Other Information

Table of Contents

  • Credit/D/Fail
  • Distributional Requirements
  • Deadlines and Academic Options to Keep in Mind
  • Pre-registration and Preference Selection
  • STEM Students | Premedical Students
  • International Experience Options
  • Useful Links
  • Sources of Information

Credit/D/Fail Option

The Credit/D/Fail option was established to encourage experimentation and to promote diversity in students’ programs of study. Complete information about this option is contained in the Yale College Programs of Study. Some of the pertinent restrictions are the following:

  • Up to four of the thirty-six credits required for the bachelor’s degree may be earned under the Credit/D/Fail option
    • However, no course credit earned on a Credit/D/Fail basis may be applied toward satisfaction of the distributional requirements.
  • No more than two credits per term may be taken under the Credit/D/Fail option, and at least two credits must be taken for letter grades each term.
  • Students who have elected to take a course on the Credit/D/Fail option may reverse their decision and convert from Credit/D/Fail to a letter grade by filing a form in the residential college dean’s office no later than two weeks after midterm in the fall term and one week after the end of spring recess in the spring term.
  • ​Students may not convert from the letter grade option to the Credit/D/Fail option after turning in their completed course schedules at the end of shopping period.

Distributional Requirements for the Sophomore Year

At the end of sophomore year (after four terms of enrollment), students must have enrolled in

  • at least one course credit in each disciplinary area (Hu, Sc, and So)
  • at least one course credit in each skills category (QR, WR, and foreign language).

Sophomores are required to have 16 credits for promotion to junior status.

Deadlines and Academic Options to Keep in Mind

Sophomores must obtain their academic adviser’s signatures on their final schedules before submitting them to the residential college dean’s office by the deadline indicated on the schedule.

The fall 2016 deadline is September 13 by 5:00 p.m.

• The election of a new course after this deadline is ordinarily not permitted. On advice of an instructor, however, a student may change course levels (e.g., from French 140 down to French 130 or up to French 150).

• Students may withdraw from a course at any time before the first day of reading period. If the withdrawal takes place by midterm, the student’s transcript will not show that the student was enrolled in the course. Withdrawal after midterm results in the assignment of a “W” (Withdrew) on the transcript.

• If students have questions about acceleration, refer them to the residential college dean.

Pre-registration and Preference Selection

The pre-registration and preference selection period generally runs for roughly one month prior to the start of each term. A list of pre-registration departments or courses with clickable links for instructions can be found on the Yale College Preference Selection, Preregistration, and Applications web page.

STEM Students | Premedical Students

Students interested in the STEM fields and students wishing to pursue a premedical program often need special advice. If a student is planning to major in a program in the sciences, engineering or mathematics, his or her sophomore adviser must be the DUS in the potential major or the department’s designated representative.

Premed students will find it useful to consult the Health Professions Advisory Program and to read the section, “Preparing for Health Care Professions,” in the Freshman Handbook.

International Experience Options

Yale actively encourages students to gain international experience in the course of their undergraduate careers and has many avenues for pursuing this option. From a term abroad, to a summer of language study or internship abroad, Yale has advising and financial resources to help students gain exposure to the broader world. The advisers in the Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs can help students define their interests and find programs or funding that will benefit them.

As a sophomore academic adviser, you can assist in this process by reminding sophomores that they should continue their foreign language study if at all possible to maximize the likelihood that such opportunities will be available to them. You might also remind them that courses taken abroad may be used to fulfill distributional and major requirements, so studying abroad need not mean a break in progress toward the degree.

Useful links
Sources of Information

There are various sources of information about majors and major requirements.

  • Primarily geared towards freshmen but also open to sophomores, the Academic Fair takes place on the Tuesday afternoon before the first day of fall-semester classes. Nearly all undergraduate majors and programs are represented by the DUS or other knowledgeable representatives who are available to answer questions about courses, prerequisites, and major requirements. Information is posted online and is distributed to freshmen with orientation materials.
  • Directors of Undergraduate Studies (DUSes) or their designated representatives regularly advise sophomores about the programs and majors in their departments. 
  • Yale College Programs of Study itself has information about all majors, their prerequisites, and their requirements.
  • Departmental publications. Most departments maintain websites, and some publish brochures with information about their majors. Departmental websites often have photos and short biographies of their faculty, with current research interests.
  • Departmental info sessions. A number of departmental meetings take place during the days leading up to the beginning of fall-term classes. Meetings for prospective majors and interested students continue throughout the year and are posted on the Sophomore Website’s Calendar and Departmental Info Sessions, Meetings and Placement page.
  • The online Yale Facebook includes students’ majors and can be sorted by major and college. Yale’s Facebook requires a netID login.
  • Residential college deans and heads of college can give you advice from their experience with Yale College and with students, as can your instructors.