Navigating Your Stanford University Diploma Requirements

Earning a diploma from Stanford University requires careful planning and execution. To successfully graduate, students must fulfill several requirements encompassing general education, major-specific coursework, and a minimum unit accumulation. This article provides a comprehensive overview of these requirements, drawing upon official Stanford University resources, to guide students toward graduation.

Basic Degree Requirements for First-Year Students

For students entering Stanford as first-year students, the path to graduation involves several key components:

Unit Accumulation: A minimum of 180 units must be earned. Notably, a maximum of 45 units can be derived from Advanced Placement (AP) or transfer credits.
Major Declaration and Completion: Students must declare and satisfy all requirements for a chosen major. Consultation with the major department is crucial.
General Education Requirements (GERs): These requirements ensure a broad educational foundation.
- Civic, Liberal, and Global Education (COLLEGE): A first-year requirement, COLLEGE can be fulfilled through various options.
- Writing Courses: Three writing courses are mandatory: a course fulfilling the WRT 1 requirement (e.g., PWR 1), a course fulfilling the WRT 2 requirement (e.g., PWR 2), and a Writing in the Major (WIM) course.
- Foreign Language: Students must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language, typically through a first-year sequence or equivalent.
- Ways of Thinking/Ways of Doing: This requirement involves completing 11 courses across 8 designated categories.
Activity Units and CR/S Grades: A maximum of 8 activity units can contribute to the 180-unit total. Furthermore, only 36 units of courses graded as Credit (CR) or Satisfactory (S) can be applied towards graduation, including the aforementioned activity units. It's important to note that for the Academic Year 2020-21, courses taken for a CR or S grade did not count towards this 36-unit limit.

Degree Requirements for Transfer Students

Transfer students face slightly modified graduation requirements, acknowledging their prior academic work:

Unit Accumulation: Similar to first-year students, a minimum of 180 units is required. However, a higher maximum of 90 units can be transferred from AP or prior college coursework.
Major Declaration and Completion: This requirement remains the same as for first-year students.
General Education Requirements (GERs):
- Writing Courses: Transfer students must complete three writing courses: WRT 1 (or an equivalent from their previous institution), WRT 2, and a Writing in the Major course.
- Foreign Language: The foreign language requirement mirrors that of first-year students.
- Ways of Thinking/Ways of Doing: The number of Ways courses required is proportional to the number of transfer units accepted, as detailed in the Preliminary Evaluation of Transfer Credit.
Activity Units and CR/S Grades: The restrictions on activity units remain the same (maximum of 8). However, the limit on CR/S graded units is reduced to 27, inclusive of activity units. As with first-year students, courses taken for a CR or S grade during the Academic Year 2020-21 did not count towards this limit.

Deep Dive into General Education Requirements (GERs)

The General Education Requirements (GERs) are designed to provide a well-rounded education, exposing students to diverse fields of knowledge and critical thinking skills. Let's examine each component in more detail:

COLLEGE Requirement

The Civic, Liberal, and Global Education (COLLEGE) requirement is typically fulfilled during the first year and offers several options:

Read also: Stanford Admission GPA Guide

Two COLLEGE Courses
Education as Self Fashioning (ESF) plus a COLLEGE course
Immersion in the Arts, Living in Culture (ITALIC)
Structured Liberal Education (SLE)

Note: Students who matriculated prior to 2022-23 may have satisfied the COLLEGE requirement with a Thinking Matters class. Those who matriculated prior to 2021-22 needed to satisfy the Thinking Matters requirement, which was replaced by COLLEGE. Students with questions should consult their Academic Advisor.

Writing Requirement

The writing requirement is fulfilled through three courses designed to develop writing proficiency across different stages of academic study:

WRT 1: Usually taken in the first year, often through PWR 1, ESF, ITALIC, or SLE.
WRT 2: Typically taken in the second year, through PWR 2 or a WRT 2 certified seminar.
Writing in the Major (WIM) course: Usually completed in the third or fourth year, within the student's chosen major.

Foreign Language Requirement

The foreign language requirement ensures students gain exposure to a different language and culture. It can be satisfied through a first-year language sequence or by demonstrating equivalent proficiency.

Ways of Thinking/Ways of Doing

This requirement mandates that students complete 11 courses across 8 broad areas of inquiry. These "Ways" categories encourage exploration of diverse perspectives and methodologies.

Navigating MAP and Axess for Degree Progress

Stanford provides online tools to help students track their progress toward graduation.

