Yale University

Yale University is a large research university with a wide array of programs, departments, schools, centers, museums, and many affiliated organizations.

Yale is overseen by President Peter Salovey and the university’s board of trustees, who comprise the governing and policy-making body known formally as the Yale Corporation. The institution is also led and supported by the University Cabinet, an advisory body convened by the president, which consists of the deans, vice presidents, and other senior academic and administrative leaders.

Yale has grown and evolved for 300-plus years, passing many milestones and forging traditions along the way. At Yale, we view college as a time for students to explore, exercise curiosity, and discover new interests and abilities.

We provide students with an immersive, collaborative, and inspiring environment where they can develop a broadly informed, highly disciplined intellect that will help them be successful in whatever work they finally choose. Our students graduate with the values and knowledge they need to pursue meaningful work, find passion in life-long learning, and lead successful and purposeful lives.

All undergraduates attend Yale College, an intimate learning environment offering instruction in the liberal arts and sciences. With access to Yale’s extensive collections and resources, our undergraduates have discovered new species, patented products, and co-authored original research. There are a variety of global learning opportunities available, from studying abroad to international internships to directed research. Writing and science programs, directed studies, seminars, and more students can choose from a number of special academic offerings during their time at Yale.

Yale offers advanced degrees through its Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and 12 professional schools. Browse the organizations below for information on programs of study, academic requirements, and faculty research. Yale’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences offers programs leading to M.A., M.S., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees in 73 departments and programs. The Yale School of Architecture’s mandate is for each student to understand architecture as a creative, productive, innovative, and responsible practice. The Yale School of Art has a long and distinguished history of training artists of the highest caliber. Yale Divinity School educates the scholars, ministers, and spiritual leaders of the future. Yale School of Drama graduates have raised the standards of professional practice around the world in every theatrical discipline, creating bold art that engages the mind and delights the senses. The Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science is at the cutting edge of research to develop technologies that address global societal problems. The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies is dedicated to sustaining and restoring the long-term health of the biosphere and the well-being of its people. Yale Law School hones the world’s finest legal minds in an environment that features world-renowned faculty, small classes, and countless opportunities for clinical training and public service. School of Management students, faculty, and alumni are committed to understanding the complex forces transforming global markets and building organizations that contribute lasting value to society. Yale School of Medicine graduates go on to become leaders in academic medicine and health care, and innovators in clinical practice, biotechnology, and public policy. The Yale School of Music is an international leader in educating the creative musicians and cultural leaders of tomorrow. The Yale School of Nursing community is deeply committed to the idea that access to high quality patient‐centered health care is a social right, not a privilege. The School of Public Health supports research and innovative programs that protect and improve the health of people around the globe.

The university traces its roots to the 1640s when colonial clergymen led an effort to establish a local college to preserve the tradition of European liberal education in the New World. In 1701 the charter was granted for a school “wherein Youth may be instructed in the Arts and Sciences (and) through the blessing of Almighty God may be fitted for Publick employment both in Church and Civil State.”

The school officially became Yale College in 1718, when it was renamed in honor of Welsh merchant Elihu Yale, who had donated the proceeds from the sale of nine bales of goods together with 417 books and a portrait of King George I.Take a stroll through Yale’s three centuries of history, and learn about the traditions that have become part of the fabric of our university.Class Day takes place on Old Campus on the Sunday before Commencement and includes the awarding of academic, artistic, and athletic prizes the celebration of undergraduates and an address by a notable speaker. Also, hats. Yale began a new tradition in 2014 of a “Founders Day” event for students, faculty, and staff, to be held annually on a day close to the anniversary of the 1701 founding.

Yale’s residential college system allows students to experience the cohesiveness and intimacy of a small school while still enjoying the cultural and scholarly resources of a large university. Each year, new students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences sign the register to celebrate the start of their graduate studies at Yale. The Yale School of Medicine welcomes first-year students to a life in medicine during the annual White Coat Ceremony. Yale football games have been a tradition for Yalies since the mid-1800s we celebrated 150 years of baseball in 2015 and Yale athletes have excelled around the world in the Olympics and other international competitions. Yale’s connections to the military have been long-standing, beginning in 1779 when past-president Naphtali Daggett led more than half of the student body to take on British troops when they attacked New Haven.