Why You Should Apply to Stanford Code in Place This Spring

There’s no better time than spring to start something new. Something you’ve been quietly meaning to try, but haven’t quite made space for yet.

For me, one of those things was teaching with Code in Place. I was an instructor in 2025, and it ended up being one of the most impactful experiences I’ve had with teaching computer science.

Code in Place (CIP) runs for six weeks, from May through early June. The structure is simple but thoughtful: six modules that gradually increase in difficulty. This was the schedule for CIP 5 in 2025 (it changes slightly each year):

• Week 1: Basics of thinking like a computer scientist
• Week 2: More complex problems in a finite world
• Week 3: Basics of Python
• Week 4: Python control flow and programming with input
• Week 5: Graphics and getting comfortable with function calls
• Week 6: Data analysis + learning how to call APIs of large language models (like ChatGPT)

On paper, it looks like a standard introductory programming course. But the experience feels different.

What makes it special is the cohort. You’re placed into a small section with a dedicated instructor and a group of students who are learning alongside you, live, every week. There’s something powerful about knowing that thousands of people around the world are dealing with the same algorithms and problems at the same time.

A lot of online courses are self-paced and solitary. You watch lectures. You do assignments. You move on. Code in Place feels more human than that. There are lively discussions in forums. There are questions. There’s the small moment when someone finally understands a concept they’ve been stuck on for twenty minutes, and you can see it click.

I had students from different countries, different careers, different stages of life. Some had never written a single line of code. By week six, they were building real programs and asking deeper questions. More than anything, I watched their confidence grow.

I still keep in touch with a few of my students. One of my students joined classes from 2am in the Philippines because it’s the only time he had available in the day. After the course, some leaned further into computer science. Others didn’t change their path entirely, but they stopped feeling intimidated by programming. That matters a LOT.

If you’re on the fence about applying, whether as a student or an instructor, I understand. The biggest hesitation is usually time. Six weeks can feel like a lot when your schedule already feels full.

But it only runs once a year. And it’s only six weeks.

You might look back later and think it would have been useful. Or fun. Or confidence-building. Or simply different from your usual routine.

My advice is simple: apply. Give it an honest try. If it ends up not fitting into your schedule, at least you’ll know. But you might also find that it challenges you in ways you didn’t expect.

Spring is for starting things: this could be one of them.