Opportunities

Courses

Stanford PACS affiliated faculty and scholars teach courses and seminars for undergraduates, masters and Ph.D. students. Topics range from philanthropy and civil society to governance, policy, and more. Hands-on courses offer ways to translate ideas to action. To see when specific courses are offered, search the Stanford course directory here.

Stanford PACS’ flagship course is the year-long research workshop, intended for graduate students conducting research on the nature of civil society or philanthropy and advanced undergraduates doing research of writing senior honor theses on related topics.

PACS Course Highlight

Students from the Theories of Civil Society and the Nonprofit Sector.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Real Life Seminar Series

How will artificial intelligence change the way you live, work and learn?   What skill sets will you need in the...

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Bridging Policy and Tech Through Design

Taught by Lucy Bernholz

This project-based course aims to bring together students from computer science and the social sciences to work with external partner...

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Digital Civil Society Seminar

Taught by Lucy Bernholz, Toussaint Nothias, and DCSL Postdoctoral Fellows

The Digital Civil Society Seminar is the Lab’s flagship course for Stanford students. The class is taught and designed by...

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Digital Civil Society Speaker Series

Taught by Lucy Bernholz and DCSL Postdoctoral Fellows

The Digital Civil Society Speaker Series highlights evolving perspectives at the intersection of the social sector, digital technology, and contemporary...

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Digital Security and Civil Society

Taught by Lucy Bernholz and Divya Siddarth

Digital Security and Civil Society: Course Overview from Stanford PACS on Vimeo. This class will instruct students in the political...

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EDUC 374/ POLISCI 334/ SOC 374 – Seminar on Philanthropy and Civil Society

Co-taught by Woody PowellRob ReichRobb Willer

Year-long workshop for doctoral students and advanced undergraduates writing senior theses on the nature of civil society or philanthropy. Focus...

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EDUC 377B/ STRAMGT 368 – Strategic Management of Nonprofits

Taught by Bill Meehan

This course seeks to provide a survey of the strategic, governance, and management issues facing a wide range of nonprofit...

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EDUC 377C/ GSBGEN381 – Philanthropy: Strategy, Innovation and Social Change

Taught by Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen

Appropriate for any student driven to effect positive social change from either the for-profit or nonprofit sector, Strategic Philanthropy will...

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ETHICS 232T/ POLITIC 236/ POLITIC 236S – Theories of Civil Society, Philanthropy, and the Nonprofit Sector

Taught by Bruce Sievers

What is the basis of private action for the public good? How are charitable dollars distributed and what role do...

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Ethics of Technological Disruption

Taught by  Rob ReichMehran Sahami, and Jeremy Weinstein

Teaching team: Rob Reich, Professor of Political Science and, by courtesy, Professor of Philosophy and of Education, Stanford Mehran Sahami,...

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Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change

Taught by  Rob ReichMehran Sahami, and Jeremy Weinstein

Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change is a new undergraduate course whose aim is to explore the ethical and social...

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Free Speech, Democracy, and the Internet

Taught by Nate Persily

This course will cover contemporary challenges to democracy presented by the Internet.  Topics will include disinformation, polarization, hate speech, media...

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GSBGEN 319 – Strategic Philanthropy and Impact Investing

Taught by Paul Brest and Mark Wolfson

The course will be structured around the perspective of a foundation or a high net worth individual who has decided...

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GSBGEN 367 – Problem Solving for Social Change

Taught by Paul Brest

GSB graduates will play important roles in solving many of today’s and tomorrow’s major societal problems—such as improving educational and...

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GSBGEN 393 – Practicum in Applied Philanthropy: Achieving Impact from a Major Gift

Taught by Bill Meehan

Giving away money well-i.e., achieving genuine planned impact in a measurable way–turns out to be as hard or harder than...

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Philanthropy and Strategy – Online Course

This ongoing, free course introduces the strategic framework that underlies any social program–whether concerned with health, education, drug abuse, or...

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Policy Practicum: “Every Vote Counts” Voter Verification Project

Taught by Nathaniel Persily and Luciana Herman

California recently passed SB 759, the “Every Vote Counts Act,” to codify requirements allowing voters a chance to fix their...

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Policy Practicum: Creating a Social Media Oversight Board for Content Decisions

Taught by Paul Brest, Nathaniel Persily, Dan Ho, and Rob Reich

In recent years, social media platforms have faced public scrutiny for their practices in managing controversial content. New technologies are...

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SOC 298: The Social Psychology of Contemporary American Politics (SOC 398)

Taught by Robb Willer, Professor of Sociology, Psychology, and Organizational Behavior

Where do individuals’ political attitudes and behaviors come from, and how can they be changed? In this class we will...

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SOC 375W: Workshop: Politics, Morality, and Hierarchy

Taught by Robb Willer, Professor of Sociology, Psychology, and Organizational Behavior

Advanced research workshop with a focus on new theory and research, recent publications, and current research by faculty and graduate...

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Technology for Social Good

Taught by Lucy Bernholz and Rob Reich

Digital tools have changed the way we volunteer, give money, and organize for social good. This class offered through the Stanford...

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The Active Citizen in the Digital Age

Taught by Lucy Bernholz and Rob Reich

We participate in our communities in many ways – as neighbors, volunteers, voters, donors, members of local organizations (PTAs, churches,...

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