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<!doctype html> <html xml:lang="en" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <title>The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences < Yale University</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="google-site-verification" content="gVVqStu35k6xvXFdEFk4jzm-dzPPDhDIKVjUKHIQG04" /> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/search/opensearch.xml" title="%publicdesc%" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, minimum-scale=1.0" /> <link rel="icon" sizes="228x228" href="/images/touch-icon-228.png"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="228x228" href="/images/touch-icon-228.png"> <link href="/favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/reset.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/courseleaf.css?v=1720795011000" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/fonts/font-awesome/font-awesome.min.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto:400,300,400italic,500,700,500italic,700italic,300italic" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/screen.css?v=1720795011000" media="screen" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/print.css?v=1720795011000" media="print" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/jquery.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/lfjs.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/lfjs_any.js"></script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/js/lfjs.css?v=1720795015000" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/courseleaf.js?v=1720795015000"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/custom.js?v=1720795015000"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-43202520-1', 'yale.edu'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script> </head> <body class="yalecollege">  <div class="accessible noscript"> <div class="accessible-menu"> <ul> <li><a href="#content">Skip to Content</a></li> <li><a href="/">Catalog Home</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.yale.edu">Institution Home</a></li> </ul> </div> </div>   <header id="header" class="clearfix"> <div class="wrap clearfix"> <div id="logo" class="logo clearfix"> <a href="//bulletin.yale.edu">Bulletin of Yale University</a> </div> <div id="hamburger"><span>Menu</span></div> <div class="search" role="search"> <form id="catalog-search" id="cl-search" action="/search/" class="clearfix" role="search"> <label for="head-name" class="sr-only">Search Bulletin</label> <input type="submit" value="Search" class="submit"><i class="fa fa-search"></i> <input type="text" name="search" size="25" placeholder="Search This Site" class="searchbox" id="head-name" title="Search This Site"> </form> </div> </div> </header>  <div class="white-container"> <div class="wrap header-wrap"> <div id="edition">  <h1>Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Programs and Policies 2024–2025</h1> </div> <nav id="navigation" aria-label="header navigation"> <div class="wrap"> <ul class="clearfix dropNav"> <li><a href="#print-dialog" id="print-btn" onclick="showPrintDialog(); return false;">Print/Download Options</a></li> <li><a href="//bulletin.yale.edu/bulletins-pdf/bulletin-archive">Bulletin Archive</a></li> </ul> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="content-wrapper" class="wrap clearfix">  <div id="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-label="Breadcrumb navigation"> <ul><li><a href="/">Yale University Publications</a><span class="crumbsep"> / </span></li><li><a href="/gsas/">Graduate School of Arts and Sciences</a><span class="crumbsep"> / </span></li><li><span class="active">The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences</span></li></ul> </div> <div id="nav-col"> <div class="eds-container"> <h2> <button title="Explore previous editions" aria-controls="prev-eds" id="ed-switcher"> <span class="sr-only">Current Edition: </span>Graduate Archive<span class="sr-only">. Click to change.</span> </button> </h2> <div id="prev-eds" aria-hidden="false" aria-controled-by="ed-switcher" style="display: none"> <ul> <li><a href="http://catalog.yale.edu/archive/2021-2022/gsas/">2021-2022</a></li> <li><a href="http://catalog.yale.edu/archive/2020-2021/gsas/">2020-2021</a></li> <li><a href="http://catalog.yale.edu/archive/2019-2020/gsas/">2019-2020</a></li> <li><a href="http://catalog.yale.edu/archive/2018-2019/gsas/">2018-2019</a></li> <li><a href="http://catalog.yale.edu/archive/2017-2018/gsas/">2017-2018</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <a id="sidebar-nav-mobile">Catalog Navigation</a>  <nav id="cl-menu" aria-label="Catalog navigation"> <ul class="nav levelone" id="/gsas/"> <li><a href="/gsas/president-fellows/">The President and Fellows of Yale University</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/officers/">The Officers of Yale University</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/administration/">The Administration of the Graduate School</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/schedule-academic-dates-deadlines/">Schedule of Academic Dates and Deadlines</a></li> <li class="active self"><a href="#" onclick="return false;">The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences</a> <ul class="nav leveltwo" id="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/"> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/mission-statement/">Mission Statement</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/yale-world/">Yale and the World</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/dean/">The Dean</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/deputy-dean/">Deputy Dean</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/associate-assistant-deans-academic-affairs/">Associate and Assistant Deans for Academic Affairs</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/directors-graduate-studies-dgs/">Directors of Graduate Studies (DGS)</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/graduate-student-development-diversity/">Graduate Student Development and Diversity</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/mcdougal-graduate-student-center/">McDougal Graduate Student Center</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/admissions/">Admissions</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/financial-aid/">Financial Aid</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/registrars-office/">Registrar鈥檚 Office</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/teaching-fellow-program/">Teaching Fellow Program</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/committees/">Committees</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/graduate-student-assembly-gsa/">Graduate Student Assembly (GSA)</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/graduate-professional-student-senate-gpss/">Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS)</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/gsas/degree-granting-departments-programs/">Degree-Granting Departments and Programs</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/non-degree-granting-programs-councils-research-institutes/">Non-Degree-Granting Programs, Councils, and Research Institutes</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/policies-regulations/">Policies and Regulations</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/financing/">Financing Graduate School</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/yale-university-resources-services/">Yale University Resources and Services</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/work-yale-university/">The Work of Yale University</a></li> <li><a href="http://map.yale.edu/">Campus Map</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/policy-statements/">Yale University Policy Statements</a></li> <li><a href="/gsas/publication-data/">Publication Data</a></li> </ul> </nav>  </div> <div id="content-col"> <div id="content" role="main"> <h1>The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences</h1> <div id="textcontainer" class="tab_content"> <p class="_-regular-text">The Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is one of fifteen schools composing Yale University and the only one that awards the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Philosophy, Master of Arts, and Master of Science. The work of the graduate school is carried on in the divisions of the Humanities, Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Physical Sciences and Engineering. Fifty-eight departments and programs offer courses of study leading to the Ph.D. degree. Eighteen departments and programs offer terminal master鈥檚 degrees.</p> <p class="_-regular-text">Yale began to offer graduate education in 1847, and in 1861 it conferred the first Ph.D. degrees in North America. In 1876 Yale became the first American university to award the Ph.D. to an African American. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was formally established in 1892, when the first dean was appointed. It was in that same year that women were first admitted as candidates for the doctorate.</p> <p class="_-regular-text">The graduate-school community has grown vigorously since the early twentieth century; today it comprises more than 3,500 graduate students and a faculty of over 1,100 who are among the world鈥檚 most distinguished teachers and scholars. Admission to the graduate school is highly competitive; currently each entering class is made up of about 700 students.</p> <p class="_-regular-text">The graduate school鈥檚 purpose is to educate students in research, scholarship, and teaching in the arts and sciences. Under the guidance of the faculty, graduate students engage in advanced study of a discipline and then proceed to generate new knowledge and ideas through research. They learn to disseminate this knowledge in scholarly publications and teaching. Yale鈥檚 graduate students have built careers in colleges and universities, research laboratories, government, the nonprofit sector, and private industry. Their education equips them for leadership roles in each of these callings.</p> <p class="_-regular-text">Yale鈥檚 standing as a great international research university is based on the strength and reputation of its graduate programs. The pursuit of advanced learning and new knowledge takes place in the departments and programs of the graduate school. Thus, it is the graduate school that makes Yale a university. Furthermore, graduate students as scholars and teachers in training engage with undergraduates and the faculty. A shared sense of common purpose makes Yale a community of scholars and a center of vibrant, intellectual exchange.</p> <div class="notinpdf"> <div class="sitemap"><ul><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/mission-statement/">Mission Statement</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/yale-world/">Yale and the World</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/dean/">The Dean</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/deputy-dean/">Deputy Dean</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/associate-assistant-deans-academic-affairs/">Associate and Assistant Deans for Academic Affairs</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/directors-graduate-studies-dgs/">Directors of Graduate Studies (DGS)</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/graduate-student-development-diversity/">Graduate Student Development and Diversity</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/mcdougal-graduate-student-center/">McDougal Graduate Student Center</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/admissions/">Admissions</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/financial-aid/">Financial Aid</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/registrars-office/">Registrar鈥檚 Office</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/teaching-fellow-program/">Teaching Fellow Program</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/committees/">Committees</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/graduate-student-assembly-gsa/">Graduate Student Assembly (GSA)</a></li><li><a href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/graduate-professional-student-senate-gpss/">Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS)</a></li></ul></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <footer id="footer"> <div class="wrap clearfix"> <div class="footer-logo"><a href="http://www.yale.edu">Yale</a></div> <p class="copyright"> <a href="https://usability.yale.edu/web-accessibility/accessibility-yale">Accessibility at Yale</a> <i class="fa fa-circle" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a title="Yale Privacy policy" href="https://www.yale.edu/privacy-policy">Privacy policy</a> <br/>Copyright ©2024 Yale University <i class="fa fa-circle" aria-hidden="true"></i> All rights reserved <br/> <a href="mailto:courseleaf@yale.edu">Contact Us</a> </p> <ul class="menu"> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/YaleUniversity"><i class="fa fa-facebook-square"></i><span class="sr-only">Facebook</span></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.twitter.com/YalePrinter"><i class="fa fa-twitter"></i><span class="sr-only">Twitter</span></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/yale"><i class="fa fa-youtube-play"></i><span class="sr-only">YouTube</span></a></li> <li><a href="http://weibo.com/yaleuniversity"><i class="fa fa-weibo"></i><span class="sr-only">Sina Weibo</span></a></li> <li><a href="http://yaleuniversity.tumblr.com"><i class="fa fa-tumblr-square"></i><span class="sr-only">Tumblr</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </footer> <div id="print-dialog" aria-labelledby="dialog-title" class="screen" role="dialog"> <div class="print-header"> <button onclick="hidePrintDialog(); return false;" aria-controls="#print-dialog"> <span class="sr-only">Close this window</span> </button> <h2 id="dialog-title">Print Options</h2> </div> <div class="print-body"> <ul> <li> <p><a class="option-name" href="#" role="button" onclick="hidePrintDialog();window.print();return false">Send Page to Printer</a></p> <p class="option-desc">Print this page.</p> </li> <li><p><a class="option-name" href="/gsas/school-arts-sciences/school-arts-sciences.pdf" role="button">Download Page (PDF)</a></p><p class="option-desc">The PDF will include all information unique to this page.</p></li><li><p><a class="option-name" href="https://bulletin.yale.edu/sites/default/files/graduate-2024-2025.pdf" target="_blank">Download 2024-2025 Graduate PDF</a></p></li> </ul> </div> </div> </body> <script async src="https://siteimproveanalytics.com/js/siteanalyze_66356571.js"></script> </html>