Students enroll in courses utilizing the Stanford online system, AXESS, where all Stanford students conduct their administrative business, including all administrative tasks related to courses.
Course enrollment is conducted on a first come/first enrolled basis, unless otherwise noted on AXESS by the instructor or the Office of Academic Services. Typically, Stanford GSE courses do not have an enrollment cap; students seldom find courses full to the point of prohibiting enrollment unless it is a very popular course. Course requirements will be detailed in the MA and Doctoral Handbooks, which are distributed at the end of August.
Please refer to the Academic Calendar for information about when AXESS opens for enrollment, course registration deadlines, quarter start and end dates:
Academic Calendar
Independent Study Courses
Independent study courses are courses designed by a faculty member and an individual student. Often, students take an independent study course when there is a particular topic they would like to explore that is not covered by the current course offerings. Students approach professors directly to inquire about conducting an independent study with them. When agreed, both meet regularly throughout the quarter to discuss readings/work. Credit is assigned based on the work load taken by students; 3 hours of readings and meetings typically correspond to 1 unit of credit. The students’ faculty advisors can help students determine whether to enroll in an independent study course and which faculty member would be best on subject matter.
Instructions for using AXESS to enroll in an independent study course may be found at:
How to Enroll in Independent Study
Information for Undergraduates
For undergraduates interested in education, check ExploreCourses and go to the Undergraduate Programs Page for details about course offerings and our undergraduate Honors and Minor.
Additional Enrollment Information
Enrollment of Stanford GSE Students in Stanford Graduate School of Business Courses:
To enroll in Graduate School of Business courses, see the following website: http://gsbapps.stanford.edu/nongsbreg/. To access the site, a SUNet ID and password are required.
Enrollment of Stanford GSE Students in Stanford Law School Courses:
Please see http://lawreg.stanford.edu/stanford%5Cdefault.asp and contact registrar@law.stanford.edu with questions.