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Classics
Stanford’s Department of Classics takes an interdisciplinary approach to studying the literature and culture of the ancient world. Students examine history, language, literature, art, philosophy, and archaeology in courses that situate Greece and Rome in relation to other ancient societies.
At Stanford, classics is a dynamic field in which faculty and students employ diverse methods of study across media, genres, and time. Coursework delves into specialized fields such as ancient economics, law, and science to illuminate the relationships between various cultures and the ancient world’s influence on the contemporary one. Classics also collaborates with the Department of Philosophy to offer undergraduate and graduate joint programs in ancient philosophy.
View highlights of the classics department's undergraduate offerings.
Archaeology
Drawing methods and ideas from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, archaeology introduces students to robust, multifaceted analyses of material culture and human societies. Coursework intersects with history, biology, earth systems, classics, anthropology, and other disciplines.
Stanford archaeology advances innovative research across the globe. The Archaeology Center on campus supports interdisciplinary collaboration as a venue where Stanford faculty and visiting scholars work to make the experiences of people, from the ancient past to the modern era, accessible in new ways. Students can apply what they learn in the classroom by participating in summer field schools in Europe, South America, and California.
Physics
Stanford’s undergraduate physics program offers a solid foundation in classical and modern physics in a top-ranked department. Courses in physics reveal the mathematical beauty of the universe at scales ranging from subatomic to cosmological. The program also includes labs in which students can develop their own experiments. Astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology courses are also offered through the department.
Graduate students have opportunities to pursue research in astrophysics, cosmology, particle physics, atomic and laser physics, and condensed matter physics. In addition to working with leading faculty in both physics and applied physics, students collaborate with researchers in the schools of engineering and medicine and at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
View highlights of the physics department's undergraduate offerings.
Graduate joint degree offered: MD/PhD
Theater and Performance Studies
At Stanford’s Department of Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS), students receive instruction—in the classroom and onstage—from faculty as well as artists-in-residence. The curriculum integrates theory, criticism, and a historical study of drama with the experience of live performance in theater spaces on campus. Students apply analytical skills developed in courses to artistic endeavors that range from performing in classic dramas and stage-managing musicals to creating costumes for period pieces and directing experimental one-act plays.
The department also houses a Dance Division, in which students consider movement both as performance and as a cultural, political, and social lens for understanding the body and the world. Courses covering critical and historical perspectives on dance complement studio classes that teach forms ranging from ballet to hip-hop.