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Drive up Campus Drive past the Arboretum and the scenery changes. Sandstone gives way to white concrete screens, glass research towers and the new Stanford Hospital. This is Stanford Medicine, the combined name for the university's School of Medicine and its two health systems. The school itself trains doctors, physician assistants and scientists and runs a huge research enterprise.
It is not a tourist site. Labs, lecture halls and libraries are for people who work and study there. Still, visitors end up here all the time: families with a patient in the hospital, alumni, conference guests and people who simply like architecture. This page explains what you can see, which libraries and programs are open to the public and what to do if you are here because of a hospital stay. For patient and visitor logistics, read our Stanford Hospital visitor guide first.
From San Francisco to Stanford
The School of Medicine is older than its campus. Its roots lie in Cooper Medical College in San Francisco, which Lane Library calls the first medical school in the western United States. Stanford took over Cooper in 1908 and for decades medical students trained in the city.
In 1959 the school moved to the Stanford campus, into new buildings designed by the architect Edward Durell Stone. Those buildings are the source of the patterned concrete screens you still see around the medical center. Our Stanford architecture guide places them in the wider story of campus design.
The Li Ka Shing Center
The school's front door today is the Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge, usually shortened to LKSC. The School of Medicine uses its address, 291 Campus Drive, as its own. According to Stanford Medicine's 2010 report on the opening, the building opened to students on May 12, 2010 and was dedicated that September. It was designed by the San Francisco office of NBBJ and cost $90.2 million, paid for through philanthropy, debt and school funds. It took the site of the old Fairchild Auditorium, between the Beckman Center and the Fairchild Building.
The five-level building was built around new ways of teaching medicine. At opening it included:
- The Hon Mai and Joseph Goodman Center for Immersive and Simulation-based Learning, where students practice on lifelike mannequins.
- A 350-seat conference center that divides into three rooms.
- A virtual theater and a skills training suite.
- Classrooms wired for video capture.
- The Berg Student Commons on the fourth floor, with study rooms and lounges for students.
The building is named for Li Ka-shing, the Hong Kong businessman whose foundation supported it. The ground floor public areas are where visitors are most likely to end up, often for a conference or for the cafe. Treat the upper floors as staff and student space.
The Med Café
The Med Café in the LKSC is one of Stanford's own cafes. It serves Starbucks drinks and a daily hot lunch and lists hours of Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is a practical stop for families visiting the hospital. Our campus dining guide lists more options across campus.
Lane Medical Library: access rules
Lane Medical Library is the School of Medicine's library, at 300 Pasteur Drive. Its history goes back to 1882 at Cooper Medical College. Pauline Lane gave a third of her estate in 1906 to establish the library in memory of her husband, Levi Cooper Lane, a former president of the college. Lane says it was the largest medical library west of Chicago when Stanford took over Cooper in 1908. It moved to the Stanford campus with the rest of the school in 1959.
Visitors should know the access rules before they walk over. Lane's Who Can Use Lane Library page sorts people into three groups:
| Group | Access |
|---|---|
| Stanford Medicine faculty, students and staff, including residents and fellows | Full access |
| Stanford Health Care and Stanford Medicine Children's Health employees | Full access; register before borrowing |
| Stanford University faculty, students and staff | Full access; enter through the intercom |
| Stanford Medicine alumni, courtesy card holders and some affiliates' family members | Limited access with a Lane guest card or courtesy card |
| General public and non-affiliates | No access to resources, services or library spaces |
The entrance rules tightened in 2026. Lane's blog announced that from April 27, 2026 its doors became card access only. School of Medicine and hospital badges open the outside reader. Stanford University ID cards do not, so university ID holders press the intercom and show their ID to staff. Outside business hours the library is closed to everyone.
If you are a member of the public with a medical question, Lane suggests alternative options on its eligibility page. Patients and families can also ask hospital staff about health information resources. For general reading, our guide to Palo Alto libraries covers the city's free public libraries and our Green Library guide explains Stanford's visitor passes for its main research library.
Mini Med School and public courses
Stanford has offered a public Mini Med School lecture series in past years. We could not confirm that it runs today. The only current Stanford page using the name that we found in October 2026 described a Mini Med School for pediatrics department staff, not the public.
What does exist for the public is Stanford Continuing Studies, which runs paid evening, weekend and online courses open to adults in the community. Its fall 2026 catalog included a Medicine department with these courses:
- Introduction to Anatomy at Stanford Medicine: Exploring the Forearm, Wrist and Hand, on campus on a Saturday
- Medicine: The Uncertain Art, online
- Diet and Gene Expression: You Are What You Eat, online
- Sports Nutrition, online
- The Science of Sleep and Dreams, online
Those fall courses were closed to new registrations by late October. Continuing Studies says its winter courses go online November 9. Check continuingstudies.stanford.edu for fees and dates, which we do not list here because they change each quarter.
Public lectures and events
School of Medicine departments host seminars, grand rounds and named lectures throughout the academic year. Most are aimed at clinicians and researchers and some require a Stanford login. A few are open to the public. The simplest way to find them is the Stanford events calendar, which shows who each event is open to. Filter for medicine and health topics and look for listings marked as open to everyone.
The wider university also brings health topics to the public through Continuing Studies courses and public talks across campus. When a lecture is listed as free and open to all, arrive early and plan your parking. Weekday spaces near the medical center fill quickly.
Getting there and parking
The medical school sits on the northwest side of campus, roughly between Campus Drive, Pasteur Drive and Welch Road. From downtown Palo Alto it is a short drive or bike ride by way of Quarry Road. The free Marguerite shuttle serves the medical center on weekdays from the Palo Alto Transit Center by the Caltrain station.
Hospital visitors usually park in the Pasteur Visitor Garage at 200 Pasteur Drive, described in our hospital guide. For other visitor parking and Marguerite routes, see our Stanford parking and transit guide.
Good to know
- Many research buildings use badge access. Do not follow staff through locked doors.
- Think twice before taking photos in clinical areas, where patient privacy comes first.
- Stanford Hospital opened its new building at 500 Pasteur Drive to patients in November 2019. The older Stone buildings remain in use around it.
- For a quiet break, the Stanford Arboretum and the Arizona Garden are a short walk away along Campus Drive.
Frequently asked questions
Can the public use Lane Medical Library at Stanford?
No. Lane Library says the general public and non-affiliates do not have access to its resources, services or spaces. Since April 27, 2026 the entrance has been card access only. Stanford University ID holders must use the intercom to be let in.
Does Stanford still run Mini Med School?
We could not find a current public Mini Med School at Stanford. The only active Stanford page with that name found in October 2026 was a program for pediatrics staff. Stanford Continuing Studies does offer paid medicine courses for adults, including an on-campus anatomy course in fall 2026.
What is the Li Ka Shing Center at Stanford?
The Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge is the School of Medicine's main teaching building. It opened to students in May 2010 and holds a simulation center for clinical training, a large conference center, classrooms and a student commons.
Where can I eat near the Stanford School of Medicine?
The Med Café in the Li Ka Shing Center, 291 Campus Drive, is run by Stanford's dining department and lists weekday hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Stanford Hospital also has food options for visitors.
Is the School of Medicine the same as Stanford Hospital?
No. The School of Medicine is part of Stanford University. Stanford Hospital is run by Stanford Health Care, a separate organization within Stanford Medicine. Their buildings sit side by side along Campus Drive and Pasteur Drive.