About

The Program in Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) offers two notation programs for Stanford undergraduates in all majors: the Notation in Cultural Rhetorics and the Notation in Science Communication. Through a combination of coursework, advising and reflection, these Notations provide students with the opportunity to earn a special designation on their official transcripts indicating their advanced work in rhetoric and communication.

First approved by the Faculty Senate in spring 2013, the Notation in Science Communication (NSC) provides students an opportunity to develop their abilities to effectively communicate technical information to varied audiences using multiple genres and modes. In spring 2015, the first group of 14 students earned the Notation; a total of 92 students have earned the Notation as of June 2021.

Building on the success of the NSC, the Notation in Cultural Rhetorics was approved by the Faculty Senate in spring 2019. The NCR provides students the opportunity to consider the ways that language, rhetoric, and ideas operate across cultures and traditions. The NCR emphasizes the rhetorical traditions and practices of communities of color that have not always been foregrounded in rhetorical study, as well as examinations of ways race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality bear on rhetorical production and reception.

Click on the cards below to explore each Notation program in more detail.