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Listed below are departments and programs that require a placement test, preregistration for a specific section of a large course, or consultation with a placement officer. Additional information can be found in the Yale College Programs of Study and under the “Programs of Study” section of the Class of 2016 website. If you have specific questions, you may direct them to your residential college dean or freshman counselor during freshman orientation. In addition, directors of undergraduate studies, departmental advisers, and departmental representatives will be available at the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28, from 2 to 4 P.M.
Call (203) 432-3436 for times and locations of placement examinations in African languages.
On Tuesday, August 28, from 12 to 2 p.m., in Holcombe T. Green Hall, 1156 Chapel Street, the director of undergraduate studies and members of the Art faculty will be present to speak to students about course selection and other matters pertaining to art. Students wishing to elect art courses are advised to go to the first class meeting. The Art department will participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
Prospective majors in the biological sciences and other students who would like a thorough introduction to biology should take the introductory sequence of BIOL 101–104, which provides a solid foundation in modern biological science. These courses are prerequisite to all majors in the biological sciences and biomedical engineering. Students with advanced preparation from high school may be eligible to place out of one or more of these modules only if they have received a score of 5 on the AP Biology exam (or its equivalent on other national standardized exams), and if they demonstrate adequate proficiency on the biological sciences placement examination. Information about the administration of this exam will be posted at yalecollege.yale.edu/content/biological-sciences-and-biomedical-engineering. All affiliated departments will participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
On Monday, August 27, from 9 to 10.15 a.m. in room 110, Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, the director of undergraduate studies will be on hand to introduce the various lecture and lab courses and to describe the placement process. In addition, the associate dean for science education and other directors of undergraduate studies will be present to answer general questions. This meeting is open to all, but will be of particular interest to prospective science and engineering majors.
The placement of entering students in general chemistry is determined primarily on the basis of admissions and preregistration data. Initial placement information will be available in late August through links on the Chemistry department website (chem.yale.edu/undergrad).
Entrance to more advanced courses is determined through the use of a departmental placement examination. All freshmen requesting to raise their placement level in general chemistry courses or wishing to enroll in organic or physical chemistry must take a departmental placement examination at 10.30 a.m. on Monday, August 27, in room 110, Sterling Chemistry Laboratory. Students with unavoidable schedule conflicts may attend a makeup registration and examination at 9 a.m. in room 110, Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, on Tuesday, August 28. Two hours should be set aside for the examination. The use of an electronic calculator is permitted, and several #2 pencils should be brought to mark the answer sheets. Revised placement information will be available through links on the Chemistry department website (chem.yale.edu/undergrad) late in the day on Tuesday, August 28, thereby allowing students to check their placement prior to attending the first regularly scheduled class meeting.
Students who believe they have been incorrectly placed may consult a Chemistry placement adviser. Advisers will be present in room 1, Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, from 1 to 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday, August 27 through August 31. The Chemistry department will also participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
Registration for discussion and laboratory sections will take place at the first meeting of each lecture course on Wednesday, August 29.
There are no placement examinations in Greek or Latin. Students seeking advice about the course appropriate for them should consult with the director of undergraduate studies; office hours will be posted in Phelps Hall. Registration is required for LATN 110 and will be held during the Academic Fair in Linsly-Chittenden Hall on Tuesday, August 28.
A meeting for students interested in computer science will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, August 26, in Arthur K. Watson Hall. The Computer Science department will also participate in the information meeting for engineering and related disciplines from 11 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 28, in Davies Auditorium, Becton Center, and in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
On Sunday, August 26, from 3 to 4 p.m., there will be a meeting for students interested in the Computing and the Arts major in Arthur K. Watson Hall. Computing and the Arts will participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
On Tuesday, August 28, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., there will be a meeting of Directed Studies faculty members and admitted students in the Whitney Humanities Center Auditorium to assign students to classes and to offer a general introduction to the program. Students on the waiting list and any other student interested in the program should also attend this meeting.
