FAQs (Undergraduate)

An interdisciplinary program (IDP) crosses disciplinary boundaries to tackle problems that require a diverse set of methods and concepts. Hailing from a wide range of schools and academic disciplines, faculty affiliates of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE) offer a broad range of resources and interdisciplinary courses relevant to the study of race and ethnicity in the United States and transnationally. Unlike a department, Stanford IDPs do not hire their own faculty, although they do have their own teaching staff. 

CSRE narrowly refers to the major, minor, or PhD Minor in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. CCSRE, on the other hand, refers to the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, including our Research Institute and all five of our degree-granting academic programs: Asian American Studies, Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Jewish Studies, and Native American Studies.

The "CCSRE family of programs" refers to all five of our degree-granting academic programs: Asian American Studies, Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Jewish Studies, and Native American Studies. This phrase refers to all academic programs of CCSRE (though not to the Research Institute, which is also a part of CCSRE).

Ramón Saldívar, Director of Academic Programs 

Stephen M. Sano, Director of Asian American Studies 

Jonathan Rosa, Director of Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies 

Vered Karti Shemtov, Director of Jewish Studies 

Teresa D. LaFromboise, Director of Native American Studies

Annie Atura, Executive Director 

Raquel Navarro Calara, Student Services Officer

Saimary Velázquez Carrasquillo, Administrative Associate 

Thaomi Michelle Dinh, Associate Director of Asian American Studies

Margaret Marietta Ramírez, Associate Director of Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies 

Shaina Hammerman, Associate Director of Jewish Studies

Students wishing to declare the major or minor should follow the steps outlined on our How to Declare page. The steps are identical for all of our degree-granting programs, although the requirements for each major and minor differ.

Before a major or minor declaration in Axess can be approved, students must be enrolled in or have completed CSRE 100: Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Alternatively, students may be enrolled in or have completed a Comparative Core course (CSRE 101A, B, C) or Major Core course in their proposed major program (ASNAMST 100, CHILATST 100, JEWISHST 115, or NATIVEAM 100). 

Please note that students are encouraged to begin the declaration process as soon as possible, even if they have not yet taken CSRE 100, a Comparative Core course, or a Major Core course. In such cases, the major or minor will be tagged as "pending" until CCSRE confirms enrollment in one of the gateway courses. 

We know plans and interests evolve, and we welcome declaration at any time, including over the summer. We recommend opening a conversation with the Student Services Officer about declaring as soon as possible, since we can help you think through your options! You do not need to have completed any of the CCSRE requirements in order to set up a meeting to talk through the declaration process. 

If you are late to the declaration game and worried about whether it is feasible to complete course requirements, set up a time to meet with our team! We can help you think through your options. 

Because the declaration process can take time and involves a synchronous meeting with our team, we ask that you budget a month between initiating the process and being approved to major/minor. Your application may be submitted before completing a gateway course in CCSRE, but it will not be approved until after you enroll in one of the gateway courses (CSRE 100, a Comparative Core course, or a Major Core Course–see above).

A full list of requirements for all majors and minors can be found on the Stanford Bulletin Page and each of the Academic Program pages on this website. All CCSRE students must take CSRE 100, and all CCSRE majors must also complete two of the Comparative Core courses (101A, B, C), a methodology course, a capstone course, and a Community Engaged Learning experience. Each degree program has program-specific requirements in addition to that basic structure.  

CCSRE students must complete at least one Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) course or co-curricular experience that centers issues of race, ethnicity, and inequality. This requirement may also be fulfilled by enrolling in a Cardinal Course, completing a CCSRE Undergraduate Fellowship, or participating in an Alternative Spring Break. The CEL requirement may be fulfilled by courses that also fulfill other CCSRE degree requirements (e.g., a Methodology course may also count toward the CEL requirement). CEL courses offered for the current academic year are available on our Current Courses page. 

CSRE 200X: CCSRE Senior Seminar and CSRE 201X: CCSRE Honors Seminar both fulfill the WIM requirement. One of these courses must be taken in the Autumn quarter of a student's final year of study.

No, Stanford University does not allow any courses to be double counted. 

It is not possible to double major in two CCSRE programs because of the overlap in core courses. It may be possible to major and minor in two distinct CCSRE programs, but it would require advance approval with the Academic Programs team. Contact the Student Services Officer if you are interested in building out a more robust program of study across CCSRE programs.

Yes, all CCSRE majors must complete 200X or 201X, regardless of whether they completed an Honors project or course in another program. Because 200X and 201X are the only courses that fulfill the WIM requirement, all CCSRE majors must complete one of the two. The work you do in 200X or 201X may be related to projects you are completing for other programs or in other classes, but it must be distinct from other projects and must represent its own 5 units of effort (i.e, 15 hours of work per week). 

If you are considering a course that is not listed in the CCSRE family of programs, and/or if you are interested in whether a course will fulfill a given requirement (e.g., the subplan, methodology, or International Dimension requirement for the Asian American Studies major), please reach out to the Student Services Officer as soon as possible, and ideally before course enrollment opens, to confirm. Courses outside of CCSRE must be petitioned for inclusion, and the course petition form can be found here. However, students should check with the Student Services Officer before filling out the form in case it is not necessary to do so (e.g., if the course certainly will not count). Courses must address race and ethnicity in 70% or more of course content in order to be counted toward the degree (unless they are methodology or language courses), so please do not assume that courses that are not listed in CCSRE will count until you have received official notice. 

No more than 15 units of petitioned courses may be applied to electives in any CCSRE major, and no more than 5 units of petitioned courses may be applied to electives in any CCSRE minor. 

Students must complete their annual degree progress meeting with the Student Services Officer (SSO) to determine which courses, if any, merit petitioning. If the SSO recommends a petition, students must fill out and submit the course petition form linked here. The CCSRE Academic Programs team will review the student's submission and provide status updates as necessary. If approved, the course will be added to the student's official course plan and their MAP will be updated accordingly. Note that submitting a course petition does not guarantee approval. All submissions are subjected to review by the CCSRE Academic Programs team.

Yes, students majoring in CCSRE may take up to 2 courses CR/NC and students minoring in CCSRE may take up to 1 course CR/NC. If CR/NC is the only grading option, this limit does not apply. Please provide documentation to the Student Services Officer if you are taking a course that can only be taken CR/NC so we can make a note in your file. 

Core courses, including the methodology, may not be taken for CR/NC. 

Yes, CCSRE majors may count up to 20 units of relevant coursework taken outside of Stanford towards degree electives, and CCSRE minors may count up to 10 units. Note that transfer units may not be used toward any of the core requirements. All transfer units must be approved by the Academic Programs Team and submitted through the course petition form, which requires course syllabi. Please speak with the Student Services Officer if you are a transfer student and/or if you hope to apply transfer units to the major or minor.

Once you have cleared the courses and units through CCSRE, you will also need to go through the Stanford-wide process for applying transfer units. See here for Stanford-wide policies and submit the pertinent transcripts to the registrar as soon as you are able. For the Registrar's Office to post the credit to your record, you need to send your official transcript (from the external institution) to the Registrar's Office upon course completion. Submit all official transcripts no later than the grading deadline of the quarter in which you will confer your undergraduate degree or you may jeopardize your ability to graduate on time. 

No, students may not use a core course to fulfill the Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) requirement.

Students may count a limited number of CSRE classes towards their degree in one of the other CCSRE programs. However, the course(s) may only amount to one quarter of the total number of elective units, and they may only be counted as a degree elective. For example, if a student is declared as an Asian American Studies minor and needs 20 units of elective course work, at least 15 of those units must be listed in Asian American Studies, and up to 5 may be in CSRE or other CCSRE programs.

CSRE majors may count Department of African and African American Studies (DAAAS), Asian American Studies (ASNAMST), Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies (CHILATST), Jewish Studies (JEWISHST), and/or Native American Studies (NATIVEAM) courses toward their elective coursework in the CSRE major. However, the number of elective units taken in other programs must not exceed the number of elective units taken in CSRE. That is, if a student requires 30 elective units (including the Subplan units), 16 or more must be in CSRE.

See the above rules pertaining to counting CSRE courses toward other CCSRE degrees and vice versa. Although AAAS is a unique department, AAAS courses are considered part of the CCSRE family of programs for the purposes of CCSRE curricular planning.

Majors and minors can count up to 5 units total of independent study in their respective program towards CCSRE degrees.

No, non-CCSRE Student Initiated Courses do not count toward our degrees.

Language courses may not be counted towards a major or minor degree in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. However, majors in Asian American Studies, Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies, and Native American Studies may count up to 5 units of a language course toward the degree, and Jewish Studies may count up to 15 units. There are additional limitations on each major program's language opportunities; please consult their respective Bulletins for more information. 

Students should work with the Student Services Officer when they declare to come up with an approved list of courses appropriate for their subplan. Subplan courses should be CCSRE courses that focus on race and ethnicity while simultaneously emphasizing the topic or topics in the student's designated subplan. 

Courses that are not listed under CCSRE must be petitioned. Use the petition form and indicate that you would like to count the course toward your Subplan. 

We encourage you to study abroad whenever it makes sense for you! However, you cannot study abroad during the Fall quarter of your final year of study, because CSRE 200X and 201X are offered in person only and must be completed in order to graduate.

Not yet! Stay tuned.

If a study abroad course is not listed or cross-listed with CCSRE, students must fill out and submit a course petition form for the course to be considered to count toward the major or minor.

The Honors Program in CCSRE gives graduating students the opportunity to pursue sustained independent research on race and ethnicity with the support of a faculty advising team, an interdisciplinary cohort of peers, and CCSRE staff. Honors students synthesize the skills and insights they have cultivated over the course of their Stanford career to design and produce unique and impactful projects. 

Applications must be submitted by early May of the penultimate year of study. Honors proposals must be preapproved by the project advisor. Visit our Honors page to learn more about program eligibility and the application process.

CCSRE offers two summer fellowship opportunities for undergraduate students: the Community-Based Research (CBR) fellowship and the CCSRE Praxis fellowship. Applications are accepted every winter quarter. More information about them can be found HERE.

You may also pursue Directed Reading and Directed Research projects with a CCSRE faculty advisor. Click here for more information. 

During the 2025-2026 academic year, CCSRE is thrilled to be working with four Undergraduate Program Liaisons who will support various academic programs. If you would like to connect with the Undergraduate Program Liaisons, visit this webpage here. Other employment opportunities may arise throughout the year and will be announced in the CCSRE newsletter.

Yes, many of our students who major and/or minor in other programs or departments participate in multiple commencements. You are welcome to attend and participate in multiple ceremonies, but please be sure that you can attend the entirety of the CCSRE Commencement Ceremony if you commit to walking with us.

CCSRE hosts Commencement shortly after the conclusion of Spring quarter. Students who are graduating on an off quarter and wish to participate in the CCSRE commencement ceremony are welcome to walk with their class.

Please contact the Student Services Officer with any questions or concerns about CCSRE Commencement or the graduation process.