Credit

All courses offered during the Summer Quarter carry Stanford academic credit. Grades are recorded on an official Stanford University transcript, along with the course name and credit earned. The unit of credit is the quarter unit.

Course Load

Every unit for which credit is given is understood to represent approximately 3 hours of work per week for the average student. In lecture or discussion work, for 1 unit of credit, 1 hour per week will be allotted to the lecture or discussion and 2 hours for preparation or subsequent reading and study. Studio-, field-, or laboratory-based courses require 3 hours of class time per unit of credit. During the Summer Quarter, the typical ten-week term is condensed to eight weeks; course load requirements increase proportionally.

Course Schedule

Students should refer to the Courses page to review the courses being offered this summer. To be eligible to enroll in courses, a student must have been offered admission to Stanford Summer Session and been issued a Stanford ID number. Confirmed students may enroll in courses on Axess beginning April 10, 2016.

The majority of summer courses are taught within the eight-week Summer Quarter; however, there are a handful of courses that follow a slightly different schedule. The start and end date for each course is listed within the online course description. It is important that students review this information as they consider their options and build their summer schedule. Although not common, it is possible to enroll in a schedule of courses with overlapping finals, so students should view Stanford’s Final Exams website for the Summer Quarter exam schedule before enrolling in courses.

Enrollment Requirements

Domestic students are required to enroll in a minimum of 3 units. Students receiving a Summer Session Tuition Grant are required to maintain enrollment in a minimum of 8 units throughout the Summer Quarter. Undergraduate students who wish to be considered full-time must enroll in at least 12 units; graduate students who wish to be considered full-time must enroll in at least 8 units. All students can enroll in maximum of 20 units.

International students who require a Stanford-sponsored I-20 are required to maintain enrollment in a minimum of 8 units throughout the Summer Quarter in order to retain legal visa status. The Summer Session Office will monitor enrollment throughout the Summer Quarter to ensure compliance. Undergraduate students who wish to be considered full-time must enroll in at least 12 units; graduate students who wish to be considered full-time must enroll in at least 8 units. All students can enroll in maximum of 20 units.

Grading

Academic courses taught during the Summer Quarter are typically offered for a Letter Grade or for an elected Credit/No Credit grading option. Non-academic courses are offered on a Satisfactory/No Credit basis. For more information, the Office of the University Registrar maintains a full listing of the General University Grading System. Please note that all courses offered as part of Summer Session carry academic credit, regardless of how they are graded. Stanford does not offer courses for audit during the Summer Quarter.

When enrolling in a specific course, a student has the ability to select their preferred grading scale from the options provided within Axess. Students can continue to change this option in Axess up until the Change of Grading Basis Deadline. Any student who is planning to transfer credit back to their home institution, or who is participating in an Intensive Studies program should take all courses for a letter grade. 

Credit Transfer

Undergraduate and graduate students wishing to receive credit at their home institutions for work completed at Stanford are encouraged to obtain pre-approval for their courses and should determine with their campus officials the correct procedures for credit transfer. They should also plan on taking all courses for a letter grade. In many cases, the transfer process will require the review of course materials, including a course overview or syllabus. When available, course syllabi are available on the Courses page or on syllabus.stanford.edu.