Stanford University is a leading educational and research center in the United States. It has a campus in Stanford, California, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of San Francisco. Stanford is a private, coeducational university. It offers undergraduate and graduate courses of study. In addition, Stanford is recognized as one of the world’s leading centers of research in electronics and physics. The university’s athletic teams are called the Cardinals. Stanford’s website at https://www.stanford.edu/ presents information about the university.
Educational program.
Undergraduates receive a general education in a wide range of subjects and a specialized education in their chosen field of study. Undergraduates may apply for A.B., B.S., and B.A.S. degrees. Graduate students may apply for A.M., M.S., M.F.A., and Ph.D. degrees or for professional degrees. The university also sponsors programs of study in Europe, Asia, and South America.
Research program.
Stanford is a major center of research in the physical, biological, social, and technological sciences. The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) is a world center for the study of high-energy physics. Stanford’s medical school is famous for its work on heart transplants, cancer, and genetic engineering (altering the genes of a living organism).
The university’s Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace has one of the best collections of books and documents about political, social, and economic movements of the 1900’s. This institution was founded in 1919 by Herbert Hoover, a member of Stanford’s first graduating class in 1895. Hoover became the 31st president of the United States in 1929.
The Stanford campus is also the home of an industrial park that has many firms. Frederick E. Terman, an electrical engineer who held administrative positions at Stanford University from 1937 to 1965, helped establish the research and manufacturing center in 1951. He supported close ties between the university and industry and persuaded many faculty members and students to form companies in the Stanford area. A number of these firms have manufactured important electronics devices invented by Stanford faculty members. This area, sometimes called Silicon Valley, ranks among the world’s leading centers for technological development.
History.
Stanford University was founded in 1885 by Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford. Leland Stanford built the Central Pacific Railroad. He was a U.S. senator from California from 1885 until his death in 1893. The Stanfords created the university as a memorial to their son, Leland Stanford, Jr., who died of typhoid fever in 1884. The couple endowed the university with land for a campus and over $20 million.
Stanford opened for classes in 1891. Its academic departments were organized into seven schools in 1948. Since the late 1950’s, Stanford University has been ranked as one of the leading educational institutions in the United States.
