Explore IntroSems

Choose IntroSems!

IntroSems are an excellent opportunity to interact in small, discussion-based seminars with some of Stanford's most esteemed and talented professors and instructors. These academic classes are designed specifically for frosh, sophomore, and first-year transfer students as exciting and accessible ways for Stanford’s newest undergrads to get to know a discipline at a research university without having to go through survey classes or preliminary materials first.

Because of this specific course design, IntroSems have a special quarterly application process open only to frosh, sophomore, and first-year transfer students to request pre-enrollment before registration opens. Choose IntroSems in disciplines that you may not know much about, or in fields that you think you might major or minor in. You might find a new interest, reaffirm your interest in a field, or, perhaps even more usefully, discover that you aren’t as interested in a subject as you thought you were before taking prerequisites! Better yet, you might even find a faculty mentor in your IntroSem, meet new friends who share your intellectual interests, or connect with someone who can write you a recommendation letter later.

Taking one IntroSem — or many over your first nine quarters at Stanford — can be a formative and unparalleled experience for students. When it comes to choosing IntroSems, let your curiosity guide you.