approach to the variety of ways people learn, this course will explore how people assemble ideas about faith, identity, community, and practice, and how those ideas inform individual, communal and global notions of religion. Much of this work takes place in formal educational environments including missionary and parochial schools, Muslim madrasas or Jewish yeshivot. However, even more takes place outside of school, as people develop skills and strategies in conversation with broader social trends. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to questions that lie at the intersection of religion, popular culture, and education. May be repeat for credit.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
JEWISHST 393X:
The Education of American Jews (EDUC 313, JEWISHST 213, RELIGST 313X)
This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to the question of how American Jews negotiate the desire to retain a unique ethnic sensibility without excluding themselves from American culture more broadly. Students will examine the various ways in which people debate, deliberate, and determine what it means to be an "American Jew". This includes an investigation of how American Jewish relationships to formal and informal educational encounters through school, popular culture, religious ritual, and politics.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
LATINAM 207:
Spanish in Science/Science in Spanish (BIO 208, EARTHSYS 207)
For graduate and undergraduate students interested in the natural sciences and the Spanish language. Students will acquire the ability to communicate in Spanish using scientific language and will enhance their ability to read scientific literature written in Spanish. Emphasis on the development of science in Spanish-speaking countries or regions. Course is conducted in Spanish and intended for students pursuing degrees in the sciences, particularly disciplines such as ecology, environmental science, sustainability, resource management, anthropology, and archeology.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
LAW 240Y:
Discussion (1L): Violence, Resistance, and the Law
This reading group will examine the force of law -- the ways in which law both depends upon and abjures violence, the ways it suppresses and invites resistance, and the identity of subjects against whom legal violence is deployed. A central object of focus will be excessive force, the legal doctrines that insulate government officers from accountability, and the ways this specific form of violence is tied to racial subordination. We will also attend to the role of force in non-violent resistance movements, the role of vulnerability in resistance movements (both revolutionary and reform-oriented), and problems of revictimization in rights assertion. Readings will be drawn from a wide range of interdisciplinary sources including law, history, political theory, critical race theory, fiction, and psychology. This discussion seminar will meet four times during the Fall quarter. Meeting dates and times to be arranged by instructor. Elements used in grading: Attendance and class participation.
Last offered: Autumn 2020
| Units: 1
LAW 241A:
Discussion (1L): Why is the USA Exceptional -- In Crime and Punishment?
It has long been a national controversy, and for many an international embarrassment, that the imprisonment rate in this country stands at the very top among nations -- currently just barely behind those of countries we would never want to be compared to and several multiples higher than those of other developed industrialized democracies. And for many years it has been almost a cliché that we also have an internationally anomalously high crime rate. The crime gap between us and our "peer nations" has narrowed in recent years but is still notable, at least for violent crime. In the seminar we will read an interdisciplinary set of explorations about whether there are things in "national DNA" that explain each of these phenomena and possibly both at once. The perspectives will include the political history of our roots in both revolution and slavery and the legacy of Reconstruction, and cultural/anthropological theories about the "frontier mentality," as well as such distinct factors as our anomalous rate of gun ownership. Along all these dimensions we will speculate on which way the causation runs between crime or punishment and these various correlates. But of course we will also look to the legal system, including our rights- and federalism-focused Constitution, as both cause and effect of our anomalies. While we will look at some more quantitively empirical perspectives, especially as they bear on recent changes in both crime and punishment rates, our main subject will be more of an "American Studies" approach to the overall stability of how we compare to other nations. Elements used in grading: Full attendance, reading of assigned materials, and active participation. The seminar will meet four times during the Fall quarter. The class will meet 6:00-8:00pm, September 16, September 30, October 14, October 28.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 1
LAW 241G:
Discussion (1L): Reflecting on Red Power: 50 Years After Alcatraz
This seminar will explore the legal, cultural, political, and racial complexities underlying the Red Power movement that resulted in the 19-month occupation of nearby Alcatraz Island 50 years ago from 1969-1971. Readings will include excerpts from the seminar work that defined the movement, Vine Deloria Jr.'s Custer Died for Your Sins, a documentary viewing on the occupation, and other interdisciplinary sources from history, political theory, and law. By examining this movement and the tensions it raised, we will explore broader questions of American identity formation, racial construction, social movements, violence, and the complex relationship between the construction of rights, assertions power, and the state. Elements used in grading: Full attendance, reading of assigned materials, and active participation. The seminar will meet four times during the Fall quarter. Class will meet 5:00-7:00pm, September 9, September 23, October 14, November 4.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 1
LAW 241Y:
Discussion (1L): Democracy and Algorithmic Governance
In this discussion seminar we will examine the growth of 'artificial intelligence' (natural language processing, machine learning, and predictive analytics) from an interdisciplinary perspective. The principal objects of focus will be theories of innovation, the proliferation of algorithmic systems that subject human behavior and judgment to algorithmic control, the dependence of algorithmic systems on data surveillance, problems of error, 'leakage,' and bias (including racial bias), the promise of automation, the displacement of ordinary law and professional expertise by algorithmic code, and the tensions between liberal democratic concepts of the rule of law and the operation of code as law. No computer science training or previous training in critical theory is necessary. Class meets 6:00 PM-8:00 PM on Tuesdays (Specific dates are TBA, but we will most likely hold one session in September, two in October, and one in early November). Elements used in grading: Full attendance, reading of assigned materials, and active participation.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
LAW 283:
Federal Courts
The role of the federal courts in the American system of federalism and separation of powers, and their role in the development of substantive federal law and constitutional rights. Historical context, especially the social, political, and legal movements, in response to which the federal courts have developed. Traditional aspects of federal court jurisprudence. Interdisciplinary readings.
Last offered: Winter 2009
| Units: 3
LAW 514:
The California Coast: Science, Policy, and Law
(Same as EARTHSYS 175, EARTHSYS 275, CEE 175A, CEE 275A.) Interdisciplinary. The legal, science, and policy dimensions of managing California's coastal resources. Coastal land use and marine resource decision making. The physics, chemistry, and biology of the coastal zone, tools for exploring data from the coastal ocean, and the institutional framework that shapes public and private decision making. Field work: how experts from different disciplines work to resolve coastal policy questions.
Last offered: Winter 2009
| Units: 3
LAW 576:
Sexual Orientation and The Law
How the law addresses contested contemporary issues concerning sexual orientation. Constitutional, criminal, family, and anti-discrimination law. Regulation of sexual conduct, discrimination in the military and Boy Scouts, the law concerning sexual minorities as parents, conflicts between sexual and religious freedom, and the role of direct democracy in shaping sexual orientation law. Debate over same-sex marriage. Emerging sexual identities such as transsexuality and intersexuality. Interdisciplinary focus on how social, cultural and political forces shape, and are shaped by, legal doctrine. How gender structures sexual orientation debates.
Last offered: Winter 2009
| Units: 2
LAW 656:
International Conflict: Management and Resolution
(Same as IPS 250, POLISCI 210R/310R, PSYCH 383.) Interdisciplinary. Theoretical insights and practical experience in resolving inter-group and international conflicts. Sources include social psychology, political science, game theory, and international law. Personal, strategic, and structural barriers to solutions. How to develop a vision of a mutually bearable shared future, trust in the enemy, and acceptance of loss that a negotiated settlement may produce. Spoilers who seek to sabotage agreements. Advantages and disadvantages of unilateral versus reciprocal measures. Themes from the Stanford Center of International Conflict and Negotiation (SCICN).
Last offered: Winter 2009
| Units: 2
LAW 807Y:
Policy Practicum: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Research Clearinghouse
Client: Stanford Law School. Deliverables: Resources for national DEI database for law schools, final summary report. Law schools, other professional schools, and institutions of higher education all around the country have been reevaluating their structure, mission, curricula, pedagogy, hiring and admissions practices, climate, and other elements of academic life with the goal of ascertaining how best to promote a more just, fair, inclusive, and diverse environment for learning. Students, staff, administrators, and faculty have created listservs and other informal platforms to share ideas and resources, but to date there has been no single research-based platform that gathers cutting edge and canonical work on the wide range of potentially relevant topics to guide and provide structure to the design of reforms or support advocacy on DE&I issues. Stanford Law School and the Robert Crown Library have launched a beta version of the first national clearinghouse to index research of this kind. This policy lab provides interested students an opportunity to expand the index, help develop and implement standards for curation, incorporate feedback from users, engage in policy discussions about iterative design, and develop frameworks for assessment of the project. The primary work plan involves deepening the available research on a number of topics including: 1L and advanced doctrinal pedagogy, critical race theory, other critical approaches to law, cultural competence and cultural humility in training for law and other service professions, professional judgment, assessments of DE&I training in the private and public sector, published templates for university DE&I reforms, principles of academic freedom, global innovations in DE&I theory, as well as interdisciplinary research on anti-racism, implicit bias and other forms of cognitive bias, viewpoint discrimination, micro-aggression, trauma, and stereotype threat. Students will work with Prof. Norman W. Spaulding and reference librarians at the law school. There may also be opportunity to work with students, staff, administrators, and faculty at other law schools and other university departments. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Performance, Class Participation, Written Assignments. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (Click Courses at the bottom of the homepage and then click Consent of Instructor Forms). See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 2
LAW 809E:
Policy Practicum: AI For Legal Help
The policy client for this project is the Legal Services Corporation (https://www.lsc.gov/): This project works closely with the Legal Services Corporation's Technology Information Grant Program (https://www.lsc.gov/grants/technology-initiative-grant-program) to research how the public interacts with AI platforms to seek legal assistance, and to develop a strategy around how to mitigate risks, ensure quality, and enhance access to justice on these AI platforms. AI increase access to justice, by helping people resolve their legal problems in more accessible, equitable, and effective ways? What are the risks that AI poses for people seeking legal guidance, that technical and policy guardrails should mitigate? In this course, students will conduct research to identify key opportunities and risks around AI's use by the public to deal with common legal problems like bad living conditions, possible evictions, debt collection, divorce, or domestic violence. Especially with the launch of new AI platforms like ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Bing Chat, more people may turn to generative AI platforms for guidance on their legal rights, options, and procedures. How can technology companies, legal institutions, and community groups responsibly advance AI solutions to benefit people in need? Students will explore these questions about AI and access to justice through hands-on interviews, fieldwork, and design workshops with different stakeholders throughout the justice system. They will run interview sessions online and on-site at courts, to hear from various community members about whether they would use AI for legal help and to brainstorm how the ideal AI system would behave. Students will also observe how participants use AI to respond to a fictional legal problem, to assess how the AI performs and understand how people regard the AI's guidance. Students will be required to complete ethical training for human subjects research, which takes approximately 2 hours through the CITI program online. They will then conduct community interviews according to an approved IRB research protocol. Students will synthesize what they learn in these community interviews, observations, and brainstorm sessions, in a presentation to legal and technical experts. They will hold a multi-stakeholder workshop at to explore how their findings may contribute to technical and legal projects to develop responsible, human-centered AI in the legal domain. Students will develop skills in facilitating interdisciplinary policy discussions about how technology and regulation can be developed alongside each other. The students¿ final report will contribute to policy and technology discussions about the principles, benchmarks, and risk typologies that can guide the ethical development of AI platforms for access to justice. Students are asked to enroll in both Fall and Winter quarters of the class. The class may be extended to Spring quarter, depending on the issues raised. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Performance, Class Participation, and Written Assignments. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available at SLS Registrar https://registrar.law.stanford.edu/.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 9 units total)
LAW 2403:
Federal Courts
This course addresses the role of the federal courts in the American system of federalism and separation of powers, as well as their role in the development of substantive federal law and constitutional rights. A central premise of the course is that the institutional, political, and constitutional features of federal litigation cannot be understood without engaging the historical and theoretical context, especially the social, political, and legal movements in response to which the federal courts have developed and related assumptions about structural constitutional theory (including federalism, supremacy, separation of powers, and judicial review). Thus while many of the traditional aspects of federal court jurisprudence will be covered (e.g., federal common law including implied rights of action, justiciability doctrines and other doctrines of restraint, congressional power to limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts and to create "legislative courts" outside of Article III, Supreme Court review of judgments, state sovereign immunity, litigating against the government, and federal habeas corpus), the doctrine will be assessed from an interdisciplinary perspective, including social, political, and theoretical accounts that reveal how the courts and ordinary Americans have come to understand the distinctive role of the federal courts, as well as claims for expansion or contraction of their powers. The course is recommended for students interested in pursuing a career in litigation, government service, and/or judicial clerkships. Special Instructions: In Winter 2023 the Federal Courts class will be capped at 45 students and conducted in small group sessions of 5 students per group. Required class participation includes (a) weekly pre-recorded lectures introducing assigned materials, and (b) weekly small group sessions. The small group sessions are led by Professor Spaulding every week. Some groups will have their sessions during the regularly scheduled hours of the course, but most groups will meet in sessions scheduled during other mutually convenient time slots each week. (Scheduling software will be used to generate time slots for each group for the quarter and students' availability will be solicited). The readings and pre-recorded lectures must be completed before attending small group sessions. The small group sessions run approximately 70 minutes each week and will be led by Professor Spaulding in person assuming health regulations permit. If this is not possible, they will be conducted online. The goal of this format is to create an engaging, interactive, and intellectually rigorous setting for exploration of the course materials and themes. Note that class time is not used for basic exposition of cases -- students are expected to have used the readings and lectures to internalize the basic doctrine. We will instead use our sessions to focus on the hardest doctrinal and structural constitutional questions presented by the cases. Each group will cover a common set of 'hard questions,' so careful preparation is obligatory. There is usually some time for brief Q&A each week, but the sessions are not conducted as open-ended tutorials. Although none is a prerequisite, students generally report that it is useful to have taken some or all of the following classes: Advanced Civ Pro, Administrative Law, Con Law II, Criminal Procedure, Remedies. Elements used in grading: Grading will be based on attendance, participation, a short paper, and a take home final exam. Interested students should fill out a consent form indicating understanding of and interest in this format. Course Planning Note: The law school offers a standard format, open enrollment course in another quarter, so if you are not interested in the small group format or can't take the risk of consent admission in the winter quarter, please plan your academic year and course selection accordingly. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available at https://law.stanford.edu/education/courses/consent-of-instructor-forms/. See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
LAW 2510:
California Coast: Science, Policy and Law
This interdisciplinary course integrates the legal, scientific, and policy dimensions of how we characterize and manage resource use and allocation along the California coast. We will use this geographic setting as the vehicle for exploring more generally how agencies, legislatures, and courts resolve resource-use conflicts and the role that scientific information and uncertainty play in the process. Our focus will be on the land-sea interface as we explore contemporary coastal land-use and marine resource decision-making, including coastal pollution, public health, ecosystem management; public access; private development; local community and state infrastructure; natural systems and significant threats; resource extraction; and conservation, mitigation and restoration. Students will learn the fundamental physics, chemistry, and biology of the coastal zone, tools for exploring data collected in the coastal ocean, and the institutional framework that shapes public and private decisions affecting coastal resources. There will be 3 to 4 written assignments addressing policy and science issues during the quarter, as well as a take-home final assignment. Special Instructions: In-class work and discussion is often done in interdisciplinary teams of students from the School of Law, the School of Engineering, the School of Humanities and Sciences, and the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences. Students are expected to participate in class discussion and 2-3 Saturday field trips. Elements used in grading: Participation, including class session and field trip attendance, writing and quantitative assignments. Cross-listed with Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE 175A/275A).
