Advising

Yale offers many avenues to receive accurate information and support. Please take advantage of them, especially when planning your program of study. Below are some resources that can be very useful in navigating the ins and outs of Yale College. 

Residential College Dean Your primary academic adviser is your residential college dean, to whom you may always turn for academic and personal advice. The dean lives and has an office in your residential college. They can answer questions about academic requirements and connect you to other advising resources on campus. In addition, your residential college dean oversees your college’s own advising networks. On the first evening of First-Year Orientation, your dean will welcome you at a meeting of all the first-year students in your residential college. They will give you some recommendations about how best to take advantage of the opening days and course selection period. You will have many occasions to meet with the dean throughout the first year. If you have a question to which you cannot find an answer, or if you need advice you cannot find elsewhere, consult your dean. 

First-year Counselor Your first-year counselors (FroCos) are seniors who live in your residential college. They are can offer suggestions about curricular and extracurricular choices, take an interest in your concerns, and give firsthand advice on how best to use the academic and other resources of your residential college and of Yale College.

College Adviser Your first-year adviser is a Yale faculty member or an individual affiliated with your residential college who has volunteered to talk with you about your academic interests and aspirations. They can offer general guidance about constructing a sensible overall schedule for your first year, help you think through larger questions and plans, and direct you to relevant resources. Please note that the primary purposes of these conversations are to provide general advice about acclimating to Yale’s academic culture and to give you an opportunity to become acquainted with a member of the faculty or individual affiliated with your residential college. Specific questions about particular courses or requirements should be directed to the relevant academic department or your residential college dean. 

Resident Fellows Resident fellows are Yale faculty or staff members who live in apartments in the residential colleges or on the Old Campus, oftentimes with family members. They work with the head of college and dean to provide supplemental oversight and support for students. 

Departmental Advising and the Academic Fair A number of activities during your first few days on campus will help you get the academic year started, including opportunities to hear faculty presentations at departmental meetings, sign up for course sections,  take placement tests, consult directors of undergraduate studies, and  attend orientation sessions led by the Health Professions Advisory Program or the Center for International Experience.  Each academic department has a director of undergraduate studies (DUS) with whom you can discuss the department’s course offerings and major requirements. Contact information for each DUS is printed by department in the Yale College Programs of Study (the YCPS, or “Blue Book,” which will be mailed to you in August). A separate list of DUSes is posted on the Yale College website. Large departments may also have departmental representatives in the residential colleges; the YCPS lists the names of these representatives. The annual Academic Fair is also a particularly important opportunity to gather information about academic programs. It is held on the Tuesday afternoon before classes begin. At this event, directors of undergraduate studies and faculty members from most academic programs and departments will be available to offer you guidance about courses, placement, and prerequisites for majors. You are strongly urged to attend. 

Future Advising Your first-year counselor, college adviser, and college dean are your first points of contact with the advising network. However, many members of the faculty are also available to talk to you and you will meet them in the natural course of your studies. Often the best advising relationships arise from shared interests and experiences that begin in the classroom. Starting in your first year, you should seek out faculty members who might be good counselors and guides. 

At the end of your first year, you will choose your sophomore adviser, a faculty member who will help you select courses and shape a program of study for your second year. In your junior and senior years your adviser will be a faculty member in your major, often the DUS. Remember that these advising resources are of little use if you do not actively take advantage of them. During each of your four years, if you look for faculty members whom you would like to get to know, you will often find generous support. Finally, keep in mind that you may always consult your residential college dean if you are unsure of where to go for help.