Online Learning

Online Classes

Stanford Engineering began experimenting with Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) in August 2011, and continues to add to its offerings. The online courses are taught by regular Stanford faculty and are highly interactive. 

For on-campus students: Many Stanford faculty have developed "flipped” or “blended” courses for their students. This involves videotaping lecture material and asking students to watch it on their own time, in advance, so that traditional classroom lecture time can be used for more interactive learning. The highest-quality education still requires this face-to-face contact between and among students and faculty.

For off-campus students who are registered with Stanford in some way: Building on current offerings such as those in the Stanford Center for Professional Development, Stanford will continue exploring options for enrolling at-a-distance students in Stanford academic programs. Online learning also has the potential to expand offerings for Stanford students who are away from campus for a quarter at an overseas study location.

For students at other colleges and universities: Another avenue is sharing licensed online coursework with other colleges and universities. These can be full courses or, in many cases, shorter modules. For instance, a computer science course at one university could incorporate an online module on cryptography or database design taught by a world-class expert in that specialty at another university.

For MOOC students: Stanford faculty are continuing to put some courses online, broadly available to the public, as part of Stanford’s interest in expanding educational access everywhere. MOOCs cannot replicate the quality of the on-campus Stanford experience, but they can incorporate variations of some on-campus features into the online environment (such as discussions sections and office hours). The MOOCs also serve as a large-scale laboratory for evaluating teaching methods and student learning patterns. Stanford’s MOOC offerings are listed each quarter on the Stanford Online website.

Stanford Online

The vision of Stanford Online is to continue Stanford’s leadership in providing high-quality educational experiences to its students and to people around the world by unleashing creativity and innovation in online learning. 

Stanford on iTunes U

A collection of more than 3,000 Stanford audio and video programs is available on Apple's popular iTunes platform. The repository includes course lectures, faculty presentations, campus events and more. The new iTunes U app provides access to additional course content, including supplemental materials, assignments and exams from several Stanford courses.

Stanford Center for Professional Development

The Stanford Center for Professional Development connects professionals worldwide to the research and teaching of Stanford University faculty in the School of Engineering and related academic departments. Qualified individuals may study for master of science degrees on a part-time basis, pursue graduate certificates and professional certificates, take individual graduate courses and professional courses, participate in workshops, view free online seminars and more.