Stanford University courses

The list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was originally compiled in antiquity—it was partly referred to as early as the 5th century BCE by Herodotus. By the Roman period, geographers, travelers, and historians agreed on several wonders that “topped”…

Your personal brand is more than a buzzword—it’s your competitive edge. Whether you want to advance your career, grow your business, or become a trusted voice in your field, standing out requires more than just showing up. It’s about crafting a compelling…

Wealth management is more than investing—it spans every part of your financial life, balancing today’s needs with future goals. Whether you manage your finances independently, work with professionals, or combine both, confidence and basic knowledge are…

Product-market fit is often described as a breakthrough moment, but in practice, it is a disciplined sequence of hypotheses, tested under real constraints. This course examines how early-stage products move from an initial idea toward traction by focusing on…

The writer Bruno Schulz described his autofiction as a “genealogy of the spirit.” Autofiction draws on lived experience but reshapes it using the craft of fiction, carrying the emotional truth of a life rather than adhering to pure facts or literal…

Cancer is a common disease, and effectively treating cancer is a global challenge. In this course, we will explore cancer biology and the biological mechanisms underlying the most common forms of treatment. We will then explore recent research and novel…

Resonant personal essays possess an ephemeral quality, allowing them to transcend the particulars of a single life and speak to readers in a lasting way. This course will teach you how to achieve that effect. For inspiration, we will read personal essays by…

George Harrison once wrote, “Everyone should have and play a ‘UKE.’ It’s so simple to carry with you and it’s one instrument you can’t play and not laugh.” He carried one everywhere and gave them freely to friends, insisting that anyone who played the ukulele…

This course is not open to the public, but rather by admission only. For more information on the Writing Certificate Program and its application process, please click here . The One-on-One Tutorial will bring together Certificate students and accomplished…

In this course, we examine major modern and contemporary thinkers addressing fundamental metaphysical questions about personhood, identity, and the self. We begin with Thomas Nagel’s provocative claim that death is an evil, then turn to Harry Frankfurt’s…

Close-up photography transforms the familiar into the unexpected. This course invites photographers of all levels to explore the details that shape our visual world, from the intricate structures of plants, food, feathers, and insects to the abstract surfaces…

Poets have strategies to make their writing feel less like work and more like play, even when writing about serious subjects. We will learn to silence our inner critics and enjoy the art of writing poetry through techniques such as improv comedy-inspired…

¡Vengan a charlar y explorar con nosotros! This course is designed for students who have completed "Beginning Spanish: Part II" or who can meet and mingle with others, talk about their interests and activities, past and present, and ask others about theirs,…

AI tools are changing how software gets built, making the process faster and accessible to people without a coding background. This course introduces vibe coding, a concept-first approach where you create applications and websites by guiding AI tools instead…

Designed for those with no prior experience, this course introduces the fundamentals of programming through Python, one of today’s most widely used languages. As AI tools make it easier to generate code, understanding how programs actually work has become…

Wireless communication quietly underpins much of modern life, from smartphones and satellites to contactless payments and connected devices. This course offers a clear, concept-driven introduction to how contemporary wireless systems work and how they…

This course is not open to the public, but rather by admission only. For more information on the Writing Certificate Program and its application process, please click here . The One-on-One Tutorial will bring together Certificate students and accomplished…

This hands-on course is designed to introduce beginners to the art of watercolor painting through the vibrant colors and forms of seasonal fruits, vegetables, and edible flowers. Students will explore fundamental watercolor techniques such as wet-on-wet…

Have you ever marveled at the mesmerizing narratives in your favorite podcasts and wondered how they’re crafted? What are the key ingredients that transform a simple story into a captivating audio experience? How can we use sound design, voice, interview…

This course offers a sweeping survey of the art and architecture of the Roman world, from the founding of Rome in the 8th century BCE to the transfer of the capital to Constantinople in the 4th century CE. Students will trace Rome’s transformation from a…

What enables some ideas to reshape industries while others remain promising but unrealized? In an era shaped by AI, professionals across technology, science, and business are generating new concepts rapidly, yet many struggle to move from insight to sustained…

Engaging in creative activity lightens our hearts, helps us make peace with our experiences, and reminds us how to play. Creative writing is especially accessible; it requires no special equipment and can be done anytime. But many of us either internalize…

Have you ever wanted to try hip hop dance but felt nervous to give it a go? Here’s a chance to learn one of the world’s most popular dance forms effortlessly with a renowned teacher and choreographer. Hip hop dance is not just a form of movement; it is deeply…

Science fiction and fantasy provide escape through expansive world-building. They also transform the fantastic into a metaphor for the pressures of contemporary life. This course demystifies the process of writing in these popular genres. Students will…

