Academic Advising for Transfer Students 

A “constellation of advisers” is available to you to help you learn about Yale, create an educational plan, follow Yale’s guidelines, and fulfill the requirements.

During the summer, the director of the transfer student program will assign you an academic adviser, generally a dean or senior staff member in the Yale College Dean’s Office. Soon after arrival on campus, you should contact your adviser to set up a time to meet and discuss your academic plans and any other questions you might have about your transition to Yale. It’s likely that your adviser will be able to answer your questions but, if not, he or she will direct you to faculty members, administrators or, perhaps, more senior transfer students, who can. You may also find that your adviser's advice will prove invaluable, not just as you learn to navigate Yale but throughout your career here.

Your residential college dean and the director of the transfer student program are also available to counsel students on personal and academic matters, and give advice about the rules of Yale College. Your residential college dean, in particular, is available to you, as to all students in his or her college, to provide academic advice at any time. Your dean will also reach out to you in the first weeks of the fall term to schedule a get-acquainted meeting.

Questions about your transfer credits or whether your transfer credits can be applied towards Yale's distributional requirements should be addressed to the director of the transfer student program. Questions about prospective majors can be answered by the directors of undergraduate studies (DUS) of the various departments or programs (and you'll have an opportunity to meet them during orientation at the Academic Fair). Yale also offers many other resources for transfer students, beginning with those listed under Academics on this website.

Academic advisers will direct any transfer student who has already selected a major to the DUS of the relevant department or program, but will remain available during your first year for holistic, non-major-related advising.

Lastly, you will be assigned a "transfer peer adviser," selected from former transfer students, for peer-to-peer advice. Your "TPA" will contact you over the summer and will guide you through transfer student orientation in the fall.

As you plan, you should keep in mind that the normal per-term course load is four or five course credits, and that, for the first term, transfer students are strongly advised to take no more than four courses.

Transfer Student Orientation

- Residential college orientation events and transfer student orientation events begin
Residential college orientation events and transfer student orientation events continue
Transfer Student Welcome Dinner with Dean Sodi (mandatory)