Stanford Archives Reference and Research Guide: Students and Alumni
This guide offers an introduction to researching Stanford history using University Archives collection materials and includes instructions for identifying, accessing and working with Special Collections materials.
Students and alumni
In addition to the general resources shared above, the Archives provides access to many specific resources -- archival collections, oral histories, publications, exhibits, archived websites, data sets, and more -- to aid in your research into Stanford students and alumni:
Please Note: The University Archives does provide or mediate access to student transcripts. Please check with the registrar to request access according to FERPA guidelines. The Archives also does not provide digital access to undergraduate honors theses without the express authorization of the student author.
Archival collections
- Archival collections in the Stanford Archives can be searched and paged for physical review using the Online Archive of California. The Stanford student letters and memorabilia collection includes extensive holdings relating to individual students, though there are an equal number of discrete alumni collections, which may include scrapbooks, photograph albums, and more. Archival collections of student organizations, including Associated Students of Stanford University records and many others, may also include records of individual students.
Oral histories
- Oral histories conducted through the Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program include Alumni oral histories, Alumni oral history alumni interviews, as well as interviews with AAPI alumni, Black Alumni, Latina/o/e/x alumni, LGBTQIA alumni, and Native alumni. Other interviews including alumni include the Movement Oral History Project.
Publications
- Part 1 of the Stanford Alumni Directory, 1891-1955; Part 2 of the Stanford Alumni Directory, 1891-1955. More recent directories are only available in person for privacy reasons.
- Stanford Daily Archive: Full-text searchable website that supports access to all previous issues of the Stanford Daily through 2014. Founded in 1892 as the Daily Palo Alto, the student-run newspaper became independent of the University in 1972. More contemporary articles can be searched directly through the current website of the Stanford Daily.
- Stanford Quad yearbook, 1894-2014: Digitized yearbooks spanning 1894 through 2014; more recent yearbooks are only available in person at Green Library for privacy reasons.
- Theses and dissertations: The Archives holds thousands of doctoral dissertations, master's theses, and undergraduate honors theses. Master's theses and dissertations are typically cataloged individually in SearchWorks. Honors theses are typically listed by department in the Online Archive of California.
Online exhibits
- Online exhibits featuring the history of Stanford Activism with a focus on students, as well as the histories of Stanford communities including the Asian American Advocacy@Stanford exhibit, Black@Stanford Anthology, Latina/o/e/x@Stanford exhibit, Queer@Stanford exhibit, and Women@Stanford exhibit. Additional exhibits focus on the histories of the Stanford Band, KZSU, and Project South.
- Last Updated: Feb 4, 2025 2:27 PM
- URL: https://guides.library.stanford.edu/ua-research-guide
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Subjects: Basic research, Stanford history