Undergraduate Advising and Research
UAR (Central Office): Sweet Hall, first floor
Phone: (650) 723-2426
Fax: (650) 725-1436
Web Site: http://undergrad.stanford.edu
Email: advising@stanford.edu, vpue-research@stanford.edu
Appointments: (650) 723-2426
Undergraduate Advising and Research upholds the mission, standards, and requirements of the University, introduces students to the full intellectual richness of undergraduate study at Stanford, supports students in their academic and intellectual pursuits, and instills within them a sense of identity within and belonging to our community of scholars at Stanford. UAR is responsible for facilitating new students’ transition to Stanford, academic advising, academic policy and progress, and undergraduate research opportunities.
Transitioning New Students
UAR is responsible for the Approaching Stanford program, which guides new students through the process of coming to Stanford from their admission to the University until the first day of class. This process culminates in New Student Orientation which is required for all new freshmen and transfer students. See the Approaching Stanford web site for additional information.
First-Year and Transfer Student Policies
Stanford values the transition process as the foundation for thriving both academically and personally in our community. The following policies support this principle and apply to freshmen and new transfer students:
- All first-year and new transfer students are required to attend New Student Orientation and must be in residence by 5:00 p.m. on the first day of NSO, Tuesday, September 19, 2017.
- First-year and new transfer students are required to live on campus in University housing for three consecutive quarters in their first year. Should behavior warrant a first-year student’s removal from the residences, that student cannot enroll in classes until he or she has returned to the residential community.
- When circumstances arise which make it advisable for a first-year to take a leave absence at any time during the first year, he or she is required to wait until Autumn Quarter of the following year to return to Stanford.
- First-year and new transfer students cannot enroll in the Summer Quarter prior to their first year unless they are participating in a VPUE-sponsored program. Exceptions are very rarely granted.
Advising
UAR pairs each first-year with two advisers: a pre-major adviser (faculty and academic staff) and an academic advising director in the residences. First-years are matched with their pre-major advisers according to their preliminary academic interests and residence. Pre-major advisers are well suited to help students understand the University and are the first of many mentors students find at Stanford. The UAR academic advising directors in the undergraduate residences complement the role of the assigned pre-major advisers with a comprehensive understanding of the curriculum. They advise students broadly on their courses of study and long-term goals and can answer questions about academic policy. The UAR advising staff also includes professional advisers in Sweet Hall who are both general and specialized academic advisers in the areas of research and fellowships, pre-professional advising, returning student and transfer student advising, or coterminal advising, as well as advisers in the Athletics Academic Resource Center (AARC) who are general and specialized academic advisers for varsity student-athletes.
See the Advising web site for more information about academic advising, programming, and support for undergraduates.
Academic Policy
UAR oversees the implementation of University academic policies pertaining to undergraduates, including requests for exceptions to academic policy (i.e., petitions) and monitoring academic progress. All UAR advisers support students with an academic status (e.g., probation, provisional registration, or suspension). For more information about academic policies that UAR advisers help students navigate, see the Academic Policies web site.
Undergraduate Research and Fellowships
UAR encourages undergraduates to work with faculty on independent projects in research, the arts, and senior synthesis. UAR facilitates these close relationships by providing advising and funding to undergraduates across all disciplines and at all stages of developing an idea into a research project. See the Research and Independent Projects web site for more information. For current deadlines, grant types, and program details, see the Student Grants page. Faculty or departments interested in applying for funding to support undergraduates in their working groups can learn more on the For Faculty page.
Together with advisers at the Overseas Resource Center and the Haas Center for Public Service, UAR advisers help prepare students to compete for nationally competitive fellowships. UAR also administers the campus nomination process for several U.S.-based fellowships. See the Fellowships web site for more information on fellowship opportunities.
UAR offers workshops and individual consultations on planning for graduate or professional studies (e.g., business, education, law, and medicine) and on general application procedures, including how to write personal statements, how to solicit letters of recommendation, and how to prepare for interviews. See the Planning for Graduate and Professional School web site for more information.
Courses
UAR 10. Intellectual Journeys. 1 Unit.
Stanford speakers share their research as well as their intellectual and life paths, including how they chose their undergraduate major, how they found mentors, and what their field offers undergraduates.
UAR 11A. Being Strategic: What you know and what you need to know. 1 Unit.
Funded by Stanford's OpenXChange Initiative, this course will reflect upon how you've built community here at Stanford; what's been successful and what has not; and how you can prepare for the upcoming quarters. In six fortnightly sessions of ninety minutes each, spread out over Spring Quarter, we shall read short text, poetry, short stories, and social media articles that highlight core themes for discussion by students and residents at Stanford. These may include Home and Community; Care and Tolerance; Doubt and Fear; inspiration and Success; Isolation and Loneliness; Enough and Too Much; Peace and Quiet; Balance and Joy.
UAR 11B. OXC: Learning to Live at Stanford. 1 Unit.
Reflect upon building our community here at Stanford through short texts, poetry, short stories, and social media articles that highlight core points for discussion for students and residents at Stanford: Home and Community; Care and Tolerance; Doubt and Fear; Inspiration and Success; Isolation and Loneliness; Enough and Too Much; Peace and Quiet; Balance and Joy. An OpenXChange program.
UAR 21. OXC: Freshman Women's Leadership Initiative. 1 Unit.
