WAYS Requirements

Beginning Autumn Quarter 2013, entering first-year students must satisfy the WAYS requirement, an initiative of Stanford University to develop undergraduate capacities through the general education requirements.

You will find that a variety of philosophy courses satisfy WAYS requirements. Find all the WAYS categories below and examples of Philosophy courses that fulfill each category. 

The WAYS requirement includes the completion of 11 WAYS courses in eight diverse areas — two courses each in WAY-AII (Aesthetic and Interpretive Inquiry), WAY-SI (Social Inquiry), and WAY-SMA (Scientific Method and Analysis), and one course in each of the remaining five WAYS.  Although courses may be certified to fulfill two WAYS, you may only count a single course toward any one WAY requirement in your program of study. 

• Thinking Matters courses typically satisfy a WAY.
• Courses may also count both for major and General Education requirements.

Please check the Stanford Bulletin (ExploreDegrees) for the most up to date requirements.

You can jump down the page to each of the following sections:

You can also browse all Philosophy courses offered this year.

WAY-A-II: Aesthetic and Interpretive Inquiry

WAY-AQR: Applied Quantitative Reasoning

WAY-CE: Creative Expression

WAY-EDP: Exploring Difference and Power

WAY-ER: Ethical Reasoning

WAY-FR: Formal Reasoning

WAY-SMA: Scientific Method and Analysis

WAY-SI: Social Inquiry