On Monday, August 27, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., there will be placement examinations in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. The Chinese and Japanese placement examinations have an online component that should be completed before this on-campus examination. The online component and locations and times of the on-campus examinations will be posted at eall.yale.edu/undergraduate-program. East Asian Languages and Literatures will participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
Students who scored 5 on the Advanced Placement test for microeconomics and/or macroeconomics and 5 on the Advanced Placement Calculus bc test may petition the director of undergraduate studies to place out of the introductory courses and to enroll directly in intermediate economics. Students who have high scores on examinations that are equivalent to Advanced Placement, such as the GCE A-level or Higher Level International Baccalaureate, may also petition the director of undergraduate studies to be exempted from the introductory courses. All other students must take the introductory courses. There is no placement examination.
ECON 108, 110, and 111 are limited-enrollment alternatives to ECON 115 and 116, and preregistration is required. View preregistration information at www.econ.yale.edu/undergrad/ugrad.htm. The Economics department will participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
A meeting for students interested in engineering will be held on Tuesday, August 28, from 11 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. in Davies Auditorium, Becton Center. The engineering departments will also participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
All students who wish to enroll in an introductory English course must preregister on line on Monday, August 27, between 4.30 and 7.30 p.m. Details about the preregistration process will be included on the website at english.yale.edu/undergraduate-program. Information about placement and courses available to freshmen can be found under English on the “Programs of Study” section of the Class of 2016 website.
A departmental representative will be present on Monday, August 27, between 9 and 11 a.m. in room 102, Linsly-Chittenden Hall, to answer questions about selection of English courses. The English department will also participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
The departmental placement examination in French is given only in the fall. It will be administered on Sunday, August 26, in rooms 101 and 102, Linsly-Chittenden Hall. Students with last names beginning A–M take the examination at 1.30 p.m., and students with last names beginning N–Z take it at 3 p.m. A makeup examination for students unable to take the test at the scheduled time will be administered on Monday, August 27, at 9 a.m. in room 102, Linsly-Chittenden Hall. The French department will also participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
Students who have studied French in the past and who wish to continue their work in the language at Yale, including those who scored below 5 on either of the French Advanced Placement tests, are required to take the placement examination. Students who scored 5 on either ap test do not need to take the placement examination, but they should discuss course placement with the director of undergraduate studies, who will be present in Linsly-Chittenden Hall during preregistration.
Preregistration, which is required for all fall-term courses numbered 100 to 159, will take place on line, on Monday, August 27, from 4.30 to 7.30 p.m. See french.yale.edu/placement-test-and-pre-registration for details. Please note that there is no preregistration for spring-term classes.
TThe German departmental placement examination will be given on Sunday, August 26, from 2 to 3.15 p.m. in room 119, William L. Harkness Hall. A makeup examination will be given on Monday, August 27, from 9 to 10.15 a.m. in room 207, William L. Harkness Hall. On Tuesday, August 28, from 2 to 4 p.m., students may register for courses in room 309, William L. Harkness Hall. The German department will also participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28. See www.yale.edu/german for updates and more information.
There will be a placement examination in Italian on Tuesday, August 28, from 9 to 11 a.m. in room 317, Linsly-Chittenden Hall. The Italian department will participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
Students planning to enroll in MATH 112, 115, or 120 are required to take an online placement examination and meet with an adviser to receive an official placement, unless they have taken one of these courses previously at Yale. A link to the online placement exam and additional information can be found at math.yale.edu/undergrad/placement-exam. Students should bring a printout of the examination and the score to the Mathematics department advising sessions, which take place on Monday, August 27, from 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. in room 432, Dunham Laboratory, 10 Hillhouse Avenue. Online preregistration for MATH 112, 115, or 120 will take place on Monday, August 27, from 4.30 p.m to 7.30 p.m. The Mathematics department will participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
Students seeking admission to musi 205, 210, or 211 must take a placement examination on Monday, August 27, at 3 p.m. A makeup examination will be administered on Tuesday, August 28, at 9 a.m. Both examinations will be held in room 119, William L. Harkness Hall. The Music department will participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
Students interested in taking individual vocal or instrumental instruction, either for credit in MUSI 360 or for a fee, must sign up on line for an audition at music.yale.edu/academics/lessons.html. Please note that no auditions are held in January.
