About Academic Advising
Academic Advising upholds the mission, standards, and requirements of the University, introduces students to the full intellectual richness of undergraduate study at Stanford, supports students in their academic and intellectual pursuits, and instills within them a sense of identity within and belonging to our community of scholars at Stanford. Academic Advising is responsible for facilitating new students’ transition to Stanford, academic advising, and academic policy and progress.
About Your Academic Advisor
Undergraduate Advising Directors for Student-Athletes (UADs) are housed in the Athletic Academic Resource Center (AARC) and are the primary undergraduate advising contact for varsity student-athletes. Your UADs for Student-Athletes are full-time, professional staff within the Office of Academic Advising who partner closely with colleagues across campus to provide a comprehensive network of support that promotes a student’s academic success and furthers his or her intellectual goals.
Degree Requirements
You must complete all bachelor’s degree requirements prior to degree conferral, including requirements related to the following categories:
General Education (Ways/GERs), Writing, and Language Requirements
Check these requirements in MAP at least a quarter before you intend to graduate to ensure there are no deficiencies that might require you to take another course to fulfill the requirements. Please review the Bulletin for a complete description of each requirement.
Major Requirements
Check with the academic administrator in your department to ensure that your proposed course of study satisfies all requirements for your major. If you have multiple majors or a minor, you should visit Undergraduate Majors and Minors.
Minimum Unit Requirement
You can check the status of your unit totals in Axess. Candidates for a single bachelor’s degree (B.A., B.S., or B.A.S.) must complete a minimum of 180 units of university work, with a minimum of 135 units completed at Stanford. Dual-degree candidates (concurrent B.A. and B.S. degrees) must complete a minimum of 225 units, with a minimum of 180 units completed at Stanford.
Activity Units
You may apply a maximum of eight units in activity courses to the minimum unit requirement.
Courses Taken on a Satisfactory/No Credit or Credit/No Credit basis
You may apply a maximum of 36 units of credit (including activity courses) taken at Stanford or its overseas campuses for a "CR" or "S" grade towards the 180 units required for the bachelor's degree (225 if you are completing dual degrees). The maximum for transfer students is 27 units.
Repeated Courses
If you enrolled in the same course more than once, remember that except for those Stanford courses specifically noted in Navigate Classes or on Axess as “repeatable for credit,” most courses may not be repeated for credit and have the units count for both enrollments. If you took a course and repeated it in a subsequent term, you only earn units for the second enrollment in the course. Also, you should not take courses for credit for which you received either Advanced Placement credit or transfer credit. See the section on Repeated Courses for the full policy.
NCAA Academic Eligibility
To be eligible to compete, you must be in good academic standing according to Stanford University, be enrolled in at least 12 units (graduate students may be enrolled in as few as 8 units), and maintain academic progress toward a baccalaureate degree. In addition, to meet the NCAA progress towards degree rules, student-athletes must meet the following academic requirements each fall (based on number of full-time quarters enrolled in during the regular academic year) and additional sport-specific academic requirements when applicable (e.g. football, baseball, wrestling)
6-Unit Requirement
All student-athletes must pass six degree-applicable units each term during the academic year (fall, winter, spring) to be eligible for competition in the following term. Please carefully consider the following notes:
- If you have already completed the maximum number of activity units accepted towards your degree, additional activity units will NOT be included into the six-unit calculation for the quarter.
- The six-unit requirement does carry over from year-to-year. Your academic performance in spring quarter will determine your eligibility for the fall quarter.
- Baseball student-athletes: In the sport of baseball, your academic performance during the spring quarter will determine your eligibility for the next academic year, not just the following fall quarter.
- Football student-athletes: In the sport of football, you are required to pass eight-degree applicable units during the fall quarter to be immediately eligible for the next fall season.
Progress Toward Degree Benchmarks
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By the beginning of your fourth term in college:
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By the beginning of your seventh term in college:
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By the beginning of your tenth term in college:
2.0) after each term |
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By the beginning of your thirteenth term in college:
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Stanford Academic Eligibility
To remain in good academic standing, undergraduate students must satisfy the minimum requirements below; learn more about academic progress.
- Earn at least 9 units of credit in a single quarter
- Earn at least 36 units over the most recent three enrolled quarters
- Maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or above
Course Registration & Axess
AXESS is a student information system available via the web. You will need a SUNet ID and Password, to use AXESS. Using AXESS, you will be able to complete the following tasks:
- file or adjust your study list and select your grading options
- review your grades
- request an official transcript
- declare your major and minor
- apply to graduate
- update your home address, permanent address, mailing address or email address
- apply for housing
- complete required trainings/procedures required by Stanford
- review your record for holds.
