Deans, faculty, and advisers welcome the opportunity to work with our undergraduates to plan a program of study. The role of the adviser is
- To provide an understanding of a liberal arts education at Yale.
- To convey to incoming students the sense that Yale faculty and staff members are accessible and take a personal interest in them.
- To help students recognize the appropriate balance between academic commitments and extra-curricular activities.
Your academic advisers will assist in the careful planning of your program of study. The Advising Resources website contains comprehensive information about advising at Yale College.
About Advising
Undergraduates at Yale are free to choose from a vast variety of courses—as many as 2,000 in this year’s Yale College Programs of Study (YCPS). This array of options can be both exhilarating and daunting.
Navigating these options requires thoughtful planning—a challenge for first-year students confronted with so many possibilities, often before they are entirely sure what they wish to study. The antidote to this challenge is developing a strong and meaningful relationship with your academic advisers.
Choosing an Adviser
Incoming first-year students are automatically assigned an adviser (called a college adviser) for their first term; in spring term, students may continue to work with the same college adviser or may choose a faculty member in Yale College to be a sophomore-year adviser. Students must have an adviser in place before submitting fall-term schedules as sophomores. First-years may consult their residential college deans for guidance in this process.
Information about choosing an adviser and about departmental and major advising by directors of undergraduate studies or their designated representatives is available on the Advising Resources website.
