HUMBI-BA - Human Biology (BA)
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Program Overview
The undergraduate program in Human Biology aims to provide students with an interdisciplinary approach to understanding human beings from biological, behavioral, social, and cultural perspectives. Core courses train students to approach significant problems from a range of perspectives. As they progress through the major, each student pursues an individualized course of study that draws upon disciplines across the university and promotes a nuanced understanding of a substantive area. The program prepares majors to pursue advanced training in professional or graduate programs and to address issues that influence human welfare.
The BA degree is designed for students pursuing a traditional liberal arts degree with coursework predominately in the social and behavioral sciences. The degree suits various career trajectories, including attending graduate or professional school, such as medical school. Students who plan to pursue graduate work should familiarize themselves with the admission requirements of the schools to which they intend to apply. 81 credit units are required for graduation, so early planning is advisable to guarantee the completion of a Human Biology major.
BA. Degree Option Requirement
For the BA degree, coursework must be predominantly in the social sciences and humanities, with a minority in the natural sciences. Courses designated as Ways for aesthetic and interpretive inquiry, creative expression, exploring difference & power, ethical reasoning, and social inquiry qualify as BA-eligible courses. Other eligible courses have been designated as BA by the program.
The section describing Breadth, Depth & Upper Division degree requirements provides more details about meeting these requirements.
Area of Concentration
After the Human Biology Core, majors design their individualized course of study with a unique Area of Concentration topic. The Area of Concentration title should communicate the focus of the student’s Human Biology coursework. Students should select courses for their Breadth and Depth requirements that build expertise in their chosen Area of Concentration topic. The student selects courses for these two requirement categories in consultation with the advising staff, who approve the final course selections.
Additional information about the major may be obtained from the program’s offices or at the Program in Human Biology website.
Preparing for the Major
How to Declare
The program allows students to start the declaration process by developing a course of study once they have passed at least two of the six courses in the HumBio Core Sequence with a letter grade. Throughout declaration, a prospective major must consult with the Human Biology advising team to develop a course of study with an individualized Area of Concentration.
Upon approval of their proposed coursework, students write a Cornerstone Essay explaining their chosen Area of Concentration. When the major is declared, the student submits the Cornerstone Essay (3-5 pages), which includes academic and long-term goals and the proposed list of courses satisfying the Breadth and Depth requirements for the major. The student advisors then review the proposal and can help identify an appropriate faculty advisor.
Students may officially declare in Axess once they have received program approval for their Area of Concentration and completed four of the six HumBio Core Sequence courses with a C- or better. The program recommends that students finish declaring by the time they finish the HumBio Core Sequence. Further details about How to Declare in the Human Biology Program are available here.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
The required core sequence introduces the biological and social sciences and, most importantly, the relationships between the two. Classes meet throughout the academic year. The A and B series are designed to be taken concurrently. Students should initiate the core in autumn quarter of the sophomore year. Frosh are strongly advised to wait to start the HumBio Core Sequence until autumn of sophomore year.
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The statistics course must be taken for a letter grade. The minimum grade requirement is C-.
New statistics courses may be petitioned to count towards the requirement. STATS 60 does not fulfill the requirement; petitions are not accepted.
When students completing an additional major or minor in another department that also requires one of the approved courses to fulfill the statistics requirement then a student may submit an exception to waive the units requirement for Statistics; contact Human Biology student services for more information.
Students must take three upper-division Human Biology courses. These courses may be used to explore subjects outside the depth requirement. All advanced HUMBIO courses (those numbered 100 to 189) and select Overseas Studies courses fulfill the Human Biology upper-division requirement.
Each course must be taken for a minimum of three units.
Minimum grade requirement for upper-division courses is C-.
One upper-division course may be taken satisfactory/no credit.
No more than two upper-division courses may be applied towards the five upper-level courses required by the BA Degree Option Depth Requirement, even if all three upper-division courses qualify as BA courses.
Upper-division courses may not be reused to fulfill breadth or depth requirements.
Students who study abroad may choose to use courses from the Overseas Studies Approved Courses list below to count towards the three courses required by the upper division requirement.
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This list of courses have been previously reviewed, and are considered upper-division HUMBIO courses. New Overseas Studies courses require program review via syllabus submission to humbioadvising@lists.stanford.edu.