Registering for Classes
Once you have met with your academic advisor and chosen a schedule of classes for the quarter, you will need to go onto AXESS and enter the classes you will be taking. Any student who has an academic hold on their registration WILL have to meet with their advisor. AXESS will alert you if this is required for you to register. Also, a small number of departments require their undergraduates to secure approval codes, so when declaring your major you will need to ask if your department has such a requirement.
Enrollment Dates & Deadlines
- The Preliminary Study List deadline is the first day of classes of each quarter. These dates can be found in the Academic Calendar. By this deadline, all active students (including those on TGR) must enroll at a full-time status according to academic career.
- Up until the Final Study List deadline, you may add, drop, and swap courses — or adjust units if it’s a variable unit course. Drops are not permitted beyond this point.
- Through the end of the eighth week of classes (or the sixth week of summer quarter), you may choose the grading option for courses in which an option is offered. You are responsible for checking your study list on Axess to confirm that the correct grading basis is selected for any courses which offer a choice.
- You may withdraw from a course after the drop deadline through the end of the eighth week of each quarter (or the sixth week of summer quarter). In this case, a grade notation of 'W' (withdraw) is automatically recorded on your transcript for that course. If you withdraw after that date, you are assigned the appropriate grade or notation by the instructor to reflect the work completed.
DASH Tutoring Services
In collaboration with the Center for Teaching & Learning, DASH offers in- person and virtual tutoring services at times and locations accessible for student-athletes due to their unique scheduling constraints. All tutors are trained graduate or upper-class students who are available to help Stanford student-athletes achieve their academic goals.
Tutoring is not a replacement for student-athletes attending class or to do the homework for you. The tutor’s role is to help you understand concepts and develop problem-solving approaches which will be effective in each class. Assistance greater than this could be considered a violation of the University’s Honor Code and a violation of NCAA regulations. Students are advised to read their course syllabi fully and consult with their professor on collaborative efforts to avoid violations of the Honor Code.
Only tutoring arranged by DASH will be paid by Stanford Athletics.
Campus Tutoring Resources
Additional tutoring and student learning services are available for all Stanford students, including:
- Center for Teaching and Learning (subject tutoring in bio/bioengineering; chemistry; CME; computer science; economics; engineering; human biology; math; physics; statistics)
- SUMO: Stanford University Mathematical Organization (mathematics)
- Language Conversion Partners (foreign language)
- Hume Center for Writing and Speaking (written & oral communication)
- Technical Communication Program (STEM communication)
DASH First-Year Course
Co-sponsored by Academic Advising and the Department of Athletics, DASH’s First-Year Course, Designing Your Student-Athlete Experience, is intended for incoming student-athletes and transfers to build community and receive more information about opportunities and resources available at Stanford.
Led by DASH advisors, this course focuses on three key pillars central to student-athlete success:
- Academics
- Community
- Career
Throughout the course, lecture sessions led by DASH advisors and campus partners provide student-athletes with information related to each pillar and opportunities to begin their wayfinding journey at Stanford. In addition to lecture sessions, the course is designed to augment the traditional first-year advising program through community-focused mentor groups that provide spaces for small group conversation and deeper relationship development.
Mentors have a significant role in the UAR 56 experience by leading small group sections. Student-athletes interested in this role focus on building community and leading group discussions that build on lecture materials. Mentor recruitment for the following academic year occurs each Spring Quarter. All mentors must be sophomores and above.
To enroll in this course, first-year student-athletes can register for the 1-unit class, "UAR 56 (section 1 or 2) via AXESS.
Please reach out to Celeste Maxwell Brown or Meredith Basil for more information about UAR 56.
ATHLETIC 10: Varsity Sport Experience
Athletic 10: Varsity Sport Experience is a course for the Varsity Student-Athlete. The coaching staff in each sport design the course for the student-athletes competing in their sport, and includes conditioning; practice; game preparation; and weight training. It is limited to 2 credits per quarter. Student-athletes must be currently participating in their sport, have athletic eligibility remaining, and must be able to satisfy the physical activity course requirements.You are not permitted to enroll in ATH10 after your final quarter of competition, or if you are injured and unable to complete the requirements for the course. Students must enroll in the ATH10 section that corresponds with their head coach's name.