International students requiring an I-20 from Stanford should apply by the extended deadline of May 12.
Interested in developing a new course?
Some departments review new courses developed by graduate students. Reach out to your faculty advisor to understand your department’s process for new courses before utilizing the resources described here.
What types of courses should I propose?
Summer Session looks for courses with compelling descriptions and titles, to help draw in a wide range of students. Here are some key topic areas where we are actively seeking courses:
- Psychology, and other courses with a component of self-discovery
- Neuroscience
- Sustainability
- Global issues and courses with a global perspective
- Pre-Med, biology, and health
- Technology, entrepreneurship– especially those with no coding skills required
- Innovation
- Broad based, intro-level courses with no prerequisites
- Courses that have a hands-on research or experiential element
- Courses that use data analysis in the social sciences or humanities
- Here are some examples of past course descriptions that were designed by graduate students.
Want some support brainstorming course ideas?
You can schedule and complete a 1-hour 1:1 consultation with CTL. You’ll meet with a Graduate Teaching Consultant (GTC) for one hour over zoom or in-person at a time that works for you, to brainstorm three short course descriptions and titles to share with your department. Departments submit their proposed courses to Summer Session by November 15, so you’ll want to start preparing your ideas and submit them to your department before they finalize their Summer course proposal materials.
Not sure which of your course ideas to pursue?
We survey summer quarter students about which courses they want to take, and are happy to talk through which of your potential course topics might be the best fit for our students. We can also help you brainstorm as you work to refine your course descriptions. If you’d like to meet with someone from our team, please email Nicole Berkin nberkin@stanford.edu to schedule an office hour.
Next Steps
Once you know that your department welcomes new course proposals and you have a prepared proposal,
- Submit your course proposal/s directly to your department. Your department will submit course proposals to Summer Session by November 15, so it’s important to express your interest in teaching as early as possible.
- Proposal decisions shared with departments. Even if your proposed course is not selected, there may be opportunities for you to TA or teach a course this summer.