Some music courses are open by audition only. Students who wish to enroll in music performance courses should sign up for auditions at the Department of Music, 143 Elm Street. For more information on auditions, see www.yale.edu/oci for each of the courses listed below:
MUSI 220 and 221, The Performance of Chamber Music
MUSI 222, The Performance of Vocal Music
MUSI 223, The Performance of Early Music
MUSI 227, Rhetoric and Early Instrumental Performance
MUSI 228, Musical Theater Performance I
Placement examinations in Arabic and Hebrew will be held on Tuesday, August 28, at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Locations will be posted on the departmental bulletin board in room 314, Hall of Graduate Studies.
On Monday, August 27, from 9 to 10.15 a.m. in room 110, Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, the director of undergraduate studies will be on hand to introduce the various lecture and lab courses in physics and to describe the placement process. In addition, the associate dean for science education and other directors of undergraduate studies will be present to answer general questions. This meeting is open to all, but will be of particular interest to prospective science and engineering majors.
The Physics department will also participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
The departmental placement examination in Portuguese will be given on Sunday, August 26, from 2 to 4 p.m. in room 103, Linsly-Chittenden Hall. An information session will be held at the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28, from 2 to 4 p.m. for students who intend to begin or continue their study of Portuguese. No preregistration is required for Portuguese courses or for the placement examination.
On Sunday, August 26, at 2 p.m., Hall of Graduate Studies, a departmental placement examination will be given in Czech (room 217B), Polish (room 218), and Russian (room 221). Entering freshmen who have some knowledge of Czech, Polish, or Russian should take this placement examination. On Friday, August 31, at 2 p.m., a proficiency examination for students with an advanced command of Czech, Polish, or Russian will take place in room 221, Hall of Graduate Studies. Contact the language coordinator, Irina Dolgova, for information about placement and preregistration and for information about other Slavic languages. She may be reached via e-mail at irina.dolgova@yale.edu or by telephone at (203) 432-1307. An orientation meeting will be held at the Academic Fair from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, August 28.
Vietnamese and Indonesian placement examinations will take place by appointment in room 311, Luce Hall, during the week of August 28. For Vietnamese, call (203) 432-5097; for Indonesian, call (203) 436-4192. For additional information, e-mail seas@yale.edu after August 1. Southeast Asia Studies will participate in the Academic Fair on Tuesday, August 28.
The Spanish placement examination will be administered on line from July 2 through August 15. Information about the exam is posted on the Spanish and Portuguese department website. A makeup examination will be offered on Sunday, August 26, from 9 to 11 a.m. and from 11 am to 1 p.m. in rooms 101 and 102, Linsly-Chittenden Hall.
Please note that all students, including native speakers, who have ever studied Spanish, whether formally or informally, and who wish to enroll in a Spanish course must take the placement examination. Students who demonstrate advanced proficiency through high scores on a standardized examination (e.g., AP or IB) may be eligible to enroll directly in L5 Spanish courses. Consult the departmental website for additional information.
The departmental website will also provide information on how to preregister for a section of a Spanish language course in Levels L1 to L4 (SPAN 110, 120, 130 140). Online preregistration will take place on Monday, August 27, from 4.30 to 7.30 p.m.
Students who have not studied Spanish before will automatically be placed into span 110. An information session will be held on Tuesday, August 28 from 2 to 3 p.m. in room 102, Linsly-Chittenden Hall, for students who intend to begin or continue their study of Spanish.
