A 2016 survey revealed Stanford's physics department to be one of the "least diverse" departments within the institution, and the university has since embarked on a mission to resolve that supposed concern, according to a university news release.

One step Stanford has taken is promoting a modified version of the standard Mechanics course, a requirement for physics majors, boasting "added support."

Stanford's alternate version of this course, Physics 41E, boasts additional class time, as well as "learning assistants," individuals with a "passion" for "education equity," who are paid by the university to guide students through the difficult course.

The university says this modified course helps to increase diversity in the field because "students from underrepresented groups often don't have the same level of preparation from high school as their majority peers."

"The difference in preparation is large enough that it may lead students to drop out of the major but small enough that the kind of support offered by this course can be enough to keep them in," Stanford says.