The largest of Stanford’s seven schools, the School of Humanities and Sciences is the center of the University’s liberal arts education. Through exposure to the humanities and arts, undergraduate and graduate students consider the ethical, aesthetic, and intellectual dimensions of the human experience, past and present, and are thereby prepared to make thoughtful and imaginative contributions to the culture of the future. Through the study of social, political, and economic events, they acquire theories and techniques for the analysis of specific societal issues, as well as general cross-cultural perspectives on the human condition. And through exposure to the methods and discoveries of mathematics and the sciences, they become well-informed participants and leaders in today's increasingly technological societies.
The School of Humanities and Sciences is comprised of academic departments, which are organized into three clusters, each with its own distinct character.
- Humanities and Arts
- Art and Art History
- Classics
- Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages
- Comparative Literature
- French and Italian
- German Studies
- Iberian and Latin American Cultures
- Slavic Languages and Literatures
- East Asian Languages and Cultures
- English
- History
- Linguistics
- Music
- Philosophy
- Religious Studies
- Theater and Performance Studies
- Social Sciences
- Anthropology
- Communication
- Economics
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Natural Sciences
- Applied Physics
- Biology (including Hopkins Marine Station)
- Chemistry
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Statistics
The school also includes interdisciplinary degree programs that bridge traditionally disparate fields in the humanities and sciences: African and African American Studies; African Studies; American Studies; Archaeology; Arts; Biophysics; Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity; East Asian Studies; Ethics in Society; Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Global Studies; Human Biology; Humanities; International Policy Studies; International Relations; Latin American Studies; Mathematical and Computational Science; Modern Thought and Literature; Public Policy; Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies; Science, Technology, and Society; Symbolic Systems; and Urban Studies.
In addition, the school has diverse programs and research centers that do not currently grant degrees such as the Bill Lane Center for the American West; the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics; the Center for Molecular Analysis; the Confucius Institute; the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies; the Michelle R. Clayman Center for Gender Research; the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve; and the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences. For more information about the School of Humanities and Sciences and a complete listing of research centers and programs, see the School's web site.
Prospective applicants and candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Public Policy, Master of Science, Doctor of Musical Arts, or Doctor of Philosophy should consult the relevant department or program for detailed information about application procedures and degree requirements.
Faculty
Dean: Richard P. Saller
Senior Associate Deans: Ralph L. Cohen, Ellen M. Markman, Debra M. Satz
Senior Associate Dean for Finance and Administration: Adam R. Daniel
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs: Tina Kass
Associate Dean for Graduate and Undergraduate Studies: Susan J. Weersing
Assistant Dean for Diversity Programs, Data and Technology: Ayodele Thomas
Assistant Dean for Curricular and Academic Support: Beth McKeown
Graduate Diversity Recruitment Officer: Joseph L. Brown
Department Chairs: B. Douglas Bernheim (Economics), Emmanuel Candes (Statistics; effective Winter Quarter), Dan Edelstein (Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages), Ronald Egan (East Asian Languages and Cultures), Paula Findlen (History), Judith L. Goldstein (Political Science), Ian H. Gotlib (Psychology), Paul M. Harrison (Religious Studies), Keith O. Hodgson (Chemistry), Branislav Jakovljevic (Theater and Performance Studies), Dan Jurafsky (Linguistics), Krista Lawlor (Philosophy), Hideo Mabuchi (Applied Physics), Peter F. Michelson (Physics), Alexander Nemerov (Art and Art History), Stephen Palumbi (Hopkins Marine Station), Grant Parker (Classics), Stephen Makoto Sano (Music), Tim Stearns (Biology), Fred Turner (Communication), Guenther Walther (Statistics; through Autumn Quarter), Brian White (Mathematics), Alex Woloch (English), Sylvia J. Yanagisako (Anthropology), Xueguang Zhou (Sociology)
Lecturer: Ayodele Thomas
Courses
HUMSCI 100. 10 Jobs in 10 Weeks: Leveraging Your Liberal Arts Career. 1 Unit.
This course is designed to give students a taste of 10 career fields in 10 weeks. Each week features an alum from a different industry, and a hands-on project pulled from their typical workday. In addition to guest speakers and in-class projects, focus is on tangible takeaways such as building a personal brand pyramid. Students also collaborate on exercises that teach them to articulate the core skills humanities and arts students bring to the table. Priority to undergraduates in the humanities and arts. Enrollment limited to 20. For more information, see https://beam.stanford.edu/students/bachelors-co-terms-masters/courses.
HUMSCI 201. Graduate Environment of Support. 1 Unit.
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).