This requirement allows the student to explore the Area of Concentration topic with a broad focus. Courses must be consistent with the student’s chosen Area of Concentration topic and be approved by the HumBio advising team. Courses may include introductory-level courses (course numbers ending in N or Q are introductory seminars), lab courses, and practica from across the university. Activity, Language and non-WAYS general education courses are not allowed.
Courses may be taken for credit or letter grade. The minimum grade requirement is C-.
May include a maximum of 10 flex units (these include premed courses, introductory CS courses, and other introductory courses that are not directly related to the Area of Concentration).
May include a maximum of four research units related to the Area of Concentration.
Honors students may not count HUMBIO193 towards their Breadth requirement.
10 of the 20 units of the breadth coursework is designated as B.A. units.
BA units are defined as coursework predominantly in the social sciences and humanities, designated as Ways for AII, EDP, ER, and SI or designated as BA by the program.
This requirement allows the student to gain expertise in their chosen Area of Concentration topic. Depth courses are upper-level, non-introductory courses from across the university and must be consistent with the student’s chosen Area of Concentration topic, which is PRE-APPROVED along with the chosen courses by the HumBio advising team.
Minimum five depth-eligible courses directly related to the Area of Concentration.
Within the HumBio program, courses numbered over 100* are depth eligible as long as they are related to the Area of Concentration. Activity, workshop and practica courses are not allowed.
*Note: numbering conventions in other departments do NOT have any bearing on whether a course is, or is not, depth eligible.
Each course must be taken for a minimum of three credits.
Courses must be taken for a letter grade. The minimum grade requirement is C-.
An exception to waive the letter grade requirement for one depth course may be submitted if an upper-division course has not been taken for credit/no credit (Cr/NC).
Three or more departments must be represented.
Cross listed HumBio courses may count towards this requirement without enrolling in the other department's section.
Five upper-level courses must be BA courses within the depth and upper-division requirements. The majority of the depth coursework must be designated as BA, a minimum of three courses.
BA courses are predominantly in the social sciences and humanities and designated as Ways for AII, EDP, ER, and SI or designated as BA by the program.
Students should work towards completing their Practicum throughout their entire senior year and enroll in course during the quarter they plan to complete the Practicum.
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HumBio 191 must be taken for one unit and a letter grade. The minimum grade requirement is C-.
The Human Biology Synthesis is by application. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through week two of autumn quarter, senior year.
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The courses must be taken for a letter grade.
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- ETHSO-IHN
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Notation in Science Communication is by application through the Program in Writing and Rhetoric.
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Select one course from the list, aside from PWR 91NSC, which is already required.
Additional Non-PWR Elective Course with a significant science communication component (3-5 units) coursework is required to complete the Notation in Science Communication. See NSC Overview for more details. Any NSC courses, both required and elective, may not be counted towards the breadth or depth requirements if used to fulfill the HumBio capstone requirement.
Many of the Capstone options require applications prior to the Senior year. Students should refer to individual programs' websites for specific deadlines.
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The honors program in Human Biology provides qualified majors the opportunity to work closely with faculty on an individual research project, culminating in an honors thesis. Students may begin honors research from several starting points, including topics introduced in the core or upper-division courses; independent interests stemming from an internship experience; or collaborating with faculty from the natural, social, or behavioral sciences.
The honors thesis is typically completed by the middle of spring quarter of the senior year. Honors students present summaries of their research at the Human Biology Senior Symposium in May.
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Most honors projects involve 10-15 units of coursework in course and course. Students must remain in good academic standing and earn the minimum grade of B+ in course to earn an Honors degree.
Admission to the honors program is by preliminary application in early February, followed by the complete application in early March of the junior year. Students planning to undertake honors begin research or preparation as early as the completion of the sophomore year, for example, by engaging in the HB-REx program or other summer research programs.
To apply to the honors program, students must have completed the Human Biology core with a minimum GPA of 3.0, have an overall Stanford GPA of 3.2 or greater, and meet other requirements detailed in the honors handbook. Interested students should consult the Human Biology Honors website and meet with the Human Biology Associate Director or Student Services Officer.
Human Biology also holds a Summer Honors College just before autumn quarter each year for students who have applied to the honors program. Students apply to Summer Honors College in April of their junior year.