Understand leadership skills in the context of the values, issues, and goals that characterize women in leadership, with a focus on Stanford undergraduate life. An intimate, immersive environment to discuss issues of leadership and community engagement. Recognize core values, leadership strengths and limitations, and inspiration to act with intentionality around interests and ambitions here at Stanford. An OpenXChange program.
UAR 31. OXC: The African American Male Experience in Collegiate Sports. 1 Unit.
Experiences and representations of African American men in college athletics and sports media. Explore the relationships between race, social class and athletic experiences, with a focus on sports film, social science data and the specific experiences of professional and student athletes. Readings will draw from psychology, sociology, education, and popular press. An OpenXChange program.
UAR 41. OXC: Residential Exploration, Advocacy, Leadership. 1 Unit.
Explore concepts in leadership. Examine academic and personal issues affecting students and develop skills and approaches necessary to tackle the political, educational, and socioeconomic issues towards future change. An OpenXChange program.
Same as: REAL
UAR 42A. LSP First Year Seminar. 1 Unit.
For freshmen who participated in the Leland Scholars Program. This seminar supports LSP students in the first year in the areas of institutional engagement, academic empowerment, their sense of belonging to Stanford, and builds their cohort identity.
UAR 42B. LSP First Year Seminar B. 1 Unit.
For freshmen who participated in the Leland Scholars Program. This seminar supports LSP students in the first year in the areas of institutional engagement, academic empowerment, their sense of belonging to Stanford, and builds their cohort identity.
UAR 43. LSP: Exploring Research, Writing, and Problem Solving at Stanford. 3 Units.
This course is offered in August prior to start of fall quarter for participants of the Leland Scholars Program. This course is comprised of two parallel tracks: one focused on the development and practice of critical problem solving and study skills using wide variety of chemistry examples that illustrate the broad yet integrated nature of science; a second focused on providing an introduction to rhetorical thinking, academic writing, college-level research, and crafting well-reasoned arguments. Based on skills developed in both tracks, students will work in teams to research and present on a current issue revolving around one of five central themes: energy, climate change, water resources, medicine, and food & nutrition exploring their issue from chemical, socioeconomic and cultural perspectives.
UAR 51. Uncovering Your Political Identity. 1 Unit.
We may not fully understand ¿politics,¿ yet we are always subject to it. What does it mean to become politicizied? What conditions promote politicization? The course supports a personal inquiry into one¿s political identity, the ¿political skin you¿re in¿ ¿ its attributes, what has shaped it, its current compared to desired state. By describing attributes and recalling early influencers/influences on one¿s political consciousness, students will in turn discover more about political conscience and its implications for personal political speech and action. An OpenXChange program.
UAR 56. Building a Successful Academic Career. 1 Unit.
For freshmen in expanded advising programs. Techniques for honing academic skills for college, and applying those skills to better define intellectual identity in academic pursuits. May be repeated for credit.
UAR 60. Engaging, Exploring, and Reflecting on Alumni Career Worlds. 1 Unit.
This course helps students access and navigate the professional world with tools such as e-Portfolios, Strengths Quest, and alumni shadow visits. Assignments and discussions will encourage deep reflection on the values, philosophies, and backgrounds that can help shape each student¿s long term goals.
UAR 61. Religion and Identity. 1 Unit.
This one-unit course will focus on issues of religion and identity, especially as it relates to what our religious commitments (whether strong, weak, or non-existent) mean for our social and political engagement with society at large. This will be a student-driven, conversation-heavy course. The experiences of the students in the class will help shape the exact nature of the questions we explore together. After getting to know each other at the first session, we will use short articles to organize our discussion for the rest of the class meetings. Possible conversation starters include: the debate over the hijab in French public schools, altered states and religious freedom in the US, Buddhism and political violence in Myanmar, gay marriage and civil disobedience in the US. The course will meet from 3:30-5 on alternating Fridays (weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9) in the SLE Office in Florence Moore Hall. An OpenXChange program.
UAR 71. Returning from Study Abroad. 1 Unit.
In this course, students will find the space to define their study abroad experience as well as articulate the ways in which their worldview perspectives may have shifted. Therefore, students will engage in deep mutual exchanges and personal introspection about their experiences abroad. Throughout the course, we will define their experience abroad while continually making-meaning as their new perspectives are supported and challenge amongst members of the Stanford community. Students will end the course by crafting action steps for moving forward with the ability to tell their study abroad story in compelling ways that can be applied to personal, social, academic, and professional realms of their lives.
UAR 81. OXC: Casa Zapata Pre-Assignee Seminar. 1 Unit.
This residence-based seminar is focused on skills building, practical workshops, and theme presentations promoting the breadth of diversity of our Zapata community. Through the seminar, the pre-assignee group will connect to the Zapata community, develop as resources for the community, and engage in topics that are meaningful to them and their community. This is an OpenXChange offering.
UAR 91. OXC: Ujamaa House Pre-Assignee Seminar. 1 Unit.
This one-unit seminar will expose students to various topics about the AfricannDiaspora. Upperclassmen Pre-Assignees will work closely with Ethnic ThemenAssociates/Resident Fellow to add breadth and depth to their presentations. To receive credit you must attend 7 Theme Programs (not including your own) and fill out Pre-Assignee Evaluations provided by Ethnic Theme Associates. Through the seminar, the pre-assignee group will connect to the Zapata community, develop as resources for the community, and engage in topics that are meaningful to them and their community. This is an OpenXChange offering.
