The schedule of study at YDS normally consists of twelve credit hours each term. Students in their first term are strongly discouraged from registering for more than fourteen credit hours of study. A minimum enrollment of three credit hours per term is required; students considering part-time study should be aware of policies regarding the pace of study for international students, eligibility for Yale Health coverage, living in Graduate Housing, and applying for or receiving federal student loans.

A student must take at least one-half of each term’s work with members of the YDS faculty. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with and consider relevant courses offered elsewhere in the University. Graduate- or professional-level courses given by other departments and schools of the University may be taken with approval of the faculty adviser, and with the permission of the instructor of the course. Additional work is normally required in undergraduate courses presented for YDS credit. (For regulations governing interdepartmental study, see Interdepartmental Studies, under Interdisciplinary Study in the chapter Other Curricular Considerations.) Daytime Yale Shuttle service is provided every fifteen minutes from YDS through the central campus to the School of Medicine. There is also a shuttle connecting Yale West Campus to both the central campus and the School of Medicine.

Each course in YDS normally carries three hours of credit unless otherwise stated.