Graduation Requirements

These requirements are for students in grades 9 through 12 who intend to graduate from Stanford Online High School.

Earning a Diploma

Watch this video to learn about the classes you need to take to earn a diploma from Stanford OHS.

Academic Course Requirements

Students must take an equivalent of 20 full-year courses, or 200 units comprising the following:

English

4 years / 40 units

Mathematics

4 years / 40 units

Natural Sciences

3 years / 30 units, including at least 2 years of fundamental science

Social Sciences

3 years / 30 units, 1 year of U.S. History

Languages

2 years / 20 units of the same language; 3 or more years strongly recommended

Core Sequence & Electives

4 years / 40 units, which may include courses from the disciplines noted above, or other electives.

Core Course Sequence Requirement

To ensure that students at Stanford OHS participate fully in the intellectual life of the school, we require all diploma-seeking high school students to take a Core course during each year of enrollment in high school. Although these philosophy-based courses don’t fit easily into standard categories, they count for Natural Science, Social Science, or English credit. The Core constitutes the following ordered sequence:

Methodology of Science – Biology (Natural Science)
History and Philosophy of Science (Social Science)
Democracy, Freedom, Justice, and the Law (Social Science)
Critical Reading and Argumentation (English)

Advanced Coursework Distribution Requirement

Students must take one year-long advanced or university-level course at Stanford OHS in the following subject areas:

Social Sciences
English
Natural Science or Mathematics

Stanford OHS Residency Requirements

To earn a Stanford OHS diploma, students must be enrolled full-time in their final two years of high school. In addition, they must take a minimum number of Stanford OHS courses as follows:

Students entering in 11th grade will, by virtue of their full-time enrollment, receive credit for a minimum of 8 Stanford OHS classes (80 units) over the course of two years (including two Core classes)
Students entering in 10th grade must, over the course of three years, receive credit for a minimum of 11 Stanford OHS classes (110 units, including three Core courses)
Students entering in 9th grade must, over the course of four years, receive credit for a minimum of 14 Stanford OHS classes (140 units, including all four Core courses at the high school level)

Not included in Grade Point Average (GPA) calculation:

Wellness Program (4 semesters)
Health (1 semester)

Wellness Requirements

The Wellness Program offers a broad-based curriculum to support students’ social and emotional development, physical wellbeing, time management, and engagement in the school community. Students are required to complete four semesters in the program, typically with two semesters of Wellness I in their first full-time year and two semesters of Wellness II in their second year.

The Health requirement can be met by taking Unity & Diversity of Biological Systems (OB010A), or the directed-study course, Health (OB001A).

Incoming Sophomores and Juniors

For the select incoming sophomores and juniors accepted to graduate, we evaluate coursework from other institutions or homeschool programs to ensure that they meet Stanford OHS diploma requirements. Classes that are accepted for credit are not noted on a Stanford OHS transcript.