Selection and Enrollment

Pre-enrollment

The IntroSems selection and pre-enrollment process communicates your interest in the seminar topic and allows the faculty member to begin to get to know you. One of the purposes of an IntroSem is to promote mentoring relationships between faculty and students around common intellectual interests. Many faculty use students' statements of interest to customize their IntroSem for the students they select during the pre-enrollment process.

To select IntroSems for pre-enrollment, frosh, sophomores, and first-year transfers may choose up to three seminars each quarter and then submit one statement of interest in the application system, the IntroSems' VCA portal. IntroSems instructors assemble their classes from these submissions and selected students are pre-enrolled before Navigate Enrollment opens for course registration (Autumn Quarter is an exception; admitted students are notified by Sept. 9 and enrolled by Sept. 14). Following pre-enrollment, IntroSems that still have Space Available open to student self-enrollment in Navigate Enrollment. For more details, review Dates and Deadlines.

Entering Your Selections

Step 1 Browse course descriptions and faculty bios on this catalog site, Explore IntroSems, and note or bookmark the seminars that interest you for pre-enrollment. You get to choose pre-enrollment in up to three IntroSems each quarter in your first two years at Stanford. Check out Dates and Deadlines and plan ahead. Tip: The date that appears on each individual seminar page in the catalog is the quarterly deadline for that course.

Step 2 Go to the IntroSems' VCA portal to enter your choices for pre-enrollment and your statement. You need to write one brief statement of interest that addresses each seminar that you choose each quarter. If you see any additional course-specific questions for any seminars you select, be sure to answer those as well.

The statement prompt—
For the seminars you select, in a single statement pick something in each course description and explain why it resonates with you. (3000 character limit.)

Not sure what to write? Perhaps the topic reminds you of an experience, inspires you to tell a story about yourself, or unearths a curiosity you didn't know you have. Your statement doesn't need to "fit" the seminar perfectly—professors are learning about you, not just your academic strengths and interests. Students who demonstrate genuine engagement with all their selected seminars in their single statement (i.e., one paragraph per seminar in the Choice 1 text box) receive strongest consideration for each seminar.

Rely on your own voice and experiences to write a compelling statement, and not on AI. If you need assistance, try seeking feedback from friends or family. The purpose is for the professor to learn more about you as they assemble their class.

Pre-enrollment Process

Students who are admitted into an IntroSem will be automatically enrolled. Units are pre-loaded on students' study lists before Navigate Enrollment opens for general course registration each quarter (Autumn Quarter is an exception; admitted students are notified by Sept. 9 and enrolled by Sept. 14). Faculty may create waitlists for oversubscribed seminars. It is possible for students to be placed into more than one IntroSem or no IntroSems each quarter depending on the overall popularity of your selections.

When Navigate Enrollment opens, you may drop a pre-enrolled seminar yourself should your schedule change or you change your mind. In other words, you are not obligated to stay in your IntroSem pre-enrollment(s). No need to email the program—you can make this change yourself once you can enroll in your other classes. (Sophomore Seminars that fulfill Writing 2 (fulfills PWR2) are the only exception; they require an email to the IntroSems Office to drop (not the PWR Office) because you can't drop yourself.)

IntroSems that still have space available after the selection and pre-enrollment process will open for student self-enrollment in Navigate Enrollment. Visit the Space Available page for the latest seminars with space.

Are IntroSems required?

Although enrollment in an IntroSem is not required, many IntroSems satisfy university breadth requirements (Ways of Thinking, Ways of Doing) and in some departments, an IntroSem can fulfill a major requirement. All IntroSems count toward the 180 units required for an undergraduate degree.

Why do IntroSems have a special selection process different from other departmental classes in Navigate Enrollment?

The selection process communicates your interest in the seminar topic and allows the faculty member to begin to get to know you—they may even use student statements to try and tailor their course to the interests that year. One of the purposes of an IntroSem is to promote formation of relationships between faculty and students around common intellectual interests.

Can Frosh select Sophomore Seminars? (or vice versa)

Faculty will typically prioritize sophomores and first-year transfer students over frosh for Sophomore Seminars, while frosh receive priority for First-year Seminars. Nevertheless, if a topic really interests you, do select the course for pre-enrollment as faculty are often open to enrolling either frosh, sophs, or first-year transfers in their classes. And in general, faculty give priority to frosh, sophs, and first-year transfers in all IntroSems over juniors and seniors. Tip: First-year Seminar catalog numbers end in ‘N’ (e.g., BIO 12N) while Sophomore Seminar catalog numbers end in ‘Q’ (e.g., COMPLIT 11Q).

Heads-up, Frosh! — Please do not enter a Writing 2 Sophomore Seminar as one or your choices. Second-year students and first-year transfers receive priority for all spots in these classes. Don't waste one of your limited choices! Wait until you are a sophomore when you will be eligible for a Writing 2 or PWR2 class.

Do all seminars fill to capacity during the pre-enrollment process?

Most seminars do not fill completely, but about one-third of IntroSems do generate more demand than space and fill to capacity. Oversubscribed seminars in the past have included offerings from psychology, computer science, chemistry, mathematics, business, and law. When there are more students than space, classes are assembled based on your written statements of interest. Faculty choose a mix of students who bring different perspectives and levels of expertise. There may be waitlists for oversubscribed classes. Tip: Maximize your options by selecting a variety of topics and disciplines.

Should I choose more than one oversubscribed course each quarter?

On some seminar pages, we have included a note indicating which IntroSems have been historically oversubscribed during the selection process. An oversubscribed course is one where far more students selected the course as one of their choices than there are spots. This means that the faculty of an oversubscribed class will be able to assemble their class looking at only a portion of the pool of students who entered their course as Choice 1. Tip: If you are going to choose an oversubscribed class, make sure to select other classes for your Choice 2 and Choice 3 to increase your chances of being admitted to at least one IntroSem through the pre-enrollment process.

Should I enter my choices now or later?

Spaces in IntroSems are NOT allocated first come, first served. Faculty consider all selections after the quarterly deadlines—August 26th for Autumn IntroSems, November 4th for Winter IntroSems, and February 10th for Spring IntroSems.

The quarter system moves quickly though and gets busy with coursework and extracurricular activities so consider entering your seminar selections for all of academic year 2026-27 in the IntroSems' VCA portal when it opens in August. You can continue to revise your statement or change your selections up until the quarterly deadline corresponding to your course selections.

2026-27 Catalog Under Construction