Interdisciplinary Opportunities

Today’s intellectual and social problems require the minds and talents of students from many fields. Stanford's graduate students are able to roam freely, gathering and sharing ideas across disciplines.

VPGE works to expand cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary educational opportunities for students. We encourage students to enroll in classes across the university, outside of their home discipline. We foster opportunities for students from diverse fields to interact with one another, expanding their professional and personal networks.

Stanford Graduate Summer Institute (SGSI)

SGSI courses are only for Stanford graduate students and purposefully introduce students to interdisciplinary thinking. They also foster cross disciplinary interactions and collaboration.

Most SGSI courses are small, intensive all-day workshops, of one or two weeks duration. They are usually taught in the two-week period between the end of summer quarter and the start of new student orientation. Courses do not bear academic credit, nor are students charged tuition or fees.

Outward Facing Courses

Many schools and departments teach courses particularly inviting to graduate students from other fields. Some highlights in 2007-08:

Graduate School of Business

GSB - S353: Entrepreneurship: Formation of New Ventures

In the spring quarter, the Business School will offer its foundational entrepreneurship course to non-GSB graduate students. The course will have two sections, both with a mix of non-GSB and GSB students.

S353 is for students who would like to understand what is involved in starting a new business and pursuing an entrepreneurial career. Topics include:

how to identify and evolve a business idea; elements of a viable business model;
staffing, financing and managing a new business;
managing intellectual property;
scaling a business;
dealing with failure;
gaining sales and distribution traction;
and harvesting value.

Students interested in attending should have an interest in founding, working in, or advising an early stage business at some point in their careers. Students must also be willing to take an active part in class discussions and projects. A prior business background is not essential. For more information, please consult the GSB information on non-GSB registration.

GSBGEN 374: Interpersonal Influence and Leadership. Open to graduate students outside of the school of business, this course combines two popular and long-standing GSB courses. It teaches students to build productive, effective and rewarding relationships at work. Students develop self-awareness, and learn to raise and work through difficult issues, to give and receive feedback, and to work effectively in groups. Winter & Spring quarters. For more information, including the pre-qualification assignment (due October 15, 2007), see the course web site.

Several business school courses are open to qualified graduate students in other schools with consent of instructor. To enroll consult the GSB information on non-GSB registration.

Law School

Law 206: Thinking Like a Lawyer. Open to all graduate students at the University, this course will provide non-law students an analytical framework for understanding the core concepts of the law and familiarize students with how lawyers analyze and structure their work. It will introduce students to some of the foundational principles of law and will review topics such as contracts, litigation, intellectual property, securities and employment law. This course will be taught by Dean Larry Kramer, Vice Dean Mark Kelman and other senior Law Faculty in their areas of expertise.

Fall quarter 2007, T/Th 1:30 – 3 pm. Register via AXESS as LawGen 206 (Course #25849) or contact the Law School Registrar.

Several dozen law school courses are open to qualified graduate students in other schools with consent of instructor (pdf). To enroll consult the School of Law Registrar’s Office.

A few are:

LAW 313. Health Law and Policy (Aut)
LAW 338. Land Use (Aut)
LAW 343. Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony: Patent Litigation (Aut)
LAW 236. Art and the Law (Win)
LAW 409. Introduction to Intellectual Property (Win)
LAW 615. Negotiation (Win)
LAW 628. Interpersonal Influence and Leadership (Win)

Medical School

IMM 230/BMI 207. Intro to Medicine for Innovators
This is an interdisciplinary course for graduate students in the biological sciences, biodesign, bioinformatics, engineering, etc to learn about the foundations of a physician's training and how to work with physicians in coming up with new innovations. We use diabetes as a platform and the students work on a project during the quarter.
See information on course web site.

PSYC 230. Freud, Human Behavior, and Medical Care
This seminar is applicable to all disciplines that want to study human behavior. Topics include Freud's model of the mind, the role of the unconscious in mental and physical functioning and group behavior. Other topics include dreams, memory, neurosis and psychosis, psychosomatic illness, eating disorders and addiction, and treatment options.
2 units, Spr (S. Fisk, J. Chase) M108

School of Engineering

School of engineering courses of particular interest to graduate students from other schools:

Engr 103 Public Speaking (Win, Spr)
EE 203 The Entrepreneurial Engineer (Win)
MS&E 273 Technology Venture Formation (Aut)

Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) , an entrepreneurship education and research center, teaches courses in innovation, creativity, and entrepeneurship.

Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (aka the d.school) embraces design thinking as the glue for multidisciplinary collaboration and innovation. The d.school teaches project-based interdisciplinary classes. d.school classes are team taught and loosely organized into themes or initiatives (social entrepreneurship, business and design). Participants tackle real world projects to learn more about design thinking and practice innovating together.

Biodesign teaches students from engineering, medicine and business about the development of new medical technology.