  Optics labs are an integral part of the advanced curriculum for physics
majors. Students majoring in other disciplines, like chemistry, biology or
engineering rarely have the opportunity to learn about the most recent optical
techniques and mathematical representation used in today's science and industry
optics. Stokes analysis of polarization of light is one of those methods that
are increasingly necessary but are seldom taught outside advanced physics or
optics classes that are limited to physics majors. On the other hand biology
and chemistry majors already use matrix and polarization techniques in the labs
for their specialty, which makes the transition to matrix calculations
seamless. Since most of the students in those majors postpone their enrollment
in physics, most of the registered in those classes are juniors and seniors,
enabling them to handle those techniques. We chose to study polymer samples to
aid students majoring in other disciplines, especially chemistry and
engineering, with understanding of the optical nature of some of the objects of
their study. The argument in this paper is that it is advantageous to introduce
Stokes analysis for those students and show a lab developed and taught for
several years that has successfully, in our experience, done that. Measurements
of oriented and unoriented polymer samples are discussed to demonstrate to
students the effects of the molecular polarizability on the sample
birefringence and the anisotropic Fletcher indicatrix in general.