Read also: Explore Stanford

Checking Degree Progress via MAP (Navigate My Academic Path)

Navigate My Academic Path (MAP) is a crucial tool for monitoring progress on General Education Requirements and major requirements. Students should also consult with their major department, as they maintain records of major progress and have the final say on fulfillment of major requirements.

MAP is divided into two core sections: GERs and Major requirements. The GERs section further breaks down into:

COLLEGE: Shows whether the COLLEGE requirement is fulfilled and which courses were used.
Ways of Thinking/Ways of Doing: Displays completed Ways requirements and the corresponding courses. It's important to note that courses certified for multiple Ways can only fulfill one requirement. The system is designed to optimize course allocation under Ways requirements.

Checking Units on Your Transcript via Axess

Axess provides access to unofficial transcripts, allowing students to view earned units. The "Units Completed Towards Undergraduate Degree" category at the end of the transcript reflects the total units applicable towards graduation, including Stanford units and any AP or transfer units. Axess also displays the maximum allowable activity units and Satisfactory/Credit (S and CR) units.

Diploma Specifics

Your permanent record will reflect your degree conferral the day after degrees are posted. Degrees are typically posted the Thursday after Commencement Sunday. This table indicates the information you can expect on your diploma.

Academic Information	Undergraduate Diploma	Graduate or Professional Diploma
Concentration (aka subplan)	If applicable and approved by your department or school	If applicable and approved by your department or school
Date of Degree Conferral	Yes	Yes
Degree	Yes	Yes
Departmental Honors	Yes, if applicable	N/A
Distinction*	Yes, if applicable	N/A
Interdisciplinary Honors	Yes, if applicable	N/A
Major(s) (academic plan)	Yes	Yes
Minor	No	No
Ph.D. only	No	N/A
Secondary Major	No	N/A
Signatures	of the University Chair of the Board of Trustees, President and School Dean	of the University Chair of the Board of Trustees, President and School Dean

Distinction: An honor awarded to the top 15 percent of graduating undergraduate students based on cumulative grade point averages calculated at the end of Winter Quarter. If you receive distinction it will be printed on your diploma in the Spring. If you conferred your degree in a previous quarter your diploma can be reprinted with the distinction notation after Spring Quarter by submitting this Help Request.

SURETYLOCK is represented by a QR Code watermark, positioned on the bottom back corner of diplomas and certificates that cannot be seen on the front of the document. When scanned, this QR Code grants access to our patented system, enabling real-time authentication of the document's publishing details. Additionally, it offers a convenient option to reorder the document, when applicable.

Read also: Navigating Stanford Scholarships

Key Requirements to Remember

You must complete all bachelorâs degree requirements prior to degree conferral, including requirements related to the following categories:

General Education (Ways/GERs)
Writing
Language Requirements
Major Requirements
Minimum Unit Requirement
Activity Units
Courses Taken on a Satisfactory/No Credit or Credit/No Credit basis
Repeated Courses
Transfer Students: General Education Requirements (Ways), Writing Requirement, and Language Requirement

Additional Considerations

Check Requirements Early: Review the Bulletin for a complete description of each requirement. Check these requirements in MAP at least a quarter before you intend to graduate to ensure there are no deficiencies that might require you to take another course to fulfill the requirements.
Major Advising: Check with the academic administrator in your department to ensure that your proposed course of study satisfies all requirements for your major. If you have multiple majors or a minor, you should visit Undergraduate Majors and Minors.
Minimum Unit Requirement: Candidates for a single bachelorâs degree (B.A., B.S., or B.A.S.) must complete a minimum of 180 units of university work, with a minimum of 135 units completed at Stanford. Dual-degree candidates (concurrent B.A. and B.S. degrees) must complete a minimum of 225 units, with a minimum of 180 units completed at Stanford.
Repeated Courses: If you enrolled in the same course more than once, remember that except for those Stanford courses specifically noted in Navigate Classes or on Axess as ârepeatable for credit,â most courses may not be repeated for credit and have the units count for both enrollments. If you took a course and repeated it in a subsequent term, you only earn units for the second enrollment in the course. Also, you should not take courses for credit for which you received either Advanced Placement credit or transfer credit.

Addressing Common Concerns

The information provided by Stanford addresses a few common questions:

High School Curriculum: Stanford does not have a set of required courses for admission. The students who thrive at Stanford are those who are genuinely excited about learning.
Flexibility in High School: If your high school schedule doesnât allow you to follow Stanfordâs recommended curriculum, it is not necessary to take additional world language classes during your junior and senior year, for example, if you complete the most advanced level of a world language offered by your school as a sophomore.
Early Graduation: If graduating from high school early is a good fit for you, you should follow that path. At Stanford, no single educational pathway has an advantage over any other.

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