Yale provides tutoring in a range of academic subjects and in a variety of formats, from drop-in sessions and one-time appointments focusing on a single assignment to long-term assistance in a particular course of study. While tutoring programs differ in scope and arrangements, they are alike in that they are all available to Yale College students without charge.

Office of Educational Opportunity

The Office of Educational Opportunity helps students more easily access the programs and resources that can foster their success at Yale. This office oversees and plans programs for Academic Strategies, FGLI Peer Mentorship Groups, the FGLI Community Initiative, the STEM Navigators program, and the Disability Peer Mentor Program. For questions about any of these programs, contact Karin Gosselink, Assistant Dean for Educational Opportunity in Yale College.

Academic Strategies

The Academic Strategies Program provides information, workshops, and individual mentoring to all undergraduate students on the approaches central to active, empowered learning at Yale. Strategies discussed include time management, cultivating faculty mentorship, managing a heavy reading load, exam study strategies, and more. Workshops on these strategies are offered multiple times throughout the semester. Peer academic mentors also are available to help individual students develop and adapt strong academic strategies for their unique contexts. 

Academic Strategies also offers peer mentoring and workshops such as the Essentials for First Years series to help students quickly adapt to Yale College courses.

Students can sign up on the program website for one-hour mentoring sessions or request to be matched with a mentor by emailing academicstrategies@yale.edu. Faculty and staff also can directly refer students to Lynda Paul, Academic Strategies Program Associate Director.

First-generation/low-income (FGLI)community initiative

Students who identify as first-generation and/or lower-income (FGLI) can find guidance and community through our FGLI Peer Mentorship Groups and explore our FGL supports through our FGL Community Initiative. FGLI Peer Mentorship groups offer peer support for first-year and sophomore FGLI students. Biweekly sessions expose students to key academic, extracurricular, and pre-professional resources. Students sign up in early September; for more information, contact Karin Gosselink. 

stem navigators

STEM-interested students can attend workshops and receive mentorship through the STEM Navigators program. This program is designed to help first- and second-year Yale undergraduates negotiate their early STEM courses, research, and other opportunities. For information about STEM Navigators, contact Audrey Yeung, ASP Woodbridge Fellow.

Disability peer mentor program

The Disability Peer Mentor Program offers students with disabilities and neurodiverse students peer mentorship and access to professional learning support. It offers academic and other support programming for students with disabilities, including physical disabilities, learning differences, temporