The Eli Whitney Students program is designed to meet the needs of students who may not be able to attend college full-time by allowing nonresident students to enroll full-time or part-time in Yale College. Students are eligible to enroll in the program if they do not already hold a bachelor’s degree and if they have a five-year gap at least in their post-secondary school education or have been out of high school for five or more years by the time of their matriculation at Yale.

The Eli Whitney Students program is for enrollment for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.) only; students in the program are therefore ineligible for the simultaneous award of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees. 

1. Academic requirements The Eli Whitney Students program normally is to be completed in a period not exceeding seven years from initial enrollment. In any calendar year, an Eli Whitney student must have completed three course credits to remain in academic good standing. Eli Whitney students are required to meet all of the academic obligations of any course in which they enroll and all requirements of their degree program. 

2. Academic Warning, and dismissal for academic reasons Academic Warning is an indication that a student’s scholastic record is unsatisfactory. Academic Warning will be automatic for Eli Whitney students who do not complete three course credits in any calendar year, as well as in the following cases: (a) failure in one term to earn at least one course credit; (b) a record that shows two grades of F in one term; (c) in two successive terms, a record that shows a grade of F for any course. A record that shows a grade of F for an Eli Whitney student who is on Academic Warning in that term will result in that student’s dismissal for academic reasons.

3. Degree requirements To qualify for the bachelor's degree through the Eli Whitney Students program, Eli Whitney students must fulfill all the requirements for the bachelor's degree. They must thus earn a total of the equivalent of at least thirty-six course credits. Eli Whitney students must enroll in Yale College for at least four terms, earning by attendance in the Eli Whitney Students program at least eighteen of the required thirty-six credits. As many as eighteen course credits earned at another college or university or in the Non-degree Students program at Yale may be transferred toward the requirements for the bachelor's degree. Such transfer credit will be awarded for academic courses that were taken at an accredited institution and that were similar in content to Yale courses. Grades of A or B are expected, and no more than one-quarter of courses accepted for transfer toward the requirements for the degree may have grades of C. Eli Whitney students also must complete the requirements of a major program in Yale College and fulfill the distributional requirements for the bachelor’s degree. See Majors in Yale College and The Undergraduate Curriculum under Major Programs. 

4. Distributional requirements Eli Whitney students are not bound by the distributional requirements for the first year, sophomore year, or junior year, but must nonetheless fulfill the distributional requirements for the bachelor's degree. Once accepted for admission, Eli Whitney students should consult with the director of the Eli Whitney Students Program in order to ascertain their status with regard to the distributional requirements. Eli Whitney students who matriculate at Yale with no previous language training must complete three terms of instruction in a single language. This requirement is fulfilled by the completion of courses designated L1, L2, and L3. Eli Whitney students who matriculate at Yale with prior language training or with prior, approved college-level language courses should consult with the director of the Eli Whitney Students Program about the language requirement.
5. Credit/D/Fail Eli Whitney students have up to four opportunities to convert a course to the Credit/D/Fail option. As many as two credits may be elected under the Credit/D/Fail option in a term. Thus, in an academic year, a student may earn as many as four credits on the Credit/D/Fail option. Because Eli Whitney students are permitted to enroll in as few as three course credits in a calendar year, and thus sometimes enroll in only one course credit in a term, special limits apply. An Eli Whitney student enrolled in four or more course credits in a term may elect up to two course credits that term under the Credit/D/Fail option; an Eli Whitney student enrolled in three or 3.5 course credits in a term may elect up to 1.5 course credits that term under the Credit/D/Fail option; and an Eli Whitney student enrolled in two or 2.5 course credits in a term may elect up to one course credit that term under the Credit/D/Fail option. An Eli Whitney student enrolled in fewer than two course credits in a term may not elect any course credits that term under the Credit/D/Fail option.        
6. Registration and enrollment Eli Whitney students enroll in courses as described in section E, Course Enrollment, and according to the deadline stipulated in the Yale College Calendar with Pertinent Deadlines. Students are permitted to enroll for a full course load, up to 5.5 course credits each term, with the possibility of a greater term load if appropriate permissions are secured. See section C, Course Credits and Course Loads, “Normal Program of Study.” Eli Whitney students are eligible to enroll in Directed Studies or First-Year Seminars only in certain limited conditions. Students should consult with the director of the Eli Whitney Students program in order to ascertain their eligibility.
7. Tuition and financial aid Eli Whitney students are not to be charged in excess of the maximum full tuition rate in any given term. Yale employees enrolled in the Eli Whitney Students Program are entitled to a tuition reduction as determined by the Office of Human Resources. Tuition must be paid in full to the Office of Student Financial Services before registration. Eli Whitney students are eligible to apply for financial aid. For more information about tuition and financial aid, see Financial Aid for Eli Whitney Students.
8. Facilities and services Eli Whitney students are entitled to use the library system together with the other facilities that are required for the courses in which they are enrolled, such as laboratories, computers, and the like. They are also eligible for services through the Center for International and Professional Experience. Eli Whitney students are entitled to purchase gymnasium memberships and Yale Health coverage. Students in the Eli Whitney program are not eligible for undergraduate housing and they may not serve as first-year counselors.
9. Regulations Eli Whitney students are governed by the academic regulations of Yale College, wherever appropriate, and by the rules contained in the Yale online publication Undergraduate Regulations. In disciplinary matters, Eli Whitney students are subject to the jurisdiction of the Yale College Executive Committee.
10. Leave of absence and withdrawal See section J, Time Away and Return. All regular deadlines and policies apply.
11. Transcripts An Eli Whitney student’s Yale transcript indicates the institutions from which the student transferred to Yale, the number of course credits earned there, and the titles of courses taken. It does not list grades earned at the student’s previous colleges or universities. An Eli Whitney student who needs a record of studies completed before admission to Yale must secure a transcript from the previous institutions.
12. Course credit from outside Yale Students enrolled in the Eli Whitney Students program may receive up to two course credits for work completed outside Yale after matriculation, according to the guidelines of section Q, Credit from Other Universities, provided that they enroll in Yale College for at least four terms, earning by attendance at Yale a minimum of eighteen course credits.
13. Year or Term Abroad With the approval of the director of the Eli Whitney Students program and the Committee on the Year or Term Abroad, students enrolled in the Eli Whitney Students program may undertake study outside the United States for a Year or Term Abroad. An Eli Whitney student must comply with all deadlines and requirements of the Committee on the Year or Term Abroad. See section L, Special Academic Arrangements, “Year or Term Abroad.” To be eligible to apply, an Eli Whitney student must have accumulated, before enrolling abroad, at least twelve course credits but no more than twenty-two course credits toward the 36-course-credit requirement. Study abroad must involve full-time work at the university level. Eli Whitney students must enroll for at least two terms in Yale College after their return from study abroad.
14. Yale students No person who was ever a regular student in Yale College may enter the Eli Whitney Students program before the lapse of five years after withdrawing from Yale College. A person who in the past has withdrawn from Yale College without graduating and who wishes to return to Yale as a candidate for the bachelor’s degree as an Eli Whitney student must make application to the Eli Whitney Students program and fulfill all of its requirements for the bachelor’s degree, including the requirement that at least eighteen course credits must be earned while the student is enrolled in the Eli Whitney Students program. Once a former Yale College student has entered the Eli Whitney Students program, that student may pursue the bachelor’s degree only through the Eli Whitney Students program.

Further information and application forms for the Eli Whitney Students program are available from the Undergraduate Admissions Office's Eli Whitney Students Program website.