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
LAW 2513:
Climate: Politics, Finance, and Infrastructure
While climate change is often considered an 'environmental problem', the risks and opportunities embedded in a changing climate go well beyond the natural environment. This course reframes climate as a macroeconomic challenge, one in which multilateral politics, global investment, and distribution of impacts must be understood and reconsidered. Based on readings and guest speakers, this interdisciplinary course traces the arc of climate past, present and future on the pillars of politics, finance, and infrastructure (both physical and institutional). Grounded in the latest climate science and the history of global climate negotiations, the bulk of the course investigates innovations at the intersection of finance, law and policy, with particular emphasis on risk management, legal liability, corporations, climate justice and resilience. The final sessions look to the future and consider how the next generation of leaders might solve the greatest challenge of our time. Elements used in grading: Students may take the course for 2 units (section 1) or 3 units (section 2). Section 1 and 2 students will receive grades for attendance, in class participation and guest-speaker questions. Section 1 students will complete a group presentation on the design of a financial, business, legal or policy intervention with the potential to reduce emissions on a large scale. Section 2 students will be required to write an individual research paper meeting the Law School's R paper requirements. This class is limited to 60 students, with an effort made to have students from SLS (30 students will be selected by lottery) and 30 non-law students by consent of the instructor. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-3
LAW 2522:
Private Environmental Governance
The tools of private environmental regulation (e.g., eco-certifications, CSR initiatives, supplier contracts) have become an increasingly important source of governance. But how do they work? How do they arise--why and how can corporations participate in these voluntary measures? How do they regulate firm behavior and how can regulators police the tools themselves? This interdisciplinary seminar examines these questions and more, with readings from traditional legal sources (cases, agreements), as well as from economics, political science, and social psychology. Guest speakers and case studies will add real-world context to our exploration of theory. Elements used in grading: Students may take the course for 2 units (section 1) or 3 units (section 2). Attendance, class participation, and short written assignments will factor into grades for both sections. Section 1 students will also prepare a private governance proposal and presentation. Section 2 students will write a research paper meeting the Law School's R paper requirements. After the term begins, students can transfer from section 1 to section 2, which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructors. Please note that the last two class sessions (May 21 and 28) will have to be rescheduled. Cross-listed with Environment and Resources (ENVRES 228).
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 2-3
LAW 3505:
Law and Culture in American Fiction
How do we identify an owner? What does a citizen look like? Whose privacy requires protection? The stories we tell about the experience of being Americans bolster and undermine particular legal arguments and conclusions. In the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, novels were an important source of these narratives. And over the last century movies, television and other forms of visual storytelling have recycled these stock narratives countless times. In this interdisciplinary seminar, a novel or story is paired with a contemporary legal text (and often historical material for context) each week. These pairings track the maintenance of personal identity, community stability, and even linguistic meaning across shifting legal constructions of citizenship, race, gender, and class; changes in the law of property, contract, and privacy; and other legal and extralegal deployments of the (violent) authority of the state. The writers whose work we will consider include James Fenimore Cooper, Herman Melville, Henry James, William Faulkner, Nella Larsen, John Okada, Katherine Anne Porter and Sherman Alexie. (These authors are known for great writing and cultural influence, but also, in some cases, overt racism and personal misconduct.) Reading and writing with an increased awareness of the background narratives implicit in our legal arguments is among the goals of the course. Elements used in grading: Class participation, attendance, and written assignments. Automatic grading penalty waived for writers. For Research "R" credit, students may petition to complete one long paper based on independent research with consent of the instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
LAW 3507:
Law and the Rhetorical Tradition
The conventions of legal writing and reasoning taught in law school derive from a long tradition of argument and persuasion. This interdisciplinary seminar locates legal conventions in that broader intellectual history, starting with Aristotle and tracing (some of) the ruptures and continuities that have shaped our particular practices. The way we argue matters. The form we give our statements determines not just whether but whom they will persuade. So we will develop a tool kit for identifying the available means of persuasion, crafting sentences and paragraphs that suit the ideas they contain, voicing those ideas with an eye to audience and purpose as well as authority; noticing the way the language we choose implies a social world in which the argument unfolds. The goal is to become both more effective and more conscious in our deployment of those conventions -- as readers, speakers and writers. Elements used in grading: Class participation, attendance, revision and writing assignments. Automatic grading penalty waived for writers. Special Instructions: This course can satisfy the Research "R" requirement. The instructor and the student must agree whether the student will receive "R" credit. For "R" credit, the paper is substantial and is based on independent research. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
LAW 3508:
Law and Visual Culture
When we represent our experience today, we do so as much through images as language. When we seek to persuade, we offer photographs, charts, videos. When we witness misconduct, we pull out our smartphones. Social media has emerged as a powerful court of public opinion. AI has made it easy to generate realistic images out of thin air. And as images saturate our cultural discourse, they are increasingly part of legal practice. The power of an image often lies in its apparent simplicity: we know it when we see it. But how much of what we see is produced by the biases and expectations -- the habits of viewing -- that we bring to the encounter? What is left out when an infographic distills information for us? Lawyers and judges have historically tended to treat certain kinds of images as unmediated representations of reality, even though neuroscience, empirical research, and cultural theory all refute this so-called reality effect. Such naïve realism maps on to an ideal of definitive proof embedded in the adversary system. And it haunts our efforts to adapt legal practice to visual persuasion in ways that are consistent with our rule of law values. This interdisciplinary seminar tracks the legal reception of modern visual representation from confusion about the admissibility of photographs in the late 19th century (is it like a drawing? is it like eyewitness testimony?) to the trials of O.J Simpson and the police officers that assaulted Rodney King in the 1990s (how does race affect our perception of trails? do judges and jurors decide differently when the proceedings are televised?) to the frequent and strategic deployment of visual media in pretrial and litigation practice today. We will also consider the roles of visual persuasion in areas of doctrine (like privacy, qualified immunity, and freedom of speech) as well as applications in practice (like contracts and client communications). Throughout the quarter, we will attend to the ways American visual culture has resisted and reinforced systemic racism and inequality. Special Instructions: This course can satisfy the Research "R" requirement. The instructor and the student must agree whether the student will receive "R" credit. For "R" credit, the paper is substantial and is based on independent research. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements Used in Grading: Class Participation. Attendance, Written Assignments, Final Paper. Automatic grading penalty waived for writers.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
LAW 4014:
Law, Technology, and Liberty
New technologies from gene editing to networked computing have already transformed our economic and social structures and are increasingly changing what it means to be human. What role has law played in regulating and shaping these technologies? And what role can and should it play in the future? This seminar will consider these and related questions, focusing on new forms of networked production, the new landscape of security and scarcity, and the meaning of human nature and ecology in an era of rapid technological change. Readings will be drawn from a range of disciplines, including science and engineering, political economy, and law. The course will feature several guest speakers. There are no formal prerequisites in either engineering or law, but students should be committed to pursuing novel questions in an interdisciplinary context. The enrollment goal is to balance the class composition between law and non-law students. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Written Assignments. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (Click Courses at the bottom of the homepage and then click Consent of Instructor Forms). See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline. This course is cross-listed with Bioengineering (BIOE 242) and Engineering (ENGR 243) .
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 2
LAW 4031:
Disruptive Technologies: Their Impact on Our Laws, and the Laws' Impact on the Technology
The advent of a highly disruptive technology necessarily butts up against existing laws, regulations and policies designed for the status quo as well as established businesses. This course takes the examples of driverless cars and artificial intelligence and examines the new and challenging legal questions and opportunities presented by these technologies. We will also discuss how business leaders, lawyers and technologists in these areas can navigate and create legal, regulatory and policy environments designed to help their businesses not only survive but thrive. Through a combination of readings, classroom discussions, expert guest speakers from the relevant technology and policy fields and student presentations, this course explores the promise of these technologies, the legal and regulatory challenges presented and the levers in-house counsel and business leaders in these fields can invoke to better navigate the inevitable obstacles facing these highly disruptive technologies. There are no formal prerequisites in engineering or law required, but students should be committed to pursuing novel questions in an interdisciplinary context. Elements used in grading: class preparation and short reflection papers. This course is open to School of Engineering and graduate students with consent of the instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 2
LAW 4045:
Digital Technology and Law: Foundations
Taught by a team of law and engineering faculty, this unique interdisciplinary course will empower students across the University to work together and exercise leadership on critically important debates at the intersection of law and digital technology. Designed as an accessible survey, the course will equip students with two powerful bases of knowledge: (i) a working technical grasp of key digital technologies (e.g., AI and machine learning, internet structure, encryption, blockchain); and (ii) basic fluency in the key legal frameworks implicated by each (e.g., privacy, cybersecurity, anti-discrimination, free speech, torts, procedural fairness). Substantively, the course will be organized into modules focused on distinct law-tech intersections, including: platform regulation, speech, and intermediary liability; algorithmic bias and civil rights; autonomous systems, safety, and tort liability; "smart" contracting; data privacy and consumer protection; "legal tech," litigation, and access to justice; government use of AI; and encryption and criminal procedure. Each module will be explored via a mix of technical and legal instruction, case study discussions, in-class practical exercises, and guest speakers from industry, government, academe, and civil society. Law students will emerge from the course with a basic understanding of core digital technologies and related legal frameworks and a roadmap of curricular and career pathways one might follow to pursue each area further. Students from elsewhere in the University, from engineering to business to the social sciences and beyond, will emerge with an enhanced capacity to critically assess the legal and policy implications of new digital technologies and the ways society can work to ensure those technologies serve the public good. All students will learn to work together across disciplinary divides to solve technical, legal, and practical problems. There are no course prerequisites, and no prior legal or technical training will be assumed. Students will be responsible for short discussion papers or a final paper. After the term begins, students electing the final paper option can transfer from section 1 to section 2, which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. This class is cross-listed in the University and undergraduates and graduates are eligible to take it. Consent Application for Non-Law Students: We will try to accommodate all students interested in the course. But to facilitate planning and confirm interest, please fill out a consent application (https://forms.gle/hLAQ7JUm2jFTWQzE9) by March 13, 2020. Applications received after March 13 will be considered on a rolling basis. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation; Written Assignments or Final Paper. Cross-listed with Computer Science (CS 481).
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 3
LAW 5009:
International Conflict Resolution
This seminar examines the challenges of managing and resolving intractable political and violent intergroup and international conflicts. Employing an interdisciplinary approach drawing on social psychology, political science, game theory, and international law, the course identifies various strategic, psychological, and structural barriers that can impede the achievement of efficient solutions to conflicts. We will explore a conceptual framework for conflict management and resolution that draws not only on theoretical insights, but also builds on historical examples and practical experience in the realm of conflict resolution. This approach examines the need for the parties to conflicts to address the following questions in order to have prospects of creating peaceful relationships: (1) how can the parties to conflict develop a vision of a mutually bearable shared future; (2) how can parties develop trust in the enemy; (3) how can each side be persuaded, as part of a negotiated settlement, to accept losses that it will find very painful; and (4) how do we overcome the perceptions of injustice that each side are likely to have towards any compromise solution? We will consider both particular conflicts, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the South African transition to majority rule, as well as cross-cutting issues, such as the role international legal rules play in facilitating or impeding conflict resolution, the ways intragroup dynamics affect intergroup conflict resolution efforts, and the role of transitional justice mechanisms to address atrocities following civil wars. Special Instructions: Section 01: Grades will be based on class participation, written assignments, and a final exam. Section 02: Up to five students, with consent of the instructor, will have the option to write an independent research paper for Research (R) credit in lieu of some of the written assignments and final exam for Section 01. After the term begins, students (max 5) accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. This class is limited to 20 students, with an effort made to have students from SLS (12 students will be selected by lottery) and eight non-law students by consent of instructor. This class is cross-listed with International Policy (INTLPOL 250) and Psychology (PSYCH 383).
