Overview

Stanford offers open enrollment to visiting adults and college students. Matriculated Stanford students DO NOT need to apply through this program to attend the summer quarter at Stanford; you may enroll in classes as usual via the Axess system. Most visiting students are undergraduate and graduate students from other universities in the United States and around the world who wish to pursue their academic interests at Stanford in the summer.

Summer Session classes at Stanford feature open enrollment, accessible instructors, small classes, a diverse student body, and a stunning campus. Undergraduates and graduates from around the world are drawn to Palo Alto and Stanford's lifestyle: the best of academics, research, athletics, and recreation.

Summer visitors take eight-week courses in the schools of Humanities and Sciences, Earth Sciences, and Engineering. A ten-week Physics sequence is also offered. Credit earned may be eligible for transfer to another college or university.

Visiting students often choose Summer Session to:

• sample Stanford for graduate study
• satisfy intellectual pursuits in areas outside of their usual realm of study
• enable themselves to graduate on time, or to accelerate their progress toward a degree
• lighten the course load required in other terms
• concentrate on some area of study needing full-time attention
• take courses that can't be offered at other times of year
• take courses they can not get into during other terms
• be in smaller classes
• overcome academic difficulties/deficiencies
• get a "jump start" in a new environment (for transfers)