In this workshop, you will learn how to produce prose that captures a reader’s attention from the very first page. We will read fiction by writers such as Julie Otsuka, Yiyun Li, and John Edgar Wideman to examine how their work engages us through vivid…

Human movement and exercise can increase quality of life through improved immunity, sleep, energy, metabolism, psychological state, longevity (meaning disease-risk reduction), and function of tissues such as bones, nerves, joints, and muscles. This course…

Writing a memoir often begins with momentum and discovery, then slows as the work enters the “murky middle.” This course offers space to re-engage with your project and get you over that hump. For inspiration, we will study personal writing by innovative…

This course examines faith, hope, and love as enduring human responses to uncertainty, loss, and the search for meaning. We will explore how philosophers have interpreted these virtues both within and outside of religious frameworks. Søren Kierkegaard’s Fear…

¡Es hora de aprender español! Whether for business or pleasure, travel abroad, or a trip to the local market, millions of Americans have found Spanish so useful that it has become the nation’s most popularly studied second language. This course is designed to…

Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly across many domains, including science, business, and public policy. This course offers a data-driven introduction to how AI is evolving globally, grounded in insights from the AI Index Report, Stanford HAI’s…

Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly across many domains, including science, business, and public policy. This course offers a data-driven introduction to how AI is evolving globally, grounded in insights from the AI Index Report, Stanford HAI’s…

You have an idea, created a product to solve a problem, proven the concept, and you are ready to launch. But how do you secure funding and ensure success? This course will provide students with a balanced technical overview of the role and methodology of…

It’s not how much you make—it’s what you keep. Many people in the United States earn their money from a regular job; they get a paycheck and routinely pay income taxes. But the way wealthy Americans make money is more diverse, as are their investments. What…

Plato’s Republic is one of the most influential works in the Western canon, shaping debates about politics, justice, and human flourishing for more than two millennia. The 20th-century philosopher Alfred North Whitehead famously described the European…

Ancient medicine sometimes appears surprisingly similar to modern medicine. At other times, it exposes what we regard as superstition and ignorance. Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Greeks, and Romans asked many of the same questions about health and disease that we…

We all want to be heard—yet speaking up when it matters most can feel daunting, even for seasoned communicators. The good news: you were born with a natural presence and open voice. The challenge is that habits, stress, and tension often inhibit your ability…

While authors of other genres are having difficulty getting into print, sales of romance novels keep breaking new records. While writing a romance novel is within your reach, it requires more than a love story. In this course, we will study the current…

Author Bharati Mukherjee said that “‘voice’ is our shorthand for the process of decision-making regarding tone, diction, pacing, texture, withholding, etc. in a given work.” Each writer, and each work, has a particular voice—or sometimes a chorus of…

Film noir first exploded across American movie screens in 1940. Hollywood studios seized upon this exciting new direction in crime films—a dramatically startling combination of German Expressionist cinema of the '20s and French poetic realism films of the…

Designed for students with little to no knowledge of French, this course focuses on acquiring basic communication skills using a creative, all-in-French conversational approach in a fun and relaxed class atmosphere. By the end of the course, students will be…

The best memoirs use personal experience to illuminate larger questions, but there are different ways to construct a compelling personal story that resonates with readers. Some authors, like Elizabeth Gilbert, Joan Didion, and Paul Kalanithi, rely on…

A beautifully constructed book never happens by accident. Bringing a novel to fruition requires a combination of creative improvisation and strategic planning. Whether you are juggling points of view, trying to link stories, or stuck in the marshy middle of…

For many poets, the only rule is that a poem must have line breaks. But are line breaks really a foundational element of the poem? What work do they do on the page? In this course, we will focus on line breaks as an active craft choice, one that can shape…

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the enterprise, yet many organizations struggle to move from experimentation to sustained impact. This course provides a practical introduction to enterprise AI, focusing on deploying systems at scale and aligning them…

Purpose is less a fixed destination than an ongoing way of orienting one's life around what matters most. Adapted from a popular class for Stanford undergraduates, this course examines purpose as a lived practice shaped by values, self-understanding, and…

The human body is our most familiar form. We seek to draw people realistically—to capture their gestures, strength, and grace. This course is about looking at, seeing, and drawing the human figure well. Regardless of your drawing experience, you can learn to…

The historical novel is reaching new heights and audiences. Recent bestsellers have found their stories in World War II, pre–Civil Rights Mississippi, and the court of England’s Henry VIII. In these successful historical novels, the concerns of the past…

In the early 1930s, American movies were in the midst of a golden age shaped by feminism, the social and sexual revolutions of the 1920s, and a lack of screen censorship. Today, we call this “the pre-Code era,” the five years before a restrictive Motion…

Since the late 19th century, women’s control over their reproductive lives in the United States has been a topic of public debate and political struggle. These stakes became especially urgent following the US Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturning…