Nondegree Students Program

The Nondegree Students program is designed to meet the needs of students with specific and defined educational goals, which may include personal or professional enrichment, exploration of new fields, or preparation for career changes. This program offers nonresident students who are unable to attend college full time the opportunity to enroll in Yale College courses for credit. The Nondegree Students program is open to graduates of Yale College, and is also open to academically qualified persons who have attended other colleges and universities, or who have not continued their education beyond high school. Like all others enrolled in Yale College, students in this program are required to comply with the academic regulations.

Nondegree students may enroll in from one to five courses in any academic term. Nondegree students may not take more than a total of eighteen course credits in the Nondegree Students program.

1. Academic requirements   Nondegree students are required to meet all of the academic obligations of any course in which they enroll. At the end of a term, the record of any nondegree student who does not have at least a C average for that term will be reviewed, and that student may not be permitted to enroll in a subsequent term. To remain in academic good standing, a student is furthermore expected to complete at least one course per term. Withdrawal from all courses in any given term may jeopardize good standing and enrollment in a subsequent term. Students who plan not to enroll in courses in any given term must apply for a leave of absence on or before the tenth day of the term in question. A leave of absence can be granted for no more than two terms. Any student who does not enroll in courses in a term and does not apply for a leave of absence may be removed from the program.
2. Registration and enrollment   All nondegree students register for courses with Dean William Whobrey, 55 Whitney Avenue, Suite 430, 432-2430. In general, admission to limited-enrollment courses is not available to nondegree students. Auditing is not permitted in the Nondegree Students program. Nondegree students are not eligible for enrollment in individual tutorial courses; nor are they eligible, while in the Nondegree Students program, for enrollment in courses in the graduate or the professional schools. Those interested in enrolling in such courses should apply directly to the Graduate School or to the particular professional school in whose courses they wish to enroll.
3. Credit/D/Fail option   Nondegree students who wish to elect a course under the Credit/D/Fail option must make a compelling case for that election in a petition to Dean William Whobrey no later than September 14 for the fall term and January 20 for the spring term. Nondegree students may take no more than one course in a term using the Credit/D/Fail option, and must be enrolled in at least one other course worth a minimum of one course credit during the same term. A maximum of two courses may be taken Credit/D/Fail during a student's time in the Nondegree Students program.
4. Tuition   The tuition for nondegree students during 2011–2012 is $4,500 per course credit; Yale employees and their spouses are entitled to a tuition reduction as determined by the Office of Human Resources. Tuition must be paid in full to the Office of Student Financial Services before registration. Yale provides no financial assistance for nondegree students. Students withdrawing from a course may be eligible for a refund of all or a portion of the tuition fees, in accordance with the tuition refund policy: (a) a student who drops a course for any reason on or before the last day of the course selection period will be refunded the tuition fees paid for that course; (b) a student who drops a course for any reason after the course selection period but on or before the day of midterm (Friday, October 21, for fall 2011, and Friday, March 2, for spring 2012) will be refunded one-half the tuition paid for that course; (c) a student who drops a course after midterm will not be refunded any portion of the tuition.
   
   Fees for late submission of course schedules apply as outlined under Registration and Enrollment in Courses. Please note that payments completed after the registration deadline may be subject to late payment fees. Late payments will be accepted (with the addition of a late payment fee) no later than September 23, 2011, for fall 2011, and February 3, 2012, for spring 2012. Any student who has not completed payment in full for courses by these dates will not be permitted to enroll for that term.
5. Facilities and services   Nondegree students are entitled to use the library system and other facilities that are required for the courses in which they are enrolled, such as laboratories, computers, and the like. For a fee, they are entitled to purchase gymnasium membership and Yale Health coverage. Nondegree students are not eligible for undergraduate housing and they may not serve as freshman counselors.
6. Regulations   Nondegree students are governed by the academic regulations of Yale College and by the rules contained in the Undergraduate Regulations. In disciplinary matters, nondegree students are subject to the jurisdiction of the Yale College Executive Committee.
7. Yale students   Students who have withdrawn from Yale College or who did not complete degree requirements within the number of terms of enrollment for which they were admitted may not return to Yale College to complete degree requirements as nondegree students. This rule includes former Yale College students who are currently employees of the University. Students on leave of absence may not be admitted to the Nondegree Students program.
8. Yale graduates   Graduates of Yale College who have received the bachelor's degree after eight terms of regular enrollment are eligible to apply as nondegree students either on a full-time or on a part-time basis. But Yale College graduates who have taken degrees after fewer than eight terms of regular enrollment are eligible to apply as nondegree students only on a full-time basis until they have completed the equivalent of eight terms of enrollment in Yale College. Thus a student who took a seven-term degree must be a full-time student for the first term in which he or she is a nondegree student, but may be a part-time nondegree student in a subsequent term. For example, a student who has completed degree requirements at the end of a fall term after eight terms of regular enrollment is eligible to apply as a nondegree student either on a full-time basis or on a part-time basis during the subsequent spring term, but a student who has completed degree requirements at the end of a fall term after seven terms of regular enrollment is eligible to apply as a nondegree student during the subsequent spring term only on a full-time basis. Please note that any courses taken by a former Yale College student in the Nondegree Students program will appear on the undergraduate transcript.
9. Transfer students   Students who have been accepted for admission as transfer students may not attend Yale as nondegree students before their first term of enrollment at Yale.
10. Application deadlines   Applications are due on October 1, 2011, for spring term 2012, and on June 1, 2012, for fall term 2012. Yale employees require permission of their supervisors to apply. Nondegree enrollment may begin in either the fall or the spring term.

Further information and application forms are available on the Undergraduate Admissions Office Web site.