The student experience
Meet our students
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Deeply connected to both her discipline and the community of scholars she works with, Chloe Cheng, Geophysics ’25, is contributing to research on complex processes in the ocean and atmosphere.
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Diego Gutierrez, Earth Systems ’25, looks to the ground beneath us to understand how equitable food systems can lift up communities.
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Whether leading coral restoration efforts at home or doing research on campus, undergraduate student Plengrhambhai “Pleng” Snidvongs Kruesopon is advancing environmental conservation through policy, education, and community action.
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Passionate about “social-ecological leadership,” master’s student Fatoumata Barrie is working to bring more voices into sustainability conversations.
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Supported by the Stanford Impact Fellowship (SIF-Eco), master's student Meghan Wood is building a permit-free and renter-friendly solar solution through startup Raya Power.
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Energy science and engineering PhD student Rebecca Grekin has received the Student Sustainability award from the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) for the online software tool she developed to help analyze food emissions. The AASHE award recognizes student work that advances leadership and promotes sustainability on campus.
Course close-ups
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Stanford researchers are working to create a unique, interdisciplinary curriculum to help students better understand both the physical and biological ocean systems and the human relationship with them.
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Since its founding two decades ago, the Bill Lane Center has become a thriving community of students and researchers who examine the American West in all its complexities.
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The introductory course brings together passionate alums and seasoned lecturers to explore how Earth works and the ways humans impact it, with a focus on climate change, oceans, sustainable food, energy science, and more.
Members of the Sustainability Student Advisory Council. (Image credit: Cayden Gu/Ethography)
Research, internships & professional development
We offer programs to support success in both your personal and professional life.
Professional development and internships
No matter what discipline you are in or career goals you have, we want to prepare our undergraduate and graduate students for the future.
Learn about professional development and internshipsEcopreneurship
Building on Stanford’s strengths in both sustainability and entrepreneurship, Stanford Ecopreneurship programs take aspiring sustainability entrepreneurs (or “ecopreneurs”) from idea to launch.
Learn about ecopreneurshipUndergraduate research
Stanford undergraduates from any area of study who want to learn more about environmental science and our planet can work on research with a faculty member in the lab or in the field.
Learn more about undergraduate research opportunitiesStanford Woods Institute for the Environment
Education and leadership programs focus on skills, knowledge, and networks to move ideas into action and support informed decision-making.
Learn more about Stanford Woods InstitutePrecourt Institute for Energy
Student offerings include energy courses, experiential learning opportunities, and events, in addition to mentoring and advising.
Learn more about Precourt InstituteDiscover labs and facilities
Cutting-edge tools to understand our planet.
Explore resources available to studentsExplore our campus
Located 35 miles south of San Francisco and 20 miles north of San Jose on the ancestral land of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Stanford University’s 8,180-acre campus sits at the heart of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Peninsula.
Take a virtual tour
Hopkins Marine Station
Visit our educational farm
Beyond campus
Our scholars and students conduct research or engage in field learning on all seven continents and oceans. Opportunities for hands-on learning and research experience outside the classroom range from two-day field courses to a quarter-long field course in social and biophysical systems in Hawaii.
Sustainability Commons
The people and programs in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability will be brought together in a new Sustainability Commons, located on the west side of campus. The Commons will be anchored by two new flagship buildings that will follow Stanford’s history of creating sustainable, LEED Platinum-certified buildings. The Commons will also include the existing Green Earth Sciences Research Building and the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2). A promenade will connect the academic buildings, rooftop garden, and multiple outdoor gathering spaces.
Sustainable living at Stanford
Sustainability is a core value and way of life at Stanford and the university’s Residential & Dining Enterprises.
Learn about Stanford’s commitment to being a living lab for sustainability solutions
Explore Energy HouseRoble Living Laboratory for Sustainability at Stanford