SoCo 2026 Courses
Spend the last three weeks of summer focusing on a single class. Classes are 10-15 students, live together, and emphasize field trips and hands-on activities to forge faculty relationships beyond the classroom.
Check out the SoCo Photo Gallery for a peek inside past classes.
For frosh and first-year transfers, SoCo 2026 runs from Sunday August 30 to Friday September 18. Check out the Calendar to see how SoCo fits into your summer, and apply by Tuesday April 14.
The American Voices Project: Building a New Tool for Listening to the People
We live in a democracy that’s supposed to heed the voices of everyone, not just the voices of the rich and privileged, but the voices of everyone. Join this class to help the United States listen better.
Artificial Intelligence and Deliberative Democracy
Can AI support and enhance the democratic process? Collaborate with Stanford's Crowdsourced Democracy Team and the Deliberative Democracy Lab to examine the possibilities and challenges.
The Bizarre Story of Prion Disease
Take a deep dive into the history, epidemiology, clinical features, pathology, patients, politics, prevention, and researchers of prion diseases affecting the brain.
Classical California
How many ways do ancient Greece and Rome still show up in our lives today?
Culture, Climate, and Food Security in the Alaskan Arctic
What does it mean to eat, live, and thrive in the northernmost corner of the US?
Discover Monterey Bay through Oceanography, Ecology, and Literature
Study spawning squid and feeding whales while spending some time aboard the newly renovated research ship—Steinbeck's the Western Flyer!
Learning Theater: From Audience to Critic at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
From the audience seats to backstage, immerse yourself in theater right at the heart of it.
Parks and Peoples in Patagonia: Dilemmas of Protected Area Conservation
How do countries find a balance between land conservation and the rights and needs of local inhabitants?
Policing, Migration, and Violence in Latin America
Why is it so difficult for countries to build a police force that is professional, effective, and respects human rights?
Reason and Faith: Questions of Political Theology
How does belief respond to doubt? Is reason compatible with religion? How can political choices follow from religious teachings?
Remix | Writing and Reading the DJ
Learn why sampling and remixing is today's unique artform—and learn to remix on a turntable.
The Uncertain Future of Humanity
Will humans survive the next ten thousand years?