YALE UNIVERSITY
New Haven, Connecticut
The University
Yale University was founded in 1701 as the Collegiate School in Branford, Connecticut, with a gift of books from 10 clergymen. In 1716 it moved to New Haven; it was renamed Yale College in 1718 to honor a generous benefactor, Elihu Yale. Today, the University enrolls more than 10,000 students in the eleven graduate and professional schools and in the undergraduate college. Diversity is a hallmark of the student population; its more than 5,000 undergraduates come from every state and from almost fifty countries and represent a wide economic, social, and ethnic mix.
Yale's residential college system is the most pervasive influence on undergraduate life and work. The twelve residential colleges are much more than bed, board, and books: they are self-sufficient communities within Yale College. Each college has its own dining hall, library, courtyard, seminar rooms, practice rooms for musicians, and computer cluster and numerous other facilities that range from darkrooms to printing presses to game rooms and saunas. Although students are assigned to a residential college before entrance, most freshmen live on the Old Campus and move into their residential college during the sophomore year. Freshmen participate fully in all aspects of residential college life. The colleges sponsor a wide variety of activities, such as intramural sports, dramatic societies, and newspapers. Most activities, such as the Yale Daily News, the Yale Symphony Orchestra, and thirty-five varsity sports, draw students from all of the residential colleges.
Undergraduates are encouraged to enroll in courses that are sufficiently challenging and to pursue an education that covers a wide range of subjects while studying some subjects in great depth. Students may cross-register with most of the graduate and professional schools to take highly advanced courses. In some areas, it is possible to take a combined-degree program. Yale's hope is that the undergraduates use the vast resources of a major research university in every way possible.
The University offers graduate and professional degrees in the Schools of Architecture, Art, Divinity, Drama, Forestry and Environmental Studies, Law, Management, Medicine, Music, and Nursing and in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Location
Yale University is located in the heart of New Haven, Connecticut, a city of 120,000 on Long Island Sound. Founded in 1658, New Haven was the first planned municipality in the United States. Today, its diversity is manifested in a wide variety of neighborhoods, restaurants, and recreation. Two nationally distinguished theaters, the Yale Repertory and the Long Wharf Theatres, make their homes there. More than 2,000 students each year are involved in the community through volunteer or work-study projects, tutoring in city schools, working in a halfway house or in the local hospitals, or doing an internship in business, journalism, or city government. The University and the city are vitally interdependent.
Majors and Degrees
Yale University confers the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees. Majors, usually selected at the end of the sophomore or the beginning of the junior year, are available in the following areas: African and African-American studies; American studies; anthropology; applied mathematics; applied physics; archaeological studies; architecture; art; astronomy; astronomy and physics; biology; chemistry; Chinese; classical civilization; classical languages and literatures; cognitive science; computer science; computer science and mathematics; computer science and psychology; East Asian languages and literatures; East Asian studies (China or Japan); economics; economics and mathematics; electrical engineering and computer science; engineering (biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, engineering sciences (chemical, electrical, mechanical), environmental engineering, mechanical engineering); English; environmental studies; ethics, politics, and economics; ethnicity, race, and migration; film studies; French; geology and geophysics; Germanic languages and literatures; German studies; history; history of art; history of science and medicine; humanities; international studies; Italian; Japanese; Judaic studies; Latin American studies; linguistics; literature; mathematics; mathematics and philosophy; mathematics and physics; molecular biophysics and biochemistry; music; Near Eastern languages and civilizations; philosophy; physics; physics and philosophy; political science; Portuguese; psychology; religious studies; Renaissance studies; Russian; Russian and East European studies; sociology; Spanish; theater studies; and women's and gender studies. In addition, students may create their own programs in a special divisional major. Yale offers a double major, but no minor.
Academic Programs
Yale's academic goal is to provide students with a liberal education by encouraging curiosity, inquiry, and the development of expressive and analytical intellectual skills. In the belief that a liberal education should be neither too focused nor too diffuse, Yale supports the twin principles of depth and breadth in education. To encourage exploration and an interdisciplinary understanding, students are required to take two courses in each of the following areas: humanities and the arts, social sciences, and natural sciences. In addition, students are expected to further develop the skills they bring to college by taking courses in both quantitative reasoning and writing.
As part of the completion of an academic major, each student must fulfill a capstone requirement in their proposed major during the senior year (a senior essay, research project, colloquium, seminar, or the like, varying by discipline). Such an undertaking brings focus and gives occasion for knowledge to build upon knowledge. Thirty-six term total term courses or the equivalent are required for graduation. Usually between eleven and fourteen of these courses are taken as part of a student's major, with the exception of certain intensive majors that require more course work. An intermediate proficiency in a foreign language is required for graduation.
