Faculty and Staff: Course Opportunities and Support

Stanford Introductory Seminars

Stanford Introductory Seminars (Freshman Seminars, Sophomore Seminars and Sophomore Dialogues) are overseen by the Freshman and Sophomore Programs office.

Introductory Seminars integrate exploring current questions in a field with training in critical inquiry skills. This is accomplished in small groups, as follows:

  • Four to five students in a Sophomore Dialogue
  • A maximum of fourteen in Sophomore Seminars
  • A maximum of sixteen in Freshman Seminars

Students are selected by faculty. Departments offering Freshman Seminars receive compensation in the form of billets or annual funding. These courses are part of the normal teaching load for faculty. Faculty teaching Sophomore Seminars and Dialogues receive stipends for overload teaching.

For all introductory seminars, funds are available for field trips, guest speakers and other course enhancements. For Freshman Seminars, funds are also available for hiring students to help with seminar preparation.

Assistance with academic technology, workshops or individual student support (for oral communication and writing), and pedagogical discussions (organized by FSP) are also available.

Further resources:

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Introduction to the Humanities

Continuing a Stanford curricular tradition of almost 90 years, IHUM courses engage freshmen with significant issues, themes, ideas and values of human identity and existence and provide all first-year students with a strong foundation in liberal education.   The IHUM requirement, enacted by the Faculty Senate in 1996, encourages faculty to develop an array of course options to maximize students' chances of studying a topic of personal and intellectual interest.  Students select from among as many as a dozen different courses and course sequences to complete the year-long requirement.

 
Academic Council faculty are invited to design courses in two distinct categories -- team-taught interdisciplinary courses for autumn quarter and disciplinary focused winter/spring course sequences.  The team-taught autumn quarter course lectures provide multiple perspectives on five primary course texts, a number strictly limited to support the pedagogical objective of close reading.  The twenty-week IHUM course sequences promote depth of study in a single department or discipline. All courses offer two 50-minute lectures and two 50-minute sections per week.  The small-group discussions averaging 15 students are led by post-doctoral scholars selected by the course faculty in consultation with IHUM staff through a competitive national search.

 
After approval by the Governance Board, new courses and course sequences are authorized for a renewable three-year term.  Faculty teaching IHUM are eligible for supplemental stipends; courses also receive enhancement funding for field trips, course development assistance, outside speakers, and other enrichment activities. Academic technology assistance is another special feature of IHUM course support.

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Program in Writing and Rhetoric (PWR)

Every Stanford undergraduate participates in PWR with the exception of about 90 students enrolled in Structured Liberal Education.

Faculty members are invited to develop courses in oral and media communication to meet the Writing and Rhetoric Requirement. Course proposals are reviewed by the Writing and Rhetoric Requirement Governance Board for certification.

Course development assistance is provided to faculty through PWR. Faculty receive priority for assignment to technology-equipped classrooms. Academic technology assistance is also available.

Writing in the Major

Writing intensive courses are offered in each major to satisfy the Writing in the Major requirement. Departments or degree-granting programs designate which courses meet the WIM guidelines each year. Course proposals are reviewed and approved by the Writing and Rhetoric Governance Board.

Funds for supplemental TA stipends are allocated annually based on the number of majors and minors in the degree program. Consulting services are available in course and assignment design, use of academic technology and TA training.

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Bing Overseas Studies Program

Faculty-in-Residence
Each quarter, one Stanford professor serves as Faculty-in-Residence in each of the BOSP program locations.

Faculty teach courses in their own disciplines, although they often develop courses that incorporate the unique features of the local culture and environment. Sometimes they will develop a  course that provides comparative perspectives on a particular topic.

Faculty are recruited from all schools and departments. Their appointments last one quarter; usually they offer two classes during a term abroad.

For further information:

Leading an Overseas Seminar
Overseas Seminars are two-unit classes taught by Stanford faculty in locations around the world that have direct relevance to the course topic. They take place over a period of three weeks in early September, immediately preceding the start of Autumn quarter classes on campus. Each seminar group includes up to 15 undergraduate and one TA.

Apart from their academic role in teaching the class, seminar faculty are responsible for making on-site arrangements for student housing, classroom rental and group meals. Faculty work with BOSP to create the seminar budget and keep track of expenses on site.

For further information:

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Center for Teaching and Learning

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) provides teaching consultation services and teaching resources to individual faculty, departments, and programs on the following:

  • Course design or redesign
  • Effective or innovative pedagogy
  • Technology in teaching
  • Working with teaching assistants

Special, additional assistance is available to new and junior faculty who may have questions about the following:

  • Stanford students
  • Teaching on the quarter system
  • Designing courses for the first time
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Oral Communication Program in the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)

In addition to general course design support provided by CTL, the Oral Communication Program serves faculty members with integrating oral communication instruction into their courses. Lecturers provide pedagogy consultation for individual faculty during the course design process. Specially trained consultants are available to provide extra instruction and rehearsal opportunities for students as they prepare for class presentations. Faculty may refer students to the Speaking Center for video recording or feedback on presentations or to courses in public speaking offered for credit.

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Sophomore College

Sophomore College is an intensive three-week residential program held in September before the opening of classes. Each course is taught by a tenured faculty member and enrolls a maximum of 14 returning second-year students.

Faculty select their students, receive an honorarium for teaching a class and are assisted by two upper-class students who live in residence. Course development funds are available for hiring students to assist with seminar preparation. Additional funds are available for field trips, guest speakers and other course enhancements. Academic technology assistance is also available, as well as workshops or individual student support for oral communication and writing.

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Bing Honors College

This intensive residential honors program for seniors meets in September for nearly three weeks before the opening of Fall term. Faculty directors of honors and degree programs organize activities to encourage student progress on honors thesis and develop a community of scholars in the major. Each department or degree program selects its own students for the college.

Faculty members receive a stipend for organizing and supervising Honors College students in their major and may hire graduate students to assist with the college. Additional funds for field trips and other course augmentation are allocated to each group.

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