November 12, 2025

Dear students,

Yale College is announcing some changes to the International Study Award (ISA) and Summer Experience Award (SEA) today. They are being made as part of Yale College’s long-term budget planning process in the wake of the recent increase in the endowment tax. In planning for the future, Yale College is prioritizing financial aid for students during the academic year while maintaining generous summer aid programming.

If you receive need-based financial aid from the University, these changes could influence your summer planning for 2026 and beyond. What follows is a summary of those changes; full details are available on the Office of Fellowships website.

Combined and renamed awards

Starting in the summer of 2027, the ISA and the SEA will be combined into a single award, the Yale College Summer Experience Grant; it will be available to you if you receive need-based financial aid from Yale and have not used an ISA or SEA in the past. It will support one approved summer program, including Yale Summer Session Abroad, research and internships.

Summer 2026

Summer 2026 will be a transition year: If you have used an ISA or SEA in a previous summer, you may apply for the other one in summer 2026. If you have not yet applied for the ISA or SEA, you may apply for one of them in summer 2026. However, if you use the ISA or SEA in summer 2026, you will not be eligible to use the Yale College Summer Experience Grant in a future summer.

Yale College Summer Experience Grant - 2027 onward

Starting in summer 2027, the new Yale College Summer Experience Grant will support one of two options: summer study abroad programs offered through Yale Summer Session Programs Abroad/Yale in London Summer OR an unpaid/underfunded and non-credit-bearing summer opportunity in the U.S. It may be an experience in a government office, a non-profit organization, a research setting, or an arts apprenticeship.

No restrictions on other fellowships

In addition to the Yale College Summer Experience Grant, you will retain access to Yale’s many competitive fellowships as well as to the STARS (Science, Technology and Research Scholars) Program and other summer fellowship opportunities. As a reminder: study abroad is available during the semester, and your financial aid can be transferred to support your semester study abroad experience. The changes described above affect only the SEA and ISA, which will be replaced in 2027 by the single Yale College Summer Experience Grant.

I am grateful to the advisers, deans, and staff who are here to support you as you plan the summers ahead. I am also deeply appreciative of Yale’s alumni, parents, and friends, whose generosity makes the Yale College Summer Experience Grant possible and preserves the opportunity for students to pursue a meaningful summer experience. For individual guidance, you can turn to the Office of Fellowships, the Office of Career Strategy, and your residential college deans.

Yale College's planning in the current financial climate as outlined in recent campus communications from the president and other university leaders is designed to have as little impact on undergraduate life as possible. Guiding Yale College in the choices ahead is its commitment to academic excellence, the undergraduate experience, and the university's mission.

Sincerely,

Pericles Lewis
Dean of Yale College
Douglas Tracy Smith Professor of Comparative Literature 
Professor of English