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This archived information is dated to the 2011-12 academic year only and may no longer be current.

For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.

School of Humanities and Sciences

Dean: Richard P. Saller

Senior Associate Deans: Ralph L. Cohen, Stephen D. Krasner, Debra M. Satz

Senior Associate Dean for Finance and Administration: Adam R. Daniel

Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs: Tina Kass

Associate Dean for Graduate and Undergraduate Studies: Susan J. Weersing

Assistant Dean and Data and Technology Manager for Graduate and Undergraduate Studies and Diversity Programs: Ayodele Thomas

Graduate Diversity Recruitment Specialist: Joseph L. Brown

Department Chairs: James Ferguson (Anthropology), James Fishkin (Communication), Hester Gelber (Religious Studies), Gavin Jones (English), Steven Kahn (Physics), Steven Kerckhoff (Mathematics), Jonathan Levin (Economics), Helen Longino (Philosophy), Hideo Mabuchi (Applied Physics), James McClelland (Psychology), W.E. Moerner (Chemistry), Josiah Ober (Political Science), Steven Palumbi (Hopkins Marine Station), Alice Rayner (Drama), Gabriella Safran (Division of Literature, Cultures, and Languages), Steve Sano (Music), Walter Scheidel (Classics), Robert Simoni (Biology), Nancy Troy (Art and Art History), Andrew Walder (Sociology), Ban Wang (East Asian Languages and Cultures), Tom Wasow (Linguistics), Karen Wigen (History), Wing Wong (Statistics)

Lecturer: Ayodele Thomas

The School of Humanities and Sciences, with over 40 departments and interdepartmental degree programs, is the primary locus for the liberal arts education offered by Stanford University. Through exposure to the humanities and arts, undergraduates study the ethical, aesthetic, and intellectual dimensions of the human experience, past and present, and are thereby prepared to make thoughtful and imaginative contributions to the culture of the future. Through the study of social, political, and economic events, they acquire theories and techniques for the analysis of specific societal issues, as well as general cross-cultural perspectives on the human condition. And through exposure to the methods and discoveries of mathematics and the sciences, they become well-informed participants and leaders in today's increasingly technological societies.

The research environment within the school offers both undergraduate and graduate students the intellectual adventure of working on their own research projects side by side with the school's distinguished faculty. While a few of the school's graduate programs offer professional degrees such as the Master of Fine Arts, most are academic and research programs leading to the Ph.D. Doctoral programs emphasize original scholarly work by the graduate students, often at the frontiers of knowledge, and normally require the students to participate in the supervised teaching of undergraduates. Indeed, in the school, as in the University more broadly, graduate students are of central importance in developing a community of scholars.

The fact that so many different disciplines lie within the same organization is one reason why the school has had great success in promoting interdisciplinary teaching and research programs. Whether engaged in studies as wide ranging as ethics, policy, and technological issues, or by applying contemporary social and philosophical theories to classical literature, the school's undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty are challenging the barriers among scholarly disciplines. The school continues to strive for a balance between teaching and research, the academy and society.

ORGANIZATION

The School of Humanities and Sciences includes the departments of Anthropology, Applied Physics, Art and Art History, Biology (and the Hopkins Marine Station), Chemistry, Classics, Communication, Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, Drama, East Asian Languages and Cultures, Economics, English, History, Linguistics, Mathematics, Music, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, and Statistics.

The school also includes 21 interdepartmental degree programs: African and African American Studies; African Studies; American Studies; Archaeology; Biophysics; Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity; East Asian Studies; Feminist Studies; Financial Mathematics; Human Biology; Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities; International Policy Studies; International Relations; Latin American Studies; Mathematical and Computational Science; Modern Thought and Literature; Public Policy; Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies; Science, Technology, and Society; Symbolic Systems; and Urban Studies.

In addition, the school sponsors programs that do not currently grant degrees: Astronomy; Black Performing Arts; Buddhist Studies; Creative Writing; Ethics in Society; History and Philosophy of Science; the Institute for Gender Research; the Institute for Social Science Research; Islamic Studies; Jewish Studies; Medieval Studies; and the Social Science History Institute.

Faculty and academic staff of the School of Humanities are listed under their respective departments or programs.

DEGREES OFFERED

Candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Science, Doctor of Musical Arts, or Doctor of Philosophy should consult the department or program in which they intend to specialize.

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