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Stanford University

Stanford University's course descriptions average 68.4 on the 100-to-0 ruler: clearly left of center. Across all 100 schools, the average is 67.5, so Stanford University reads 0.9 points further left.

Liberal (100)center (50)Conservative (0)
Stanford University: 68.4 (likely range 67.5 to 69.4) All 100 schools: 67.5 each other school in the comparison

Where its courses fall

4%Far left92–100
16%Left75–91
76%Center-left59–74
4%Center42–58
0%Center-right26–41
0%Right9–25
0%Far right0–8
353 plotted courses (the ones with a political framing). 100 = far left, 50 = the average American, 0 = far right.

See it for yourself

Underlined: words the model quoted from the description when we asked it, after scoring, to explain its score.

Furthest left

AFRICAAM 164A · Race and Performance (CSRE 164A, CSRE 364A, TAPS 164)100

Ethnic & African American Studies

How does race function in performance and dare we say live and in living color? How does one deconstruct discrimination at its roots? From a perspective of global solidarity and recognition of shared plight among BIPOC communities, we will…

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CSRE 170A · Unlearning Racism, Redefining Identity: Culture workers and the frontlines of Change100

Ethnic & African American Studies

The fabric of racism is inextricably woven and constructed into the founding principles of the United States. Racism was done and it can be undone through effective anti-racist organizing with, and in accountability to the communities most…

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CSRE 18 · Antiracism and Health Equity: A project-based community service course100

Ethnic & African American Studies

This class will examine the structural racialized bias in medicine, biomedical research and health care delivery by using short form media to address the dismantling of systemic racist practices. In understanding that inequity is a feature…

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Furthest right

None. Stanford University has 353 left-framed courses and not one right-framed course.

Why this number, in plain words

Political lean of course descriptions. Average Framing score (0 = far right, 50 = center, 100 = far left) of the scored courses in the group.

50 is the survey-anchored center of US adults on each issue (the "moderate" place of the ANES/GSS/PRRI seven-label ruler), not the cohort midpoint; scores above 50 read leftward, below 50 rightward.

Counted: courses with a Framing score (categories L/R/B/C). The likely range (95% interval) is 67.5 to 69.4; a comparison whose range overlaps this one is not a reliable difference.

  • Most course descriptions carry no political lean at all and are not in this average; the "share described from the left" view counts them.
  • Readings are of catalog description text, not of teaching, syllabi or individual professors.
Stanford University by department (share of courses described from the left)
DepartmentLeft-framed shareCourses
Women's & Gender Studies47.6%82view
Ethnic & African American Studies43.8%260view
Anthropology28.1%171view
Sociology18.0%111view
English & Comparative Literature12.0%368view
History10.6%340view
Art & Art History10.4%250view
Psychology6.2%161view
Religious Studies6.1%66view
Political Science4.3%138view
Economics2.1%140view
Philosophy2.1%144view

Lean (mean Framing score) is not published per department within a school; only the left-framed share is. Department rows carry no interval.

Details: exact rows, definitions and method
NameMetricValue95% intervalnscored
Stanford Universitymean_bias_score68.467.5 – 69.42,231353
All 100 schoolsmean_bias_score67.567.4 – 67.7124,29010,124
Formula
SUM(bias_score) / COUNT(bias_score)
Interval
normal approximation: mean +/- 1.96 * sd / sqrt(n), sample sd (n-1); undefined when n < 2
Model / prompt / snapshot
gpt-5.6-sol · r12 (2026-10-16-le49-r12) · 6df50b10
Metric caveats
Scored courses only (L/R/B/C); N and I carry no score and are excluded, so n here is smaller than the group's course count. Scores are model readings of catalog description text against a fixed anchored definition, not teaching or syllabi. The interval covers sampling noise in the mean only; it does not represent model reading error. Every value carries a `method` label: exact_rows or histogram_midpoint.

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