What Is a College Adviser?
Your college adviser is a Yale faculty or staff member affiliated with your residential college who has volunteered to help you think through your interests and aspirations. Your adviser may not share your exact academic interests, but this need not limit the value of your conversations: your college adviser has been paired with you by your dean for any number of reasons (outside interests, current job, home state, or other reasons, including area of expertise).
Your college adviser will receive your name from your residential college dean in late August — you’ll be able to access their name via Yale Hub at more or less the same time. You should try to schedule an initial meeting with your adviser before the end of the add/drop period to discuss some of your goals for your first year at Yale.
Throughout your first year at Yale, as you develop a program of study and refine your thoughts about academics and other interests, your college adviser will continue to be available and you should feel free to set up meetings when you need to.
Specific information about course placement and content, or details about academic requirements, is best obtained through departmental advisers — especially the directors of undergraduate studies (DUSes) in your fields of interest in your fields of interest — but also from your residential college dean and websites including the list of Major Roadmaps in the Yale College Programs of Study.