Academic Studios

Studios offer a structured, peer-supported setting for graduate students to discuss and apply practical academic strategies. Unlike our workshops—which cover soft skills like time management and test-taking—studios focus on technical skills, such as using programming languages for research or selecting software tools to optimize your workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are Studios Structured?

Studios consist of a tutorial and studio session and focuses on technical academic skills. A Studio starts with a tutorial on a technical learning and research or academic management topic, such as generating data plots to present data effectively or identifying and learning tools and applications to effectively manage your time. Activities and discussions centered around these topics are interwoven into the tutorial session which is then followed by a dedicated optional studio time where students can:

• Apply activity and discussion takeaways to their own academic work
• Follow-up with Peer Learning Consultants on academic strategies

• Connect with other students to share their experiences

The duration of the studio may vary depending on the topic being covered. Our studios usually average 1.5 hours. Students may attend just the tutorial or both components. Below is an example of a Grad Studio schedule.

• 10 AM - 11 AM PST: Tutorial session
• 11 AM - 11:30 AM PST: Optional Studio work session

Who are Studios for?

Generally, studios are open to all graduate students at Stanford. However as our studios are offered through a joint partnership with the School of Engineering, registration priority for the studio component will be offered to School of Engineering graduate students. Should space be available, registration will open to the wider Stanford graduate community on a first-come, first-served basis. These studios are not open to undergraduate students. Postdoctoral scholars in the School of Engineering may attend Engineering Grad Studios and will receive registration priority. 

When do these Studios take place?

Periodically throughout the quarter. Check out our studios event page to see all of our upcoming studios!

Upcoming Studios

Studios are hosted by our Engineering Learning Consultants, and brought to you by the Center for Teaching and Learning and the School of Engineering. For more information or any inquiries, please email academicskills@stanford.edu. 

Past Studios

Missed a studio or can't make an upcoming studio? We record some of our studios! Check out all of our recorded studios from the past below or by visiting the past studios page.

Grad Studios

• Getting the Most Out of Google Calendar
• Improving Memory Retention: Underlying Principles and Intro to Anki
• The Great RESET: Identifying & Challenging Academic Thought Distortions
• Using Notion for PhD Research
• Planning your Summer Research: How to Schedule Both Productivity and Fun in the Sun
• Documenting Your Research Progress: Maintaining and Organizing Efficient Notes
• Keeping Track of Readings with Annotated Bibliographies
• Preparing for Classroom Cold Calling: Effective Reading Strategies
• Using Spreadsheets to Boost Productivity

Engineering Grad Studios

• Collaborative Projects: Getting Started in Git (Winter Quarter 2022)
• Presenting Data Effectively: Creating Plots with Prism
• Collaborative Projects: Getting Started in Git (Spring Quarter 2021)
• Presenting Data Effectively: Creating Data Plots in R with ggplot
• Presenting Data Effectively: Introduction to Data Plots in R
• Lit Review Series: Citation Management
• Presenting Data Effectively: A Zoom Primer on Data Visualization
• Lit Review Series: Goal-oriented reading
• Lit Review Series: Synthesis-driven reading

Past Undergrad Studios

• Getting the Most Out of Google Calendar
• Improving Memory Retention: Underlying Principles and Intro to Anki