Full-Time Degree Candidacy

All Ph.D. students are required to be registered full-time for the duration of their degree program (see Registration and Course Enrollment under Academic Regulations). These students devote their full effort to coursework, preparing for qualifying examinations, gaining teaching experience, and researching and writing a thesis or dissertation. Students who are employed full time at the time of admission must terminate their employment prior to matriculating in the graduate school no later than August 15 of the year in which they matriculate.

Master’s-degree students are registered for full-time study, requiring them to take a minimum of three course credits per term, unless they have been approved by their program for part-time study (see Part-time Study below). Some programs may require master’s-degree students to take four courses per term. 

Students registered in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences may not simultaneously enroll, either full-time or part-time, at any other academic institution, except at other Yale professional schools that permit GSAS students to register for courses or at one of the graduate school’s institutional partners through an approved exchange program (see Exchange Scholar Program below). In addition, Ph.D. students registered in absentia may hold a visiting student affiliation at another institution for the purposes of completing research necessary for their dissertation. Otherwise, students who wish to enroll in a degree or nondegree program at another academic institution must be approved for a personal leave of absence or must withdraw from their program in the graduate school.

Full-time students must observe the limitations on part-time employment for the duration of their program (see Part-time Employment under Financing Graduate School). 

Part-Time Study

In rare circumstances and in terminal master’s programs only, qualified individuals who are unable to devote their full-time attention to graduate study may be admitted as part-time students. Part-time students may register for a maximum of 2.5 course credits per term.

Nondegree Study

Qualified individuals who wish to study at the graduate level as nondegree students may be admitted to the Division of Special Registration (DSR). Admission to the DSR is for one term or one year only and carries with it no commitment by the graduate school for further study. Students admitted for the academic year must demonstrate satisfactory academic performance in the first term in order to register for the second term. Students in the DSR may obtain transcripts indicating the appropriate credit for work completed. Students enrolled full-time in the DSR may pursue internship opportunities only after they complete their program. They may not participate concurrently in an internship while enrolled in the DSR. International students who are in the United States on a visa should consult with the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) about their eligibility to extend their visa in order to participate in an internship opportunity after their program.

DSR students engaged solely in coursework are identified as visiting students. Although normally admitted for full-time study, visiting students who are US citizens or permanent residents may be admitted for part-time study and are charged tuition on a per-course basis, whether for credit or audit. Visiting students in the US on a visa must register full-time by enrolling in a minimum of 3 course credits per term for the duration of their program due to visa requirements (see Course Enrollment under Academic Regulations). Please refer to Financing Graduate School for a schedule of tuition and fee charges. Students admitted to the DSR as visiting students are not eligible for financial aid, including federal and most nonfederal student loans.

Advanced graduate students who are degree candidates (at the master’s or Ph.D. level) at another university and who have made arrangements with a specific graduate school faculty member to engage in a research project under that faculty member’s direct supervision may be admitted to the DSR as visiting assistants in research (VAR). Undergraduate students in combined or simultaneous B.S./M.S., B.A./M.A., or similar programs are not considered advanced graduate students. Visiting assistants in research are not eligible to take courses and are limited to a maximum of two years of study. VARs are required to register full-time for the duration of their program by enrolling in VAR 9999 each term (see Course Enrollment under Academic Regulations). 

Student research conducted at Yale must be part of the VAR’s degree requirements. The extent and location of the research completed at Yale must be cited in the completed thesis or dissertation. The graduate school does not provide financial support to VARs. Such students either hold standard graduate-student assistantship-in-research appointments that are funded by the faculty adviser, are supported by their home institution, or provide their own funding through external awards or personal resources. Please refer to Financing Graduate School for a schedule of tuition and fee charges.

Some departments at Yale have formal exchange agreements with universities that have been approved by the graduate school. Graduate students who are admitted to Yale under such approved exchange agreements may be registered as exchange scholars. Exchange scholars are not normally charged tuition. They are required to register full-time for the duration of their exchange program by enrolling in EXCH 9999 each term (see Course Enrollment under Academic Regulations). In addition, they may enroll in up to four courses per term for a maximum of two terms (one year). 

In rare circumstances, students may apply for a second year of registration in the DSR; however, cumulative enrollment is limited to two years. Students enrolled in the DSR who are subsequently admitted to degree programs in the graduate school may receive academic and tuition credit for no more than four courses completed while enrolled in the DSR, provided that the department recommends such credit and the appropriate academic dean approves.

Detailed information, requirements, and access to the online DSR application are available at https://gsas.yale.edu/admissions/non-degree-application-process. DSR applicants must provide evidence of health insurance coverage for the duration of their studies at Yale at the time of application.

Interdisciplinary Study

All graduate students are formally associated with one department or program, or, in the case of students in combined-degree programs, with two. Students may, however, be encouraged to take one or more courses in related departments. Students are often advised by faculty members from more than one department during their dissertation research. Students in the graduate school, with permission of the director of graduate studies and the relevant school, may take advantage of course or research opportunities in Yale College and Yale’s professional schools.

Combined- and Joint-Degree Programs

Students interested in Black Studies, Early Modern Studies, Jewish Studies, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies pursue a combined Ph.D. with departments in related fields. In addition to these academic programs, there are several formal interdisciplinary Ph.D. programs in the graduate school listed under the appropriate departmental entries of this bulletin. Ad hoc programs may also be approved. A student who is interested in an ad hoc program should prepare a written proposal for review and approval by the relevant departments and academic dean before the student has advanced to candidacy. The proposal must include an agreed-upon listing of course and other requirements, along with a timeline for completion of the degree. Current students may not transfer to a formal or ad hoc combined Ph.D. program after they have advanced to candidacy.

Students are encouraged to contact the appropriate directors of graduate studies about specific opportunities for interdisciplinary study throughout the graduate school and university.

The graduate school also participates in formal joint-degree programs with certain professional schools, including the J.D./M.A. and J.D./Ph.D. programs in cooperation with the Law School; the M.D./Ph.D. program in cooperation with the School of Medicine; and the Ph.D./M.B.A. program in cooperation with the School of Management. In addition, joint-degree programs with professional schools have been approved for master’s-degree students in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, European and Russian Studies, and International and Development Economics. These programs are described in the individual departmental listings.

For all joint-degree programs except the M.D.-Ph.D., students are required to submit formal applications to both the professional school and the graduate school indicating their interest in enrolling in the joint program. Individuals interested in the M.D.-Ph.D. program apply directly to the M.D.-Ph.D. program. Applications may be submitted simultaneously to both schools, or students enrolled in one school may apply to the second school normally no later than the end of their first year of study. (See Requirements for Joint-Degree Programs, under Degree Requirements.)

Cooperative Degree Program

Yale-University of Puerto Rico M.D./Ph.D. Cooperative Program  

The Yale-UPR M.D./Ph.D Cooperative Program allows students to obtain an M.D. from the University of Puerto Rico Medical School (UPR-SOM) and a Ph.D. from the Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) in approximately eight years. This program is targeted toward those students who are committed to a research career in biomedical, translational, or health sciences, and who meet the requirements for admission to both the Ph.D. program at Yale and the M.D. program at UPR-MSC. For further information, visit https://medicine.yale.edu/bbs/training/special-programs/uprmdphd.

IVYPlus Exchange Scholar Program

https://gsas.yale.edu/ivyplus-exchange-scholar-program

Graduate students in Yale Ph.D. programs may petition to enroll full or part time for a term or an academic year as exchange scholars at the University of California at Berkeley, Brown, the University of Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Stanford through the IvyPlus exchange scholar program. The IvyPlus program enables students to take advantage of educational opportunities not available at their home institutions. Applications and contact information for queries are available at the website listed above. Applications must be received at least eight weeks prior to the beginning of the term for which the student is applying. Yale Ph.D. students who participate in this program are governed by the relevant deadlines and policies of the host institution during their exchange enrollment and should refer questions to their host institution.

International Graduate Student Exchange Agreements

https://gsas.yale.edu/international-exchange-programs

The graduate school has established and continues to develop formal exchanges with institutions internationally in cases where there are reciprocal academic benefits for faculty and graduate students. Yale Ph.D. students may participate in the international exchanges listed below. Most exchanges last one term or a full academic year, and a small number of exchanges are available for summers only.

All international exchange agreements must be approved in advance by the graduate school to ensure that they meet university policies and graduate school guidelines. Departments interested in establishing an exchange program must prepare a statement that demonstrates that there is a clear academic and reciprocal need for the program and that the program will conform to the established guidelines for exchange agreements. Students and faculty interested in pursuing these exchanges should consult the website listed above for contact information to address such queries.

International Exchange Programs

Classics
Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS), Pisa, Italy

Economics
Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland; Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (“Sciences Po”), France; Università Bocconi, Milan, Italy; Universität Bonn, Germany; Universität Mannheim, Germany

French
École Normale Supérieure-PSL, Paris, France; Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (“Sciences Po”), France

Graduate School
Baden-Württemberg Exchange, Germany; Center for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance (CSMBR), Pisa, Italy; Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland; German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Germany; Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel; Hertie School, Berlin, Germany; Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies (KCJS), Kyoto, Japan; Royal Holloway College, University of London, England; University College London (UCL), England; Università di Trento, Italy

History
Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (“Sciences Po”), France

Italian Studies
Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS), Pisa, Italy

Political Science
Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR), University of Oxford, England; Hertie School, Berlin, Germany; Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, France (“Sciences Po”); Nuffield College, University of Oxford, England

Public Health
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Greece

Sociology
Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (“Sciences Po”), France; University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Summer Study

Ph.D. students are funded year-round and are expected register for the GSAS summer term each year for the duration of their program (see Summer Registration under Registration Status and Leaves of Absence in Academic Regulations.) During summer registration, Ph.D. students are expected to make progress toward the completion of their degrees by engaging in research and/or additional study as appropriate for their degree progress. See individual departmental policies in this bulletin regarding specific expectations for degree programs during the summer. Although the graduate school does not offer academic courses in the summer, language for reading instruction is available through the Yale Summer Session, and Ph.D. students may wish to take advantage of these courses.

M.A./M.S. students in two-year or three-term programs should consult with their director of graduate studies regarding expectations for summer. Unless otherwise listed in the program description, M.A./M.S. students are not permitted to register in the GSAS summer term.