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 2
LAW 5029:
Human Trafficking: Historical, Legal, and Medical Perspectives
(Formerly Law 675) This course offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the extent and complexity of the global phenomenon of human trafficking, including trafficking for forced prostitution, labor exploitation, and organ harvesting. In each of these areas, we will focus on human rights violations and remedies. The course aims to: 1. Provide the historical context for the development and spread of human trafficking. 2. Analyze current international and domestic legal and policy frameworks to combat trafficking and evaluate their practical implementation. 3. Examine the medical, psychological, and public health issues involved. 4. Stimulate ideas for new interventions. Instruction will combine lectures and small group discussion, and uses problem-based learning. Students interested in service learning should also enroll in History 6W/7W (FemGen 6W/7W), a two-quarter service learning workshop. Elements used in grading: Attendance; participation; written assignments; and final exam. This class is cross-listed with Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies (FEMGEN 5C, FEMGEN 105C), History (HISTORY 5C, 105C), Human Biology (HUMBIO 178T), International Relations (INTNLREL 105C) & School of Medicine General (SOMGEN 205).
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 3
LAW 6006:
Introduction to Legal Design
(Formerly Law 761) Intro to Legal Design is a 9-week course for law students & other graduate students to reimagine how legal services are delivered, & to learn how to use human-centered design methods to create breakthrough solutions to complex problems. The students will work with project partners - including legal aid groups, courts, and private law firms -- on legal service challenges to help the partners solve real problems they & their users face. For each challenge, students will work on interdisciplinary teams, with close coaching from designers, engineers & lawyers. Students will learn design methods to create new innovations that make legal services more accessible & engaging. Elements used in grading: Class Participation, Attendance, Written Assignments.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3
LAW 7042:
Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and the Law
This seminar will focus on how the law regulates the lives and bodies of trans and queer people. We will approach the material primarily through the lens of constitutional law, exploring how courts have used--or might use--federal or state constitutional provisions to address a wide array of issues involving gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. The core of the class will relate to contemporary controversies concerning gender identity and sexual orientation (including, for example, how gender is defined, recognition of nonbinary identities, access to gender-affirming healthcare, relationship rights of same-sex couples, and religious liberty debates, among others), and will critically examine how legal regulation of gender and sexuality intersects with other identity-based categories including race, class, and disability. We will maintain an interdisciplinary focus throughout as we consider how social, cultural, and political forces shape, and are shaped by, legal doctrine. Special Instructions: Students have the option to write a long research paper in lieu of the final exam with consent of instructor. After the term begins, students enrolled in the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Written Assignments; Exam or research paper.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 2
LAW 7104:
The Youth Justice Lab: Imagining an Anti-Racist Public Education System
This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to these issues by enrolling students from the Law School and the Graduate School of Education. Specifically, partnering with Public Counsel and IntegrateNYC, Youth Justice Lab students will gather and analyze the relevant historical and empirical research, interview and consult with experts in the field, and draft a series of research and policy memos that summarize our research and provide recommendations.
| Units: 2
LAW 8003:
International Economic Law, Business & Policy (IELBP) Colloquium
This course enables IELBP advanced degree students to explore selected issues, case studies and policy debates in international economic law and business, global political economy, and international economic dispute resolution in a highly interactive seminar. The course is a complement to the other core degree requirements of the LLM in IELBP and is discussion-oriented. The course offers students the opportunity to engage in dialogue with experts in the field (including expert practitioners, Stanford Law faculty and interdisciplinary scholars from other schools, departments or programs at Stanford University). The course takes on a wide-ranging approach: we will examine legal issues confronting international business while also focusing on cutting-edge debates arising out of economic globalization; we will explore the complex architecture of international economic law, unpacking how international institutions and public international law sources (formal and informal) regulate: i) cross-border business transactions between private parties, ii) international economic relations between and among states, and iii) cross-border economic conduct by states, international organizations, and private actors. Students are expected to have carefully read assigned materials in advance of each session, and to actively participate during class. Grades for the colloquium are based on students' papers, a presentation, and their classroom performance (e.g., preparation, participation, attendance, etc.). The course extends over two quarters (autumn and spring), and students are required to complete both quarters in order to satisfy the program requirement. Topics in the Fall quarter will focus on developments in world trade law, international monetary cooperation, international investment law, economic integration and development, international taxation, international arbitration, and international antitrust law among others. Topics in the Spring quarter will be selected based on students' interests, as well as pressing policy concerns in international commerce.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
LAW 8013:
SPILS Research Methods Workshop
This is a mandatory course for SPILS Fellows as part of the program's core curriculum. Its main goal is to offer students an interdisciplinary perspective about socio-legal research, and research tools for implementing their individual research projects. This Winter term workshop will complement the Research Design for Empirical Legal Studies Seminar taken in the Autumn by 1) expanding and elaborating on some of the methods analyzed during the seminar; and 2) assisting students in using such methods towards their individual research project. The workshop will consist of specialized sessions, most of them tailored towards the work of empirical research that occurs after the data collection phase. During the quarter the fellows are expected to submit drafts of different chapters of their thesis and present their preliminary findings in class. If appropriate, the workshop may also include group and/or individual sessions designed to address the very specific needs of the research undertaken by the SPILS Fellows. Elements used in grading: Class participation, attendance, written assignments and final presentations. Enrollment is restricted to SPILS fellows. The seminar is required for JSM graduation. Class will meet online (Zoom) and in-person to be arranged by the instructor with the students.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 2 units total)
ME 206A:
Design for Extreme Affordability
Design for Extreme Affordability (fondly called Extreme) is a two-quarter course offered by the d.school through the School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Business. This multidisciplinary project-based experience creates an enabling environment in which students learn to design products and services that will change the lives of the world's poorest citizens. Students work directly with course partners on real world problems, the culmination of which is actual implementation and real impact. Topics include design thinking, product and service design, rapid prototype engineering and testing, business modelling, social entrepreneurship, team dynamics, impact measurement, operations planning and ethics. Possibility to travel overseas during spring break. Previous projects include d.light, Driptech, Earthenable, Embrace, the Lotus Pump, MiracleBrace, Noora Health and Sanku. Periodic design reviews; Final course presentation and expo; industry and adviser interaction. Limited enrollment via application. Must sign up for ME206A and ME206B. See extreme.stanford.edu
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
ME 206B:
Design for Extreme Affordability
Design for Extreme Affordability (fondly called Extreme) is a two-quarter course offered by the d.school through the School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Business. This multidisciplinary project-based experience creates an enabling environment in which students learn to design products and services that will change the lives of the world's poorest citizens. Students work directly with course partners on real world problems, the culmination of which is actual implementation and real impact. Topics include design thinking, product and service design, rapid prototype engineering and testing, business modelling, social entrepreneurship, team dynamics, impact measurement, operations planning and ethics. Possibility to travel overseas during spring break. Previous projects include d.light, Driptech, Earthenable, Embrace, the Lotus Pump, MiracleBrace, Noora Health and Sanku. Periodic design reviews; Final course presentation and expo; industry and adviser interaction. Limited enrollment via application. Must sign up for ME206A and ME206B. See extreme.stanford.edu. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
ME 236:
Tales to Design Cars By
Students learn to tell personal narratives and prototype connections between popular and historic media using the automobile. Explores the meaning and impact of personal and preserved car histories. Storytelling techniques serve to make sense of car experiences through engineering design principles and social learning, Replay memories, examine engagement and understand user interviews, to design for the mobility experience of the future. This course celebrates car fascination, and leads the student through finding and telling a car story through the REVS photographic archives, ethnographic research, interviews, and diverse individual and collaborative narrative methods-verbal, non-verbal, and film. Methods draw from socio-cognitive psychology design thinking, and fine art; applied to car storytelling. Course culminates in a final story presentation and showcase. Restricted to co-term and graduate students. Class Size limited to 16.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
ME 243:
Designing Emotion: for Reactive Car Interfaces
Students learn to define emotions as physiology, expression, and private experience using the automobile and shared space. Explores the meaning and impact of personal and user car experience. Reflective, narrative, and socio-cognitive techniques serve to make sense of mobility experiences; replay memories; examine engagement; understand user interviews. This course celebrates car fascination and leads the student through finding and telling the car experience through discussion, ethnographic research, interviews, and diverse individual and collaborative narrative methods-verbal, non-verbal, and in car experiences. Methods draw from socio-cognitive psychology, design thinking, and fine art, and are applied to the car or mobility experience. Course culminates in a final individual narrative presentation and group project demonstration. Class size limited to 18.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 3 units total)
ME 302C:
The Future of the Automobile- Mobility Entrepreneurship
The objective of this course is to develop an understanding for the requirements that go into the design of a highly complex yet easy-to-use product, i.e. the automobile. Students will learn about very different interdisciplinary aspects that characterize the automobile and personal mobility. This is part of a multi-quarter seminar series, which build on one another but can be taken independently. This quarter, students will learn from 10 different founders / C-level executives about how they built their mobility startup to change the world of transportation. Previous classes included speakers from Tesla, Lyft, Pearl Auto, Turo, Nauto. In hearing these founder stories, students will get an insight not only into the world of entrepreneurship but also the multidisciplinary nature of the transportation industry. The course consists of 50-minute discussions with founders, with students encouraged to participate and ask questions of the founders. To obtain credit, students must attend 8 out of 10 classes including the first class.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 2 units total)
ME 329:
Mechanical Analysis in Design
This project based course will cover the application of engineering analysis methods learned in the Mechanics and Finite Element series to real world problems involving the mechanical analysis of a proposed device or process. Students work in teams, and each team has the goal of solving a problem defined jointly with a sponsoring company or research group. Each team will be mentored by a faculty mentor and a mentor from the sponsoring organization. The students will gain experience in the formation of project teams; interdisciplinary communication skills; intellectual property; and project management. Course has limited enrollment.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
ME 368B:
Biodesign Innovation: Concept Development and Implementation (BIOE 374B, MED 272B)
In this two-quarter course, multidisciplinary teams identify real unmet healthcare needs, invent health technologies to address them, and plan for their implementation into patient care. In second quarter, teams select a lead solution to advance through technical prototyping, strategies to address healthcare-specific requirements (IP, regulation, reimbursement), and business planning. Class sessions include faculty-led instruction, case studies, coaching sessions by experts, guest lecturers, and interactive team meetings. Enrollment is by application. Students are required to take both quarters of the course.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
MED 214:
Frontier Technology: Understanding and Preparing for Technology in the Next Economy (CEE 114, CEE 214, MED 114, PSYC 114)
The next wave of technological innovation and globalization will affect our countries, our societies, and ourselves. This interdisciplinary course provides an introduction to emerging, frontier technologies. Topics covered include artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing and advanced robotics, smart cities and urban mobility, telecommunications with 5G/6G, and other key emerging technologies in society. These technologies have vast potential to address the largest global challenges of the 21st century, ushering in a new era of progress and change.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 1
MED 229:
Longevity (HUMBIO 149L, PSYCH 102)
Interdisciplinary. Challenges to and solutions for the young from increased human life expectancy: health care, financial markets, families, work, and politics. Guest lectures from engineers, economists, geneticists, and physiologists.
Last offered: Winter 2022
| Units: 3
MED 235:
Designing Research-Based Interventions to Solve Global Health Problems (AFRICAST 135, AFRICAST 235, EDUC 135, EDUC 335, EPI 235)
The excitement around social innovation and entrepreneurship has spawned numerous startups focused on tackling world problems, particularly in the fields of education and health. The best social ventures are launched with careful consideration paid to research, design, and efficacy. This course offers students an immersive educational experience into understanding how to effectively develop, evaluate, and scale social ventures. Students will also get a rare "behind-the-scenes" glimpse at the complex ethical dilemmas social entrepreneurs have tackled to navigate the odds. Partnered with TeachAids, a global award-winning nonprofit (scaled to 82 countries), this course introduces students to the major principles of research-based design and integrates instruction supported by several game-changing social leaders. Open to both undergraduate and graduate students, it culminates in a formal presentation to an interdisciplinary panel of diverse Silicon Valley leaders. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MED 238:
Leading and Managing Health Care Organizations: Innovation and Collaboration in High Stakes Settings
Leading and managing in complex, high stakes settings, like health care, where lives and livelihoods are on the line, presents distinctive challenges and constraints. This course challenges you to apply seminal and contemporary theories in organizational behavior to evaluate managerial decisions and develop evidence-based strategies for leading and managing health care teams and organizations. Topics include leading systems that promote learning; implementing change; and interdisciplinary problem-solving, decision-making, and collaboration. Group work and exercises will simulate high pressure and risk-taking under uncertainty. While the focus of this course will be on health care situations, lessons are relevant to other settings including consulting, banking, and high tech, and prior experience in the health sector is not required.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3
MED 251A:
The A to Z of Translational Medicine: Fundamentals and Technical Considerations of Drug Development
This multidisciplinary course is designed to train students in applying translational research approaches to solve fundamental problems in healthcare delivery. The class is focused on addressing real-world problems in a creative, interdisciplinary team setting: includes discussions, guest speaker talks, student presentations, and site visits to various Stanford translational research centers and local biotech companies. Topics covered: drug discovery, IND, NDA, drug metabolism/safety, pharmacogenomics, biomarker diagnostics, QA/QC/Compliance, Patents/IP, pharmacokinetics, clinical development, NIH and regulatory issues, and commercialization).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
10 times
(up to 10 units total)
MED 251B:
The A to Z of Translational Medicine: Strategic Challenges in Drug Development
Second course in this three-course series: This multidisciplinary course is designed to train students in applying translational research approaches to solve fundamental problems in healthcare delivery. The class is focused on addressing real-world problems in a creative, interdisciplinary team setting: includes discussions, guest speaker talks, student presentations, and site visits to various Stanford translational research centers and local biotech companies. Topics covered: drug discovery, IND, NDA, drug metabolism/safety, pharmacogenomics, biomarker diagnostics, QA/QC/Compliance, Patents/IP, pharmacokinetics, clinical development, NIH and regulatory issues, and commercialization).
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MED 251C:
The A to Z of Translational Medicine: Emerging Trends in Drug Development and Next-gen Innovations
This is the third course in a series of three: This multidisciplinary course is designed to train students in applying translational research approaches to solve fundamental problems in healthcare delivery. The class is focused on addressing real-world problems in a creative, interdisciplinary team setting: includes discussions, guest speaker talks, student presentations, and site visits to various Stanford translational research centers and local biotech companies. Topics covered: drug discovery, IND, NDA, drug metabolism/safety, pharmacogenomics, biomarker diagnostics, QA/QC/Compliance, Patents/IP, pharmacokinetics, clinical development, NIH and regulatory issues, and commercialization).
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MED 272:
Science and History of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ASNAMST 272, CHINA 272)
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a unique system for the diagnosis and treatment of disease, as well as for the cultivation of life-long health and well-being. This course introduces basic TCM theories, practices, and treatment methods including acupuncture, Taichi, and herbal medicine. We will introduce historical figures and events in the history of Traditional Chinese Medicine and East-West integrative health. Drawing on science, cultural history, and philosophy, this interdisciplinary approach will help us to understand Traditional Chinese Medicine in its intellectual, social, and cultural context. We will discuss the scientific exploration of TCM and how modern science shapes our understanding of East-West integrative health.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1
MED 272A:
Biodesign Innovation: Needs Finding and Concept Creation (BIOE 374A, ME 368A)
In this two-quarter course series ( BIOE 374A/B, MED 272A/B, ME 368A/B, OIT 384/5), multidisciplinary student teams identify real-world unmet healthcare needs, invent new health technologies to address them, and plan for their implementation into patient care. During the first quarter (winter), students select and characterize an important unmet healthcare problem, validate it through primary interviews and secondary research, and then brainstorm and screen initial technology-based solutions. In the second quarter (spring), teams select a lead solution and move it toward the market through prototyping, technical re-risking, strategies to address healthcare-specific requirements (regulation, reimbursement), and business planning. Final presentations in winter and spring are made to a panel of prominent health technology experts and/or investors. Class sessions include faculty-led instruction and case studies, coaching sessions by industry specialists, expert guest lecturers, and interactive team meetings. Enrollment is by application only, and students are required to participate in both quarters of the course. Visit http://biodesign.stanford.edu/programs/stanford-courses/biodesign-innovation.html to access the application, examples of past projects, and student testimonials. More information about Stanford Biodesign, which has led to the creation of 50 venture-backed healthcare companies and has helped hundreds of student launch health technology careers, can be found at http://biodesign.stanford.edu/.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
MED 272B:
Biodesign Innovation: Concept Development and Implementation (BIOE 374B, ME 368B)
In this two-quarter course, multidisciplinary teams identify real unmet healthcare needs, invent health technologies to address them, and plan for their implementation into patient care. In second quarter, teams select a lead solution to advance through technical prototyping, strategies to address healthcare-specific requirements (IP, regulation, reimbursement), and business planning. Class sessions include faculty-led instruction, case studies, coaching sessions by experts, guest lecturers, and interactive team meetings. Enrollment is by application. Students are required to take both quarters of the course.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
MED 275B:
Biodesign Fundamentals (MED 175B)
MED 175B/275B is an introduction to the Biodesign process for health technology innovation. This team-based course emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and hands-on learning at the intersection of medicine and technology. Students will work on projects in the space of medical devices, digital health, and healthcare technologies with the assistance of clinical and industry mentors. Applicants from all majors and stages in their education welcome. Students will work in teams to develop solutions to current unmet medical needs, starting with a deep dive into understanding and characterizing important unmet medical needs through disease research, competitive analysis, market research, and stakeholder analysis. Other topics that will be discussed include FDA regulation of medical technology, intellectual property, value proposition, and business model development. Consent required for enrollment, to apply visit: https://forms.gle/YkrhXpBDwjRoK7aQ8?
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
MED 279:
Stanford Health Consulting Group - Core
This course provides the opportunity to analyze and solve major strategic and operational challenges in health care delivery and innovation through interdisciplinary team projects. Teams will receive direct mentorship from Stanford Medicine faculty, health care leaders, and experienced student leads, with projects carefully defined to optimize high-impact experiential learning and leadership development. Projects will culminate with student-led presentations to faculty sponsors and other health care stakeholders, as well as opportunities for further dissemination of solutions.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
(up to 99 units total)
MED 285:
Global Leaders and Innovators in Human and Planetary Health: Sustainable Societies Lab (HRP 285, SUSTAIN 345)
Are you interested in innovative ideas and strategies for addressing urgent challenges in human and planetary health and creating sustainable societies? This 7 session lecture series features a selection of noteworthy leaders, innovators, and experts across diverse sectors/topics in health and the environment such as: health innovation and environmental sustainability, social and environmental justice and equality, social innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems, foundations and venture capital, tech innovation, media and AI, biotech and ag-tech, pandemics, public health and community wellbeing, food systems and agricultural innovation, hunger and nutrition, clean water and air, nonprofits and community action, public policy innovation and systems change, and the role of academia and you. Co-convened and co-designed by faculty, fellows and students collaborating across several Stanford centers, departments, schools, the course invites the discussion of global problems, interdisciplinary perspectives, and systemic solutions for the climate crisis and human health. The course will address root causes of the climate crisis and urgent challenges of human and planetary health, including sociological constraints, political objectives, economic incentives, technological limitations, and preservation of global stability, and suggest models of leadership, innovation and sustainable social change. We will also delve into efforts to catalyze long-term sustainability across the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. Students from all backgrounds are encouraged to enroll - registration is open to all Stanford students and fellows. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 8 units total)
MED 289:
Introduction to Bioengineering Research (BIOE 390)
Preference to medical and bioengineering graduate students with first preference given to Bioengineering Scholarly Concentration medical students. Bioengineering is an interdisciplinary field that leverages the disciplines of biology, medicine, and engineering to understand living systems, and engineer biological systems and improve engineering designs and human and environmental health. Students and faculty make presentations during the course. Students expected to make presentations, complete a short paper, read selected articles, and take quizzes on the material.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
5 times
(up to 10 units total)
MED 323A:
Trans-Disciplinary Breast Oncology Clerkship
VISITING: Closed to visitors. TYPE OF CLERKSHIP: Selective 1. DESCRIPTION: This 4 week trans-disciplinary breast oncology clerkship cuts across the relevant treatment modalities and emphasizes interdisciplinary, patient-centered care. Breast cancer is a highly prevalent disease often treated in early stages with medical, radiation and surgical therapies. The student will be in each clinic of these treatment clinics for one day every week, independently work up and discuss patients with assigned faculty, present new cases to the breast tumor board, and subsequently synthesize the visit notes and outpatient letters. At least one day per week, students will choose from additional care activities that shape the patient's experience, including observation of breast surgeries, wound care visits, radiation dosimetry planning or simulation, chemotherapy teaching or infusion, and medical oncology inpatient rounds. Furthermore, students are encouraged to identify patients with multiple visits that month and follow them across clinics for concentrated continuity. The clerkship offers a unique vantage point to learn about the shared decision-making and coordination of complex cancer care, in addition to the management of general health problems for breast cancer patients. Students further appreciate the longitudinal evolution of the patient's relationship with their cancer. There will be weekly debrief check-ins and short didactics to optimize the student's experience. PREREQUISITES: Any core clerkship. PERIODS AVAILABLE:1-12, full-time for 4 weeks, 1 student per period. CLERKSHIP DIRECTOR: Melina Telli, M.D. CLERKSHIP COORDINATOR: Jeanne Simonian, 650-721-1969, jsimonian@stanford.edu. REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS: Where: Stanford Cancer Center CC-2241; Time: 8:30 am. CALL CODE: 0. OTHER FACULTY: Staff. LOCATION: SUMC.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 6
MED 328A:
Addiction Medicine Clerkship
VISITING: Open to visitors. TYPE OF CLERKSHIP: Elective. DESCRIPTION: Since COVID this is a mix of virtual and in person experiences. This clerkship will provide students an experience in the fundamentals of addiction medicine from the perspective of primary care and interdisciplinary coordination of care. Clinic exposure will include opportunities to interact with patients with substance use disorders in a variety of settings: Community Clinics, Stanford Family Medicine Clinic, Mindfulness Support Groups, Residential and Inpatient settings. Students will learn about outpatient withdrawal management from opioids, alcohol, and other substances; relapse prevention medications for opioid and alcohol use disorders and the culture of substance use recovery. Although the Buprenorphine Waiver Course is no longer required, students will be required to complete the PCSS Buprenorphine course online as a primer on provider medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and write reflections on experiences. Please contact coordinator listed below for availability and pre-approval before signing up. PREREQUISITES: A minimum of 2 clerkship experiences that may include: Family or Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Surgery, OBGYN, Emergency, or Ambulatory (Urgent Care) Medicine. PERIODS AVAILABLE: 1-12 (inquire with instructor), full time for 2 weeks or 4 weeks, 1 student per period. CLERKSHIP DIRECTOR: Chwen-Yuen Angie Chen, MD, FACP, FASAM, chchen@stanfordhealthcare.org. CLERKSHIP COORDINATOR: Chwen-Yuen Angie Chen, MD, FACP, FASAM, chchen@stanfordhealthcare.org. REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS: Where: TBA; Time: TBD with some clinics starting virtually at 7:45 AM and in person clinics extending to 7:00 PM. CALL CODE: 0. OTHER FACULTY: Staff. LOCATION: SHC.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 3-6
MKTG 337:
Applied Behavioral Economics
The field of behavioral economics couples scientific research on the psychology of decision making with economic theory to better understand what motivates economic agents, including consumers, managers, public policymakers, investors, and employees. In this course, we will examine topics such as the 'irrational' patterns of how people think about products, money and investments, designing strategies and offerings to change behavior, and the drivers of happiness and the role of emotions in decision-making. This highly interdisciplinary course will be particularly relevant to students with interests in general management, entrepreneurship, Marketing, Strategy, Behavioral Finance, public policy, and nonprofit. Topics covered will include: Rationality and choice, choice complexity, intertemporal choice, emotional influences on choice, the role of behavioral economics in marketing, spending and savings behavior, social welfare, choice architecture, and defaults. The goals of this course are threefold: a) to study the basic principles of behavioral economics, b) To learn the application of the principles to various aspects of business and policy, and c) to think about a framework for developing products, programs, and tactics that are behaviorally informed. The course is composed of a mixture of lectures, exercises, academic paper reviews, and in-class case discussions. The purpose of the lectures is to present and discuss theories, concepts, analytical techniques and empirical findings. In-class exercise will be used to apply the concepts and techniques covered in the class. We will discuss a few business cases. In addition, students working in teams will prepare an analysis and recommended behavioral strategy for a company/startup of their choice.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 3
MLA 102:
An Introduction to Interdisciplinary Graduate Study
Limited to and required of second-year MLA students. Historical, literary, artistic, medical, and theological issues are covered. Focus is on skills and information needed to pursue MLA graduate work at Stanford: writing a critical, argumentative graduate paper; conducting library research; expectations of seminar participation.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
MS&E 248:
Blockchain and Crypto Currencies
Blockchain is one of the most significant technologies to impact law and business in many years. Blockchain is also one of the most interdisciplinary areas, bringing together new questions, and opportunities at the intersection of technology, business and law. This course is designed to employ this interdisciplinary nature, provide an overview of the technology behind blockchain, and explore current and potential real-world applications in technology, business and law. This is a lecture, discussion, and project-oriented class. Each lecture will focus on one of the topics, including a survey of the state-of-the-art in the area and in-depth discussion of the topic. Each week, students are expected to complete reading assignments before class and participate actively in class discussion.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 297:
"Hacking for Defense": Solving National Security issues with the Lean Launchpad
In a crisis, national security initiatives move at the speed of a startup yet in peacetime they default to decades-long acquisition and procurement cycles. Startups operate with continual speed and urgency 24/7. Over the last few years they've learned how to be not only fast, but extremely efficient with resources and time using lean startup methodologies. In this class student teams will take actual national security problems and learn how to apply lean startup principles, ("business model canvas," "customer development," and "agile engineering) to discover and validate customer needs and to continually build iterative prototypes to test whether they understood the problem and solution. Teams take a hands-on approach requiring close engagement with actual military, Department of Defense and other government agency end-users. Team applications required in February, see hacking4defense.stanford.edu. Limited enrollment.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
MS&E 494:
The Stanford Energy Seminar (CEE 301, ENERGY 301)
Interdisciplinary exploration of current energy challenges and opportunities in the context of development, equity and sustainability objectives. Talks are presented by faculty, visitors, and students and include relevant technology, policy, and systems perspectives. More information about the seminar can be found on the website https://energyseminar.stanford.edu/May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 495:
Sustainable Energy Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar (CEE 372, ENERGY 309)
Graduate students will present their ongoing research to an audience of faculty and graduate students with a diversity of disciplinary perspectives regarding sustainable energy.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
6 times
(up to 6 units total)
MTL 299:
Edgework: New Directions in the Study of Culture
Workshop. Required of first-year students in the doctoral program. Methodologies of different disciplines, the possibility and difficulty of interdisciplinary work within these disciplines, and their connection with the individual projects of students in Modern Thought and Literature. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 1-3
MTL 334B:
Concepts of Modernity II: Aesthetics and Phenomenology
This course explores central topics in aesthetics where aesthetics is understood both in the narrow sense of the philosophy of art and aesthetic judgment, and in a broader sense as it relates to questions of perception, sensation, and various modes of embodied experience. We will engage with both classical and contemporary works in aesthetic theory, while special emphasis will be placed on phenomenological approaches to art and aesthetic experience across a range of media and/or mediums (including painting, sculpture, film, and digital media). Note: This course satisfies the Concepts of Modernity II requirement in the interdisciplinary graduate program in Modern Thought and Literature.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
MTL 334C:
Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies
Our course serves both as an introduction to graduate studies and as an introduction to interdisciplinary practice for entering PhD students in MTL at Stanford. Required for first-year graduate students, our course examines major historical and theoretical approaches to the interdisciplinary humanities via engagement with the living application of these approaches on campus. Additionally, we attend to contemporary debates about PhD study, higher education, and issues of professional development. At the end of the class you will have a clearer sense of the scholar you want to become and on concrete ways to develop your interests, navigate faculty mentor-grad relations, department cultures, and life-work balance. Non MTL graduate students will be accepted only with permission from the instructors.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MUSIC 246N:
Transcultural Perspectives of South-East Asian Music and Arts (COMPLIT 148, COMPLIT 267, FRENCH 260A, MUSIC 146N)
This course will explore the links between aspects of South-East Asian cultures and their influence on modern and contemporary Western art and literature, particularly in France; examples of this influence include Claude Debussy (Gamelan music), Jacques Charpentier (Karnatak music), Auguste Rodin (Khmer art) and Antonin Artaud (Balinese theater). In the course of these interdisciplinary analyses - focalized on music and dance but not limited to it - we will confront key notions in relation to transculturality: orientalism, appropriation, auto-ethnography, nostalgia, exoticism and cosmopolitanism. We will also consider transculturality interior to contemporary creation, through the work of contemporary composers such as Tran Kim Ngoc, Chinary Ung and Tôn-Thât Tiêt. Viewings of sculptures, marionette theater, ballet, opera and cinema will also play an integral role. To satisfy a Ways requirement, this course must be taken for at least 3 units. WIM credit in Music at 4 units and a letter grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-4
MUSIC 300D:
Music Ethnography
This graduate seminar serves as an introduction to the methodologies and theoretical approaches for the ethnography of sound and musical practices. While we center on research problems, ethics, and methods in the field of ethnomusicology, ethnographic field research on sound and sounding has long been an interdisciplinary venture. We will additionally draw on performance studies, critical ethnography, anthropology, and critical race and gender studies to broaden our exposure to diverse methods and approaches. Throughout the seminar, we will pay close attention to the multiple ethical implications of crafting ethnographies about musicians, music-making, sound, performance, and listening practices.
Last offered: Spring 2022
| Units: 3-5
NBIO 227:
Understanding Techniques in Neuroscience
Students will learn to select and evaluate multidisciplinary techniques for approaching modern neuroscience questions. A combination of lectures and small group paper discussions will introduce techniques from molecular, genetic, behavioral, electrophysiological, imaging, and computational neuroscience. Students will be expected to complete homework assignments analyzing primary literature and attend optional laboratory demonstrations. Intended for graduate students, postdocs, and staff from any discipline; and for advanced undergraduates in the biosciences, engineering, or medicine.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
OB 348:
Leading and Managing Health Care Organizations: Innovation and Collaboration in High Stakes Settings
Leading and managing in complex, high stakes settings, like health care, where lives and livelihoods are on the line, presents distinctive challenges and constraints. This course challenges you to apply seminal and contemporary theories in organizational behavior to evaluate managerial decisions and develop evidence-based strategies for leading and managing health care teams and organizations. Topics include leading systems that promote learning; implementing change; and interdisciplinary problem-solving, decision-making, and collaboration. Group work and exercises will simulate high pressure and risk-taking under uncertainty. While this course will focus on application to health care situations, cases are drawn from multiple sectors and lessons are relevant to other settings including consulting, banking, and high tech. Prior experience in the health sector is not required.
Last offered: Winter 2022
| Units: 3
OB 626:
Strategy and Organizations
Why are some organizations more competitive than others? This is the defining questions of the interdisciplinary research field known as 'strategic management.' In this PhD seminar, we will survey the field of strategic management as seen from the perspective of 'macro' organizational behavior. The course takes a broad view of the field of strategic management, reflecting the diversity of perspectives that is seen in this field worldwide. Across this diversity, however, it is possible to identify four distinct theoretical approaches by noting the mechanisms that researchers think are generating outcomes. The course is structured around these four theoretical approaches, and one of the main objectives of the course is to help you identify, critique, and improve these theoretical approaches. Most work in strategic management pays less attention to particular theoretical perspectives, and is organized more by the topic - the phenomenon being studied - such as market exit, growth, performance, mergers and acquisitions, innovation, and the like. I have catalogued the research in strategic management both according to theoretical perspective and topic, and the skeleton of that structure can be seen in this syllabus. I encourage you to use a similar structure as you try to make sense out of the strategy field.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 3
OB 670:
Designing Social Research
This is a course in the design of social research, with a particular emphasis on research field (i.e., non-laboratory) settings. As such, the course is a forum for discussing and developing an understanding of the different strategies social theorists employ to explain social processes, develop theories, and make these theories as believable as possible. In general, these issues will be discussed in the context of sociological research on organizations, but this will not be the exclusive focus of the course. A range of topics will be covered, for example: formulating and motivating research questions; varieties of explanation; experimental and quasi-experimental methods, including natural experiments; counterfactual models; conceptualization and measurement; sampling and case selection; qualitative and quantitative approaches. This course is particularly oriented toward developing an appreciation of the tradeoffs of different approaches. It is well suited to Ph.D. students working on qualifying papers and dissertation proposals.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
OBGYN 256:
Current Topics and Controversies in Women's Health (FEMGEN 256, HUMBIO 125)
(HUMBIO students must enroll in HUMBIO 125 or FEMGEN 256. PhD minor in FGSS must enroll in FEMGEN 256. Med students must enroll in OBGYN 256.) Interdisciplinary. Focus is primarily on the U.S., with selected global women's health topics. Topics include: leading causes of morbidity and mortality across the life course; reproductive (e.g. gynecologic & obstetric) health issues; sexual function; importance of lifestyle (e.g. diet, exercise, weight control), including eating disorders; mental health; sexual and relationship abuse; issues for special populations. In-class Student Debates on key controversies in women's health. Guest lecturers. Undergraduates must enroll for 3 units. PhD minor in FGSS should enroll for 3 units. Med students can enroll for 2 - 3 units. To receive a letter grade in any listing, students must enroll for 3 units. This course must be taken for a letter grade and a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for Ways credit. Enrollment limited to students with sophomore academic standing or above. Undergraduate prerequisite: At least 2 of the Human Biology Core or Biology Foundations or equivalent or consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-3
OCEANS 252:
Marine Chemistry (EARTHSYS 152, EARTHSYS 252, ESS 152, ESS 252, OCEANS 152)
Introduction to the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills required to critically evaluate problems in marine chemistry and related disciplines. Physical, chemical, and biological processes that determine the chemical composition of seawater. Air-sea gas exchange, carbonate chemistry, and chemical equilibria, nutrient and trace element cycling, particle reactivity, sediment chemistry, and diagenesis. Examination of chemical tracers of mixing and circulation and feedbacks of ocean processes on atmospheric chemistry and climate. Designed to be taken concurrently with Biological Oceanography (ESS/EARTHSYS 151/251)
| Units: 3-4
OCEANS 270:
Taking the Pulse of the Ocean: Innovative Technologies for the Blue Planet (BIO 170, OCEANS 170)
This will be an interdisciplinary course focused on the intersection of ocean science, marine biology, engineering and computer science. Students will develop an in-depth understanding of the quantitative and field challenges involved in collecting ocean data and designing ocean instruments. Participants will have the opportunity to work with existing ocean technologies such as autonomous underwater and surface vehicles, biologging devices, drones, echosounders, environmental DNA samplers, ocean buoys, ocean drifters, and remotely operated vehicles that will be housed in the 'Ocean Garage'. They will deploy these instruments to study the interplay between physical, chemical and biological oceanography.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 3
ORTHO 303C:
Clinical Clerkship in Rehabilitation Medicine
VISITING: Open to visitors. TYPE OF CLERKSHIP: Selective 1. DESCRIPTION: The Rehabilitation Center at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) is a national leader in the advancement of rehabilitation and a core training site for the Stanford Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency (PM&R) program. The Rehabilitation Center at SCVMC is accredited by the Commission of the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and we have treated individuals with brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, and other disabling neurological conditions since 1971. Our clerkship emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to the patient severely disabled by acute spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, major trauma, and other neurologic disabilities. Concentration is on clinical evaluation, prevention of complications and participation in long-term planning for maximum independence and improving the quality of life for the patient.The student functions integrally as a member of the treatment team and participates in all aspects of patient care, including acute admissions of spinal cord-injured patients, multidisciplinary evaluations of new admissions, patient care rounds, teaching and team conferences, therapy sessions, formal case presentations, neuroscience grand rounds, journal club and didactic lectures. The team approach, using multiple medical and therapeutic modalities, is key to our patients' success. Students will observe and participate in routinely performed procedures that aide in optimizing function including peripheral joint injections, chemodenervation, peripheral nerve blocks and intrathecal baclofen pump management for spasticity. Additionally, they may participate in electrodiagnostic studies that aide in diagnosis of peripheral nervous system pathology. Students may also have the opportunity to study the lifestyles of outpatients when they return to the community, investigate community resources and assess the ongoing medical issues of individuals with disabilities in PM&R outpatient clinics. Clerkships are available in spinal cord injury, brain injury, inpatient consults, and outpatient PM&R clinics and must be scheduled in advance by calling the clerkship coordinator listed below before registering. PREREQUISITES: MED 300A. Will accept third and fourth year students. PERIODS AVAILABLE: 1-12, full-time for 4 or 8 weeks, 1 student per period. CLERKSHIP DIRECTOR: James Crew, M.D. CLERKSHIP COORDINATOR: Teresa Goodman, Teresa.Goodman@hhs.sccgov.org, 408-885-2030 and Jovanah Bonilla, jovanah.bonilla@hhs.sccgov.org. REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS: Where: SCVMC, Room 1A012 (Sobrato Pavilion) Visitors call (408) 885-2100. Proof of PPD, Rubella and malpractice insurance required; Time: 8:00 am. CALL CODE: 0. OTHER FACULTY: J. Crew, K. Shem, S. McKenna, M. Mian, E. Chaw, T. Duong, H. Huie, E. Huang, R. Wang, P. Varma. LOCATION: SCVMC.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 6
ORTHO 304A:
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clerkship
VISITING: Open to visitors. TYPE OF CLERKSHIP: Selective 1. DESCRIPTION: Our clerkship emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to the patient severely disabled by acute spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, major trauma, and other neurologic disabilities. Concentration is on clinical evaluation, prevention of complications and participation in long-term planning for maximum independence and improving the quality of life for the patient. The student functions integrally as a member of the treatment team and participates in all aspects of patient care, including inpatient admissions, multidisciplinary evaluations of new admissions, patient care rounds, teaching and team conferences, therapy sessions, formal case presentations, neuroscience grand rounds, journal club and didactic lectures. The team approach, using multiple medical and therapeutic modalities, is key to our patients' success. Students will observe and may participate in routinely performed procedures that aide in optimizing function including peripheral joint injections, chemodenervation, peripheral nerve blocks and/or intrathecal baclofen pump management for spasticity. Additionally, they may observe and participate in electrodiagnostic studies that aide in diagnosis of peripheral nervous system pathology. Students may also have the opportunity to study the lifestyles of outpatients when they return to the community, investigate community resources, and assess the ongoing medical issues of individuals with disabilities in PM&R outpatient clinics. Additionally, students will spend time in outpatient PM&R clinics evaluating patients with spine and musculoskeletal/sports conditions. There are several locations for this four-week rotation in which having personal transportation would be highly advisable but not required. Students will spend two weeks at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, one week at the Veteran Administration Hospital, and one week at various Stanford Outpatient Clinics throughout the Bay area. Please note: Visiting students must obtain approval before applying for this clerkship. To request approval, please contact Erin Hart at ejhart@stanford.edu. PREREQUISITES: None. PERIODS AVAILABLE: 1-6 and 9-12, full-time for 2 weeks or 4 weeks, 4 students per period. CLERKSHIP DIRECTOR: Theodore Scott, M.D. and Vivian Shih, M.D. CLERKSHIP COORDINATOR: Erin Hart, ejhart@stanford.edu, 650-721-7627, Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center. REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS: Where: Per email from clerkship director which you will receive no later than 2 weeks prior to start date; Time: 7:50 am. CALL CODE: 2 (Weekend and overnight call). OTHER FACULTY: students might be working with depending on the rotation can be found at: https://pmr.stanford.edu/faculty.html. LOCATION: SUMC, PAVAMC, SCVMC.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 3-6
PEDS 242:
(Re)Framing Difference: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Disability, Race and Culture (AFRICAAM 442, CSRE 343, EDUC 442, FEMGEN 442)
This course uses social theories of difference to examine the intersections of disability, race and culture. The course will examine these concepts drawing from scholarship published in history, sociology of education, urban sociology, cultural studies, disability studies, social studies of science, cultural psychology, educational and cultural anthropology, comparative education and special education. Implications for policy, research and practice will be covered.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
PHIL 316P:
Aristotle's On the Motion of Animals
A seminar based around a close reading and analysis of Aristotle's De Motu Animalium. This short text, on how animals bring about action (motion), is something of a treasure-trove of various interesting details and complications concerning Aristotle's philosophy of action, psychology, physics, and metaphysics. It is also heterogenous or interdisciplinary in its discussions, which will lead us to consider questions of method in Aristotle. We additionally have the treat of seeing what we make of a brand new (summer 2020) major edition from the Symposium Aristotelicum series.The 2 unit option is only for Philosophy PhD students beyond the second year; all others take for 4 units.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 2-4
PHIL 350:
What makes a good explanation? Psychological and philosophical perspectives (PSYCH 293)
Explanation is a topic of longstanding interest in philosophy and psychology, and has recently attracted renewed attention due to novel challenges in interpreting and interacting with relatively opaque AI systems. In this graduate seminar, we will study the science and engineering of explanations, combining perspectives from philosophy, psychology, AI, and the legal sciences. We will ask questions like: When do we ask for explanations? What makes a good explanation? How can we build machines that can understand and explain? This interdisciplinary seminar is co-taught by Thomas Icard (Philosophy) and Tobias Gerstenberg (Psychology). We will meet twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30am-11:50am) to discuss research articles from a range of disciplines. Students are expected to write responses based on their readings, lead the discussion on one of the papers, and actively participate in the discussion otherwise. As a final project, students will outline a novel study on explanation that makes an empirical, modeling, or theoretical contribution. Participation is restricted to a maximum of 12 graduate students (by application). The course website, with information about application, can be found here: phil350.stanford.edu
Last offered: Autumn 2020
| Units: 4
PHIL 371D:
Inequality: Economic and Philosophical Perspectives (ETHICSOC 371R, POLISCI 431L)
The nature of and problem of inequality is central to both economics and philosophy. Economists study the causes of inequality, design tools to measure it and track it over time, and examine its consequences. Philosophers are centrally concerned with the justification of inequality and the reasons why various types of inequality are or are not objectionable.nIn this class we bring both of these approaches together. Our class explores the different meanings of and measurements for understanding inequality, our best understandings of how much inequality there is, its causes, its consequences, and whether we ought to reduce it, and if so, how. nThis is an interdisciplinary graduate seminar. We propose some familiarity with basic ideas in economics and basic ideas in contemporary political philosophy; we will explain and learn about more complex ideas as we proceed. The class will be capped at 20 students.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 5
POLISCI 118Z:
Shaping the Future of the Bay Area (CEE 218Z, EPS 118Z, EPS 218Z, ESS 118Z, ESS 218Z, GEOPHYS 118Z, GEOPHYS 218Z, PUBLPOL 118Z, PUBLPOL 218Z)
(Formerly GEOLSCI 118Z and 218Z) Students are placed in small interdisciplinary teams (engineers and non-engineers, undergraduate and graduate level) to work on complex design, engineering, and policy problems presented by external partners in a real urban setting. Multiple projects are offered and may span both Winter and Spring quarters; students are welcome to participate in one or both quarters. Students are expected to interact professionally with government and community stakeholders, conduct independent team work outside of class sessions, and submit deliverables over a series of milestones. Prerequisite: the Autumn (X) skills course or approval of instructors. For information about the projects and application process, visit http://bay.stanford.edu. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center. Change of Department Name: Earth and Planetary Science (Formerly Geologic Sciences).
Last offered: Spring 2023
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
POLISCI 336:
Introduction to Global Justice (ETHICSOC 136R, INTNLREL 136R, PHIL 76, POLISCI 136R)
As we live in a globalized world, our lives are interconnected with many other people within and beyond the state borders. Currently, we face urgent problems of global justice, such as climate change, economic inequality, immigration, and health disparities, and how to address these issues is a crucial question for all of us. This course introduces students to normative inquiries into issues of global justice and offers an opportunity to integrate theories and practices by engaging with essential and timely questions. What normative demands does justice impose on individuals and institutions in a global world? Do people in affluent countries bear the responsibility for the suffering of those who live in other countries? Should relatively developed countries open their borders to those from developing countries? How should we allocate responsibilities for reducing global injustice, such as health disparities? How does injustice with historical roots, such as colonialism, further complicate the picture of normative demands? While there are no easy answers to these questions, throughout this course, students will be exposed to interdisciplinary approaches (including philosophy, political theory, gender studies, etc.), learn to critically analyze various theoretical approaches, and use them as frameworks to develop their views on issues of global justice. This class meets on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 9:30-11AM. Please note that in addition to the listed lecture time, students must sign up for a 45-min discussion session. The schedule of the discussion session will be arranged and announced during the first week of the quarter.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
POLISCI 347G:
Governance and Poverty (POLISCI 247G)
Poverty relief requires active government involvement in the provision of public services such as drinking water, healthcare, sanitation, education, roads, electricity and public safety. Failure to deliver public services is a major impediment to the alleviation of poverty in the developing world. This course will use an interdisciplinary approach to examining these issues, bringing together readings from across the disciplines of political science, economics, law, medicine and education to increase understanding of the complex causal linkages between political institutions, the quality of governance, and the capacity of developing societies to meet basic human needs. Conceived in a broadly comparative international perspective, the course will examine cross-national and field-based research projects, with a particular focus on Latin America and Mexico.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
POLISCI 426:
Identity Politics (SOC 326)
Whether one considers the partisan and electoral choices citizens make or the judgements citizens render in response to officer-involved shootings or other salient social and political events, the centrality of identity in our politics is indisputable. But what is an identity? What are the conditions under which identities become politicized? How do identities work to structure attitudes and affect behavior? This course is all about identity and its intersection with politics. Taking an interdisciplinary and cross-subfield approach, this course seeks to bring students into conversation with scholarship that demonstrates the powerful ways that identities influence all aspects of the political. Though much of our time will be spent reading about race and racial identification in the context of American politics, students will be encouraged to think critically and creatively about identity as it relates to their own intellectual interests. In addition to being active and engaged seminar participants, students will be required to submit a final research paper that uses concepts, themes, and ideas from the course to explore a research question of their choosing.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 3-5
POLISCI 431L:
Inequality: Economic and Philosophical Perspectives (ETHICSOC 371R, PHIL 371D)
The nature of and problem of inequality is central to both economics and philosophy. Economists study the causes of inequality, design tools to measure it and track it over time, and examine its consequences. Philosophers are centrally concerned with the justification of inequality and the reasons why various types of inequality are or are not objectionable.nIn this class we bring both of these approaches together. Our class explores the different meanings of and measurements for understanding inequality, our best understandings of how much inequality there is, its causes, its consequences, and whether we ought to reduce it, and if so, how. nThis is an interdisciplinary graduate seminar. We propose some familiarity with basic ideas in economics and basic ideas in contemporary political philosophy; we will explain and learn about more complex ideas as we proceed. The class will be capped at 20 students.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 5
PSYC 213:
Policy Practicum: Alcohol Use Among Stanford Undergraduates
(Same as LAW 806L) Client: Stanford University Vice Provost of Student Affairs, https://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/who-we-are/vice-provost-student-affairs. Excessive alcohol consumption among Stanford undergraduates creates ahealth, educational, social, and legal problems for drinkers and for other members of the Stanford community. With the Vice Provost for Student Affairs as the client, this Policy Lab practicum explores the causes, consequences, and practical evidence to assess and address the problem. The interdisciplinary research team will examine practices and data at Stanford and other academic institutions in the context of scholarly studies and general knowledge from medicine, law, psychology, and other social sciences. As one component of formal policy research methods, the team will conduct ethnographic interviews with stakeholders. Upper-division and graduate students from Law, Medicine, Public Policy, and social science disciplines are especially encouraged to apply. Law students wishing to undertake R credit will perform additional research for a full report analyzing the issues and results of the collective research. R credit is possible only by consent of the instructor. After the term begins, and with the consent of the instructor, students accepted into the course may transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement. NOTE: Students may not count more than a combined total of eight units of directed research projects and policy lab practica toward graduation unless the additional counted units are approved in advance by the Petitions Committee. Such approval will be granted only for good cause shown. Even in the case of a successful petition for additional units, a student cannot receive a letter grade for more than eight units of independent research (Policy Lab practicum, Directed Research, Senior Thesis, and/or Research Track). Any units taken in excess of eight will be graded on a mandatory pass basis. For detailed information, see "Directed Research/Policy Labs" in the SLS Student Handbook. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (Click Courses at the bottom of the homepage and then click Consent of Instructor Forms). See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Performance, Class Participation, Written Assignments, Final Paper.
Last offered: Autumn 2019
| Units: 2
PSYC 244:
Islamic Psychology (PSYC 144)
The first psychiatric hospitals in the world were established as early as the 8th century during the Islamic Golden Era. Despite the emergence of a highly sophisticated and interdisciplinary system of understanding the human psyche in early Islamic history, most students of modern psychology are unfamiliar with this rich history. This course will provide a historical and contemporary review of the Islamic intellectual heritage as it pertains to modern behavioral science and how mental illness was historically perceived and treated in the Muslim world. We will begin with a discussion of Islamic epistemology, reconcile issues such as secular vs sacred sources of knowledge and tackle the mind/body dilemma according to Islamic theology. We will then review holistic schemas of health and pathology in the Islamic religious tradition, the nature of the human being, elements of the human psyche, and principles of change leading to positive character reformation. As Stanford is the academic home of Muslim mental health research globally, we will benefit from talks by guest researchers and speakers, partake in field trips to community partners, and utilize group discussions to provide students with a deeper understanding of these topics.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
PSYCH 206:
Cortical Plasticity: Perception and Memory
Seminar. Topics related to cortical plasticity in perceptual and memory systems including neural bases of implicity memory, recognition memory, visual priming, and perceptual learning. Emphasis is on recent research with an interdisciplinary scope, including theory, behavioral findings, neural mechanisms, and computational models. May be repeated for credit. Recommended: 30, 45
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 232:
Brain and Decision Making (PSYCH 134)
This seminar explores how emerging findings at the interface of neuroscience, psychology, and economics combine to inform our understanding of how the brain makes decisions. Topics include neural processes related to reward, punishment, probability, risk, time, reflection, and social interaction, as well as theoretical implications and practical applications. We will briefly touch on the possibility of extending individual brain and behavioral data down to physiological and up to aggregate levels of analysis.Because the course involves interdisciplinary material, it takes the format of a research seminar with background discussions, and is targeted at graduate students and advanced undergraduates who aim to conduct related research. Goals include: (1) building familiarity with relevant neuroscience, psychology, and economics concepts; (2) increasing awareness of key relevant literature; and (3) preparation to conduct and advance innovative interdisciplinary research.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
PSYCH 250:
High-level Vision: From Neurons to Deep Neural Networks (CS 431)
Interdisciplinary seminar focusing on understanding how computations in the brain enable rapid and efficient object perception. Covers topics from multiple perspectives drawing on recent research in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Computer Science. Emphasis on discussing recent empirical findings, methods and theoretical debates in the field.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 264:
Unleashing Personal Potential: Behavioral Science and Design Thinking Applied to Self (EDUC 426)
This course facilitates the application of the methods, theories, and findings of behavioral science to students own lives and improvement projects. It does so by combining behavioral science with a design thinking approach. You will learn to identify your potential, navigate to achieve it, and stay resilient during the journey. Students will design their own action plans, define goals and prototype strategies to test them, in an iterative feedback cycle. Our course thus blends two intellectual streams that seldom intersect: behavioral science and design thinking.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 4
PSYCH 274:
Graduate Research Workshop on Psychological Interventions (EDUC 287)
Psychological research has the potential to create novel interventions that promote the public good. This workshop will expose students to psychologically 'wise' intervention research and to support their efforts to conduct such interventions, especially in the context of education, broadly conceived, as well as other areas. The first part of the class will address classic interventions and important topics in intervention research, including effective delivery mechanisms, sensitive behavioral outcomes, the role of theory and psychological process, and considerations of the role of time and of mechanisms that can sustain treatment effects over time. In the second part of the class, students will present and receive feedback on their own ongoing and/or future intervention research. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Psychology or Education, or consent of instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 3
PSYCH 293:
What makes a good explanation? Psychological and philosophical perspectives (PHIL 350)
Explanation is a topic of longstanding interest in philosophy and psychology, and has recently attracted renewed attention due to novel challenges in interpreting and interacting with relatively opaque AI systems. In this graduate seminar, we will study the science and engineering of explanations, combining perspectives from philosophy, psychology, AI, and the legal sciences. We will ask questions like: When do we ask for explanations? What makes a good explanation? How can we build machines that can understand and explain? This interdisciplinary seminar is co-taught by Thomas Icard (Philosophy) and Tobias Gerstenberg (Psychology). We will meet twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30am-11:50am) to discuss research articles from a range of disciplines. Students are expected to write responses based on their readings, lead the discussion on one of the papers, and actively participate in the discussion otherwise. As a final project, students will outline a novel study on explanation that makes an empirical, modeling, or theoretical contribution. Participation is restricted to a maximum of 12 graduate students (by application). The course website, with information about application, can be found here: phil350.stanford.edu
Last offered: Autumn 2020
| Units: 4
PSYCH 383:
International Conflict Resolution (INTLPOL 250)
(Formerly IPS 250) (Same as LAW 5009; formerly Law 656) This seminar examines the challenges of managing and resolving intractable political and violent intergroup and international conflicts. Employing an interdisciplinary approach drawing on social psychology, political science, game theory, and international law, the course identifies various tactical, psychological, and structural barriers that can impede the achievement of efficient solutions to conflicts. We will explore a conceptual framework for conflict management and resolution that draws not only on theoretical insights, but also builds on historical examples and practical experience in the realm of conflict resolution. This approach examines the need for the parties to conflicts to address the following questions in order to have prospects of creating peaceful relationships: (1) how can the parties to conflict develop a vision of a mutually bearable shared future; (2) how can parties develop trust in the enemy; (3) how can each side be persuaded, as part of a negotiated settlement, to accept losses that it will find very painful; and (4) how do we overcome the perceptions of injustice that each side are likely to have towards any compromise solution? We will consider both particular conflicts, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the South African transition to majority rule, as well as cross-cutting issues, such as the role international legal rules play in facilitating or impeding conflict resolution, the ways intragroup dynamics affect intergroup conflict resolution efforts, and the role of criminal accountability for atrocities following civil wars. Special Instructions: Section 01: Grades will be based on class participation, written assignments, and a final exam. Section 02: Up to five students, with consent of the instructor, will have the option to write an independent research paper for Research (R) credit in lieu of the written assignments and final exam for Section 01. After the term begins, students (max 5) accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2020
| Units: 2
PSYCH 459:
Frontiers in Interdisciplinary Biosciences (BIO 459, BIOC 459, BIOE 459, CHEM 459, CHEMENG 459)
Students register through their affiliated department; otherwise register for CHEMENG 459. For specialists and non-specialists. Sponsored by the Stanford BioX Program. Three seminars per quarter address scientific and technical themes related to interdisciplinary approaches in bioengineering, medicine, and the chemical, physical, and biological sciences. Leading investigators from Stanford and the world present breakthroughs and endeavors that cut across core disciplines. Pre-seminars introduce basic concepts and background for non-experts. Registered students attend all pre-seminars; others welcome. See http://biox.stanford.edu/courses/459.html. Recommended: basic mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
PUBLPOL 218Z:
Shaping the Future of the Bay Area (CEE 218Z, EPS 118Z, EPS 218Z, ESS 118Z, ESS 218Z, GEOPHYS 118Z, GEOPHYS 218Z, POLISCI 118Z, PUBLPOL 118Z)
(Formerly GEOLSCI 118Z and 218Z) Students are placed in small interdisciplinary teams (engineers and non-engineers, undergraduate and graduate level) to work on complex design, engineering, and policy problems presented by external partners in a real urban setting. Multiple projects are offered and may span both Winter and Spring quarters; students are welcome to participate in one or both quarters. Students are expected to interact professionally with government and community stakeholders, conduct independent team work outside of class sessions, and submit deliverables over a series of milestones. Prerequisite: the Autumn (X) skills course or approval of instructors. For information about the projects and application process, visit http://bay.stanford.edu. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center. Change of Department Name: Earth and Planetary Science (Formerly Geologic Sciences).
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
PUBLPOL 224:
Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab (SE Lab) - Human & Planetary Health (HRP 224, MED 224)
Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab (SE Lab) - Global & Planetary Health is a Collaboratory workshop for students/fellows to design and develop innovative social ventures addressing key challenges in health and the environment, especially in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2030). Your mandate in identifying problems and designing solutions is broad and flexible! SE Lab is open to students and fellows across Stanford and combines design thinking exercises, short lectures & case studies, workshops, small group teamwork, presentations, guest speakers, and faculty, practitioner and peer feedback to support you and your team in generating and developing ideas and projects that will change the world! Join SE Lab with an idea or simply the desire to join a team. Enrollment limited to 30.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 15 units total)
PUBLPOL 230:
Planning Calif: the Intersection of Climate, Land Use, Transportation & the Economy (CEE 136, CEE 236, PUBLPOL 130, URBANST 130)
Cities and urban areas have always been transformed by major external changes like pandemics and public health crises. California is both in the midst of its greatest economic recession since the Great Depression and experiencing a pandemic that has the potential to reshape many aspects of life. Planning for cities and regions, however, is a long game that requires follow-through on decisions made sometimes over many decades. How do we balance the shocks to our assumptions from the current Covid world with the need to plan long-term for issues like affordable housing and equitable cities, and perhaps most fundamentally, prepare our cities and communities for the inevitability of climate change and climate impact? nnnnThis course takes an interdisciplinary view of the key contemporary planning topics in California. It does so from looking at the intersection of climate laws, land use changes, the need for housing, travel patterns and the availability of high quality jobs and employment. This course will give you an understanding of the roles of key levels of government, from the state to the region/metropolitan scale, to the city and county, down to the neighborhood and parcel level. it will give students insight into leading themes and issues of the day in California such as the future of downtowns, the role of high speed rail, the impact of telework, automation in the construction of housing, drawing from examples in San Jose and San Francisco, the Central Valley, the state legislature, Southern California. Within each of these topics we will look at the impact of decisions on equity as well as climate and the economy. nnnnThe instructors are Kristy Wang, formerly SPUR¿s Community Planning Policy Director, and Egon Terplan, Senior Advisor for Economic Development and Transportation in the California Governor¿s Office, formerly SPUR¿s Regional Planning Director. (Affiliations for identification purposes only)
Last offered: Winter 2022
| Units: 3
PUBLPOL 234:
Ethics on the Edge: Business, Non-Profit Organizations, Government, and Individuals (PUBLPOL 134)
(PUBLPOL 134, PUBLPOL 234 - 3 credits; Ways - ER; Same as LAW 7020) The objective of this course is to explore cutting-edge ethical challenges in a world in which technology, global risks, and societal developments are accelerating faster than our understanding and the law can keep pace. The course also offers a parallel personal journey: an opportunity to explore your own ethics and increase your own resilience when life throws challenges your way. We will unravel the ethics challenges and problem-solve across sectors: business, government, non-profit, and academia. A framework for ethical decision-making underpins the course. However, there is significant space for forming your own views on a wide range of issues. Prominent guest speakers will attend certain sessions interactively. The relationships among ethics and technology, culture, leadership, law, and global risks (AI, synthetic biology, inequality, privacy, financial system meltdown, cyber-terrorism, climate change, diversity and inclusion, etc.) will inform discussion. A broad range of topics might include: designer genetics; civilian space travel; generative AI; the Supreme Court case on University affirmative action; new wearable devices; free speech on University campuses; opioid addiction; corporate and financial sector scandals (Theranos, FTX, currency); and non-profit sector ethics challenges (e.g. medical humanitarian aid in Gaza). Final project in lieu of exam on a topic of student's choice. Attendance required. Class participation important, with multiple opportunities to earn participation credit beyond speaking in class. Strong emphasis on rigorous analysis, critical thinking, and testing ideas in real-world contexts. Note that this course will require one make-up evening session on a Wednesday or Thursday in early May in lieu of the final class session in June. Enrollment will be decided via application, which can be found at https://forms.gle/xw9bPh5wjxPZZcwf6. **The form will open on 3/6 at 5pm and close on 3/13 at 5pm.** The course offers credit toward Public Policy core requirements (if taken in combination with PUBLPOL 103F) and it satisfies the undergraduate Ways of Thinking - ER requirement. The course is open to undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduates will not be at a disadvantage. Everyone will be challenged. Students taking the course for Ways credit and Public Policy majors taking the course to complete the core requirements must obtain a letter grade. Others may take the course for a letter grade or C/NC. Students seeking credit for other majors should consult their departments.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
PUBLPOL 353B:
Regulating Emerging Technology: Risks, Opportunities, and Reality
Geared towards graduate students and advanced undergraduates, this course aims to provide students with an interdisciplinary framework for thinking about both why and when new technology should be regulated, as well as how to create effective regulations and policies when the pace of technological innovation often far exceeds the pace at which laws and public policies can be made. Through case studies involving specific areas of emerging technology, we will explore the opportunities that new technologies provide for improvement to a broad range of human domains - including the physical and social sciences, healthcare, economics, equity/justice, and national security. At the same time, we will consider risks presented by those same technologies, learn about policies and regulatory structures (both public and private) aimed at mitigating those risks, and reflect on potential risks and opportunities associated with the regulatory process itself. Readings and discussions will touch on the nature of relationships among scientific and technological experts, public officials, activists, and ordinary citizens - including problems of science literacy and communication between policymakers and practitioners. Students from all schools are encouraged to enroll, with the aim of creating opportunities for students to engage in the type of cross-discipline dialogue we will be discussing in class. Specific case studies may include: consumer data privacy, facial recognition, election-related misinformation and disinformation, regulation of the metaverse, automation and machine learning in military technology.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
RELIGST 231X:
Learning Religion: How People Acquire Religious Commitments (AMSTUD 231X, EDUC 231, JEWISHST 291X)
This course will examine how people learn religion outside of school, and in conversation with popular cultural texts and practices. Taking a broad social-constructivist approach to the variety of ways people learn, this course will explore how people assemble ideas about faith, identity, community, and practice, and how those ideas inform individual, communal and global notions of religion. Much of this work takes place in formal educational environments including missionary and parochial schools, Muslim madrasas or Jewish yeshivot. However, even more takes place outside of school, as people develop skills and strategies in conversation with broader social trends. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to questions that lie at the intersection of religion, popular culture, and education. May be repeat for credit.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
RELIGST 313X:
The Education of American Jews (EDUC 313, JEWISHST 213, JEWISHST 393X)
This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to the question of how American Jews negotiate the desire to retain a unique ethnic sensibility without excluding themselves from American culture more broadly. Students will examine the various ways in which people debate, deliberate, and determine what it means to be an "American Jew". This includes an investigation of how American Jewish relationships to formal and informal educational encounters through school, popular culture, religious ritual, and politics.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
SLAVIC 322:
Sergei Eisenstein: Theory, Practice, Method (FILMEDIA 422)
The work of Sergei Eisenstein has been central to the study of film since before his death in 1948, but some of his most significant work was first published only in the new millennium and is generating rich interdisciplinary scholarship. This seminar explores contemporary Eisenstein scholarship together with Eisenstein's more recently published writings. It aims to place the Eisenstein we are coming to know in the twenty-first century in dialogue with longstanding as well as contemporary debates in film and media theory.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 5
SLAVIC 332:
The Burden of Memory: Theory, Texts, Politics
This course explores the growing field of memory studies and various modes of memory-forgetting in the post-Soviet society and culture. The 'memory boom' in post-1991 Russia and Easter Europe has significantly altered the way the post-socialist subjects remember, forget, or imagine their Soviet legacy. The course proposes a critical appraisal of memory studies as an opportunity for engaging in a genuine interdisciplinary endeavor. It starts by defining the field of research at the intersection of history, anthropology, sociology, and cultural theory and examines the emergence of 'memory' as an object of study within these disciplines. In the second part of the course, we will study literary representation of memory and forgetting through the concepts of post-memory, second-generation memory, memory of eye-witnesses and perpetrators, memory of the displaced persons, and amnesia and memory loss fiction. And finally, we will engage in comparing the social practices of selective remembering and forgetting of the memory of the WWII and Soviet legacy in present-day Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
SOC 312G:
Careers and Organizations
The careers of individuals are shaped by their movement within and between organizations, whether those be established employers or entrepreneurial ventures. Conversely, organizations of all sizes are shaped by the flows of individuals through them as individuals construct careers by pursuing different opportunities. This course will examine sociological and economic theory and research on this mutually constitutive relationship. Possible topics include inequality and attainment processes, internal labor markets, mobility dynamics, individual and organizational learning, ecological influences, gender and racial segregation, discrimination, and entrepreneurship as a career process
Last offered: Autumn 2019
| Units: 3
SOC 326:
Identity Politics (POLISCI 426)
Whether one considers the partisan and electoral choices citizens make or the judgements citizens render in response to officer-involved shootings or other salient social and political events, the centrality of identity in our politics is indisputable. But what is an identity? What are the conditions under which identities become politicized? How do identities work to structure attitudes and affect behavior? This course is all about identity and its intersection with politics. Taking an interdisciplinary and cross-subfield approach, this course seeks to bring students into conversation with scholarship that demonstrates the powerful ways that identities influence all aspects of the political. Though much of our time will be spent reading about race and racial identification in the context of American politics, students will be encouraged to think critically and creatively about identity as it relates to their own intellectual interests. In addition to being active and engaged seminar participants, students will be required to submit a final research paper that uses concepts, themes, and ideas from the course to explore a research question of their choosing.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 3-5
SOC 356:
Strategy and Organizations
Why are some organizations more competitive than others? This is one of the defining questions of the interdisciplinary research field known as strategic management. In this seminar, we will survey the field of strategic management as seen through the lens of organization theory, touching on the four main theoretical approaches that have developed there.nnMost work in strategic management pays little attention to particular theoretical perspectives, and is organized more by the topic - the phenomenon being studied - such as market exit, growth, performance, mergers and acquisitions, innovation, and the like. I have catalogued the research in strategic management both according to theoretical perspective and topic, and that structure is developed in this course. Our goal is to help you to identify theoretical perspectives as you try to understand the strategy field.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| Units: 3
SOMGEN 224:
Physical Listening (DANCE 224)
Do you want to deepen your communication skills with patients and colleagues? Are you planning or pursuing a career in healthcare? If so, Physical Listening is the course for you. Non-verbal behaviors and physical presence play a critical role in masterful interpersonal communication. How our bodies move - the energy we project, the force and speed of our movements - informs how we perceive and communicate. The Stanford School of Medicine and Medical Humanities program invites you to join this interdisciplinary course harnessing core competencies at the intersection of medicine and dance, designed to finesse clinically relevant communication skills through creative inquiry. Through this course, learners will: Explore the concept of "physical embodiment" through interactive exercises, video viewings, clinical cases, and lively discussion; sharpen skills of kinesthetic awareness, spatial perception, and critical movement analysis; improve their ability to read and employ non-verbal, physical "language" in daily communication. Taught by faculty/instructors from the School of Medicine, Stanford Healthcare, Stanford Medicine Children's Health, and the Department of Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS). Featured instruction by JoAnna Mendl Shaw - renowned choreographer and former Juilliard and NYU Tisch School of the Arts faculty. Open to all Stanford undergraduate students (perfect for premedical students!), graduate students, and medical students. No prerequisites and no former artistic experience are expected. For any questions about the course, please reach out to Dr. Nina Shevzov-Zebrun (nszebrun@stanford.edu,), a resident physician in Pediatrics who will serve as an assisting instructor in this course.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
SOMGEN 275:
Leading Value Improvement in Health Care Delivery
Successful leaders on the journey to better care delivery methods with lower total spending inevitably face challenges. What confluence of attitudes, values, strategy, and events allows them to prevail? Contexts will include public policy, entrepreneurship and early stage investing, care delivery innovations, and health care system management to improve the value of care. Course faculty and guests will consist of nationally recognized leaders, innovators, and change agents. The course is open to any member of the Stanford community aspiring to lead value improvement in health care delivery including medical, MBA, law, and graduate students, as well as undergraduates, postdoctoral candidates, and medical center trainees. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 4 units total)
STEMREM 200:
Stem Cell Intensive
Open to first year Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine graduate students or consent of Instructor. Introductory lectures given by faculty in the Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine interdisciplinary graduate program are intended to provide students with insight into potential rotation labs. Includes some hands-on laboratory exercises covering basic methods of tissue culture, mouse embryo fibroblast (MEF) preparation, embryonic stem and induced pluripotent stem (ES/iPS) cell culture, differentiation, DNA isolation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequencing, flow cytometry, and basic microscopy.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
STRAMGT 321:
Create a New Venture: From Idea to Launch I
S321/S322 is an integrated lab course in Entrepreneurship designed to teach students the process of creating a new viable venture - from Idea to Launch. It is a dynamic and interactive course organized around projects undertaken by teams of 3 to 4 registered students from the MSx and MBA programs, together with other graduate students from within Stanford who bring expertise of particular relevance to the idea being pursued, e.g. engineering, CS or medicine. This course is designed not only for students with immediate entrepreneurial aspirations but also for any student considering starting an entrepreneurial venture at some point in his or her career. The course is a two-quarter class, with admission to the class by team and idea. In the winter quarter, teams will research, craft, test and morph their idea into a viable business concept. In the spring quarter, they will further test, refine their concept and develop a strategy and plan to attract financial, human and other resources. At the end of the spring quarter, teams will present their plan to a panel of experts and potential investors to simulate the funding process. The course builds on important research, successes, and findings as they relate to the process of new venture creation. The teaching method is through a structured process of relevant mini-lectures, exercises and active in-depth team learning by doing (LBD). Extensive field research and prototype product development are integral to the course. Learning is further enhanced through meetings with the instructor, coaching by their assigned experienced mentors, experts, and review by peers. Informal student meetings/mixers will be held in the autumn quarter to further facilitate the formation of teams and assist in idea generation. The application process for S321/322,-Create A New Venture: from Idea to Launch- is described on the course website.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 3
STRAMGT 322:
Create a New Venture: From Idea to Launch II
S321/S322 is an integrated lab course in Entrepreneurship designed to teach students the process of creating a new viable venture - from Idea to Launch. It is a dynamic and interactive course organized around projects undertaken by teams of 3 to 4 registered students from the MSx and MBA programs, together with other graduate students from within Stanford who bring expertise of particular relevance to the idea being pursued, e.g. engineering, CS or medicine. This course is designed not only for students with immediate entrepreneurial aspirations but also for any student considering starting an entrepreneurial venture at some point in his or her career. The course is a two-quarter class, with admission to the class by team and idea. In the winter quarter, teams will research, craft, test and morph their idea into a viable business concept. In the spring quarter, they will further test, refine their concept and develop a strategy and plan to attract financial, human and other resources. At the end of the spring quarter, teams will present their plan to a panel of experts and potential investors to simulate the funding process. The course builds on important research, successes, and findings as they relate to the process of new venture creation. The teaching method is through a structured process of relevant mini-lectures, exercises and active in-depth team learning by doing (LBD). Extensive field research and prototype product development are integral to the course. Learning is further enhanced through meetings with the instructor, coaching by their assigned experienced mentors, experts, and review by peers. Informal student meetings/mixers will be held in the autumn quarter to further facilitate the formation of teams and assist in idea generation. The application process for S321/322, 'Create A New Venture: from Idea to Launch' is described on the course website.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 3
STRAMGT 345:
Impact: Taking Social Innovation to Scale
How do you get the best new social innovations to reach the hundreds of millions of people who need it the most? And how do ensure that they are developed, deployed and scaled in a way that is relevant, appropriate and sustainable? Innovators tackling the world's most difficult problems often ignore, misunderstand, and under-invest in the critical business challenges involved in crossing 'the middle of the value chain.' This is innovation's valley of death: product and system adaption and evaluation; evidence generation and design validation; business and partnership planning; formal or informal regulatory approval and registration. How do you design, introduce, and optimize the intervention's uptake before it can be taken to scale by markets, governments or other systems? The class is taught be Steve Davis, Senior Advisor at McKinsey & Company, Senior Advisor at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and former CEO of PATH, IDRI, and Corbis. We take an interdisciplinary approach to look at the factors that pull innovation forward, push it from behind, and (often to the world's detriment) block its successful implementation and scaling. First grounding the discussion in research on innovation and social change, we then apply business principles, real world experiences and several important case studies in global health to examine the way good ideas get stuck, and how good ideas can turn into innovation that matters. We focus on root causes for failure, success factors, and business practices and tools to enable millions of lives to be impacted by social innovation. The seminar combines lectures, case studies, visiting practitioners and team projects focused on the business case for scaling specific social innovations. The goal is to help the next generation of social innovation leaders think more about some of the mistakes of the past, lessons for the future, and new ways of approaching old problems, all from a practitioner's point of view.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
STRAMGT 356:
Startup Garage: Design
(BIOE 376) Startup Garage is an intensive, hands-on, project-based course where students apply design thinking, lean startup methodology, and the Business Model Canvas to conceive, design, and field-test new business concepts that address real world needs. Teams get out of the building and interact directly with users, stakeholders, and advisors to deeply understand one or more unmet customer needs. They proceed to design, prototype, and test their proposed solutions, validate the value proposition, develop a business model, and identify risks. Teams working on impact-focused ventures apply the same methodology to address the needs of their beneficiaries. Students develop entrepreneurial skills as they learn critical, cutting-edge techniques for testing new venture ideas. Offered by the Graduate School of Business. PREREQUISITE: Team application required. Details and application: http://startupgarage.stanford.edu/details.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
Instructors: ;
Glickman, M. (PI);
Lisbonne, B. (PI);
Nakache, P. (PI);
Baker, K. (SI);
Chen, E. (SI);
Deshpande, S. (SI);
Eison, J. (SI);
Galen, D. (SI);
Gur, S. (SI);
Laws, M. (SI);
Perkash, M. (SI);
Prakash, A. (SI);
Scull, J. (SI);
Waldorf, G. (SI);
Wallace, C. (SI);
Alvarez, G. (GP);
Zenios, S. (GP)
STRAMGT 368:
Impact: Strategic Leadership of Nonprofit Organizations and Social Ventures
Our primary objective in this course is to prepare and equip you to play a high-impact leadership role in the social sector, as a founder, executive, board member, and/or donor/philanthropist. This course seeks to provide a survey of the strategic, governance, and management issues facing a wide range of social sector organizations and their executive and board leaders, in the era of venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. The students will also be introduced to core managerial issues uniquely defined by this sector such as development/fundraising, investment management, performance management and nonprofit finance. The course also provides an overview of the sector, including its history and economics. Cases involve a range of nonprofits, from smaller, social entrepreneurial to larger, more traditional organizations, including education, social service, environment, health care, religion, international NGO's and performing arts. In exploring these issues, this course reinforces the frameworks and concepts of strategic management introduced in the core first year courses. In addition to case discussions, the course employs role plays, study group exercises and many extraordinary guest speakers who are luminaries in the social sector.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 3
STRAMGT 547:
Riding The Next Wave in Developing Economies
Today, innovative ventures in developing economies are providing compelling new products and services to a growing middle-class as well as to the lower part of the economic pyramid. These offerings provide consumers ways to better their lives and companies to grow their businesses. As older industries around the world are being disrupted, and entrepreneurial ecosystems in developing economies are evolving, entrepreneurs and investors now have reference points and 'basecamps' to explore unique opportunities. These newly formed networks that include universities, incubators, accelerator programs, angel investor organizations and small venture capital firms are still lacking in breadth and depth, despite their attempts to follow the lead of Silicon Valley. Consequently, investors and founders face distinct and more numerous challenges that they would not encounter in Silicon Valley, such as small local markets, lack of scale-up funding, uncertain exit opportunities, inadequate talent pools and complex legal and political environments.Yet these developing economies are growing and becoming more connected. We are witnessing new technology-based products in these locations allowing problems to be solved at a scale never seen before. AI and machine learning, blockchain, smart sensors, IoT devices, natural language interfaces and AR and VR are just a few of the technologies not only being developed in Silicon Valley, but all over the world. Of course, smartphones, with their multi-faceted sensors, are now becoming ubiquitous. These trends present opportunities such as: replicating business models proven elsewhere; leapfrogging legacy technologies; targeting the base of the pyramid; and starting venture capital firms. Despite this fertile ground for new endeavors, success not only requires an exceptional product/market fit but great execution to start and scale a venture in problematic and sometimes adverse environments.This case-driven course is designed to help students identify new opportunities in developing economies around the world and across industries and to expose them to the challenges they will face. It is targeted at students who are thinking about creating, joining or investing in new ventures in developing economies.The cases and guests will reveal entrepreneurial challenges through the eyes of founders and investors who have seized these opportunities at different stages of the venture: ideation, launch and scaling. This course is designed to showcase innovative companies in high growth industries such as consumer internet, financial services, health care and education. It will feature the latest trends and opportunities in Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. By taking this course, you will be better equipped to observe, explain and participate in developing economy ecosystems and the opportunities and challenges they present.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
SUSTAIN 210:
Energy Equity Policy Lab
The Executive Order for Tackling the Climate Crisis (14008) establishes a procedural policy, Justice 40, that applies principles of recognition and distributive equity to hundreds of federal policies and programs. With many different expressions, decision-makers in companies, communities, research institutions, and every level of policy-making are integrating strategies that are rapidly expanding the landscape of opportunity - and helping to level the playing field for investment at the same time. Participants in this interdisciplinary policy lab course will have an opportunity to collaborate in a fast paced and highly applied learning environment focused on a specific challenge to policy implementation. Similar to clinics with community-engaged learning, the specific context for engagement with external partners to the policy lab will change each quarter. See the syllabus for this course on Syllabus.Stanford.Edu to preview the focus each quarter.
| Units: 3
SUSTAIN 345:
Global Leaders and Innovators in Human and Planetary Health: Sustainable Societies Lab (HRP 285, MED 285)
Are you interested in innovative ideas and strategies for addressing urgent challenges in human and planetary health and creating sustainable societies? This 7 session lecture series features a selection of noteworthy leaders, innovators, and experts across diverse sectors/topics in health and the environment such as: health innovation and environmental sustainability, social and environmental justice and equality, social innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems, foundations and venture capital, tech innovation, media and AI, biotech and ag-tech, pandemics, public health and community wellbeing, food systems and agricultural innovation, hunger and nutrition, clean water and air, nonprofits and community action, public policy innovation and systems change, and the role of academia and you. Co-convened and co-designed by faculty, fellows and students collaborating across several Stanford centers, departments, schools, the course invites the discussion of global problems, interdisciplinary perspectives, and systemic solutions for the climate crisis and human health. The course will address root causes of the climate crisis and urgent challenges of human and planetary health, including sociological constraints, political objectives, economic incentives, technological limitations, and preservation of global stability, and suggest models of leadership, innovation and sustainable social change. We will also delve into efforts to catalyze long-term sustainability across the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. Students from all backgrounds are encouraged to enroll - registration is open to all Stanford students and fellows. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 8 units total)
SYMSYS 200:
Minds and Machines (CS 24, LINGUIST 35, PHIL 99, PSYCH 35, SYMSYS 1)
(Formerly SYMSYS 100). An overview of the interdisciplinary study of cognition, information, communication, and language, with an emphasis on foundational issues: What are minds? What is computation? What are rationality and intelligence? Can we predict human behavior? Can computers be truly intelligent? How do people and technology interact, and how might they do so in the future? Lectures focus on how the methods of philosophy, mathematics, empirical research, and computational modeling are used to study minds and machines. Students must take this course before being approved to declare Symbolic Systems as a major. All students interested in studying Symbolic Systems are urged to take this course early in their student careers. The course material and presentation will be at an introductory level, without prerequisites. If you have any questions about the course, please email symsys1staff@gmail.com.
Terms: Aut, Win, Sum
| Units: 4
SYMSYS 201:
Digital Technology, Society, and Democracy
The impact of information and communication technologies on social and political life. Interdisciplinary. Classic and contemporary readings focusing on topics such as social networks, virtual versus face-to-face communication, the public sphere, voting technology, and collaborative production. Prerequisite: Completion of a course in psychology, communication, human-computer interaction, or a related discipline, or consent of the instructor.
Last offered: Autumn 2021
| Units: 3
SYMSYS 203:
Cognitive Science Perspectives on Humanity and Well-Being
Interdisciplinary readings that address fundamental questions about human decision making, morality, behavior, and welfare. In this advanced small seminar, we will read and discuss works by psychologists, neuroscientists, philosophers, and others, which focus on a common theme. The topic for 2023-24 is the philosophy and science of free will and determinism. Prerequisite: Completion of a course in behavioral science or neuroscience beyond the level of PSYCH 1.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