All students, except transfers, enter Yale as freshmen, but a student may graduate as much as a year early through the accumulation of acceleration credits. Acceleration credits are given in most subjects for a score of 4 or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement tests, a score of 6 or 7 on the International Baccalaureate exams, and/or for advanced course work done in the freshman year. Yale also offers special programs such as Directed Studies, a freshman program that surveys the Western cultural tradition, and Perspectives on Science, a lecture and discussion course designed for a limited number of freshmen who have exceptionally strong backgrounds in the natural sciences and mathematics.
Yale operates on a semester calendar. The first semester runs from September through December, and final examinations are held before Winter Break. The second semester begins in mid-January and runs through early May.
Off-Campus Programs
Yale sponsors a program in British culture at the Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art in London. The program is open to students in all disciplines and is available for either a single term or a full academic year. Students may also register directly at an international university or participate in a program sponsored by another American college if given prior approval from Yale. Many students use the Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs as a resource for pursuing opportunities abroad beyond the standard junior term abroad.
Academic Facilities
The Yale Library is the second-largest university library and the second-largest research library in the world, containing more than 10 million volumes. Although it is centered in Sterling Memorial Library, the open-stack system provides access to facilities throughout the campus, including the Kline Science Library and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, one of the country's most important and heavily used resources for original scholarship in the humanities.
Science facilities include the Chemical Instrumentation Center in the Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, part of Yale's fifteen-building complex for teaching and research in science. With the commissioning of an ESTU Van de Graaff accelerator, Yale continues its preeminence in nuclear physics. The astronomy department maintains research and teaching facilities in New Haven and nearby Bethany, Connecticut; in Cerro Tololo, Chile; and also at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.
Yale offers numerous galleries and special collections, among which are the Yale Art Gallery (the oldest college-affiliated gallery in the country), the Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the Yale Center for British Art, which houses the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom.
Costs
Tuition for the 200405 academic year was $29,820 and room and board was $9030. Books, supplies and personal expenses were estimated at $2650, bringing the estimated total annual cost to $41,500.
Financial Aid
Admission and financial aid decisions are made independently, and an application for aid in no way affects a student's chances for admission.
Financial need is the only consideration in determining who receives financial aid; there are no athletic or academic scholarships. More than 40 percent of Yale's undergraduates receive aid in the form of gift scholarships, loans, and employment. Furthermore, many students who are not eligible for financial aid participate in the campus employment program or in loan programs to help meet their expenses.
Applicants for financial aid should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the PROFILE with the College Scholarship Service (CSS) by February1 and should follow the financial aid application procedures outlined in the Yale Application for Admission by January16. Award notifications are mailed with the decision letters in early April.
Faculty
The Yale faculty is made up of eminent scholars in every field who usually teach on both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Yale takes pride in the faculty's commitment to undergraduate teaching and in its accessibility to the students. Freshmen frequently have as much access to senior faculty members as upperclass students do; senior faculty members and even department chairs regularly teach introductory-level courses. Eighty-five percent of the courses offered enroll fewer than 25 students. Faculty members hold regular office hours and act as academic advisers to individual students. Most are fellows of the residential colleges and frequently take meals in the college dining halls. A few faculty members live in separate residences within the residential colleges, and many maintain offices there.
Student Government
Each of the twelve residential colleges has its own college council, which has representatives from all four classes. The Yale College Council draws representatives from each residential college and acts as a forum for student opinion and counsel. In addition, students serve on various college and University committees.
Admission Requirements
In selecting a class of 1,300 from more than 19,600 applicants, the Admissions Committee looks for academic ability and achievement combined with such personal strengths as motivation, curiosity, energy, sense of humor, and leadership ability. No two individuals offer these in like proportions; thus, no simple profile of grades, scores, and activities can guarantee admission.
For evidence of academic strength, Yale looks to a student's high school record (quality and breadth of courses selected, as well as grades achieved), test scores on the SAT and three SAT Subject Tests or on the ACT, and recommendations submitted by a counselor and 2 academic teachers. In addition, applicants are asked to supply information about their interests and activities and must write two essays. The personal recommendations and essays are important parts of the application process and should not be underrated by applicants. Interviews are not required; most applicants are interviewed by alumni representatives, although a limited number of appointments are available in New Haven on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants are urged to visit the campus, preferably during the school year, and are welcome to visit classes, take a tour, and attend an information session in the admissions office.
Application and Information
Students who apply only to Yale under the Single-Choice Early Action must file by November1. They receive a non-binding decision in mid-December. Students who apply under the regular decision program must file by December31; decision letters are mailed in early April. Yale University requires the Common Application along with the Yale Common Application Supplement. Students are encouraged to submit their applications online at the Web site listed below.
For an application form or additional information, prospective students are encouraged to visit the Web site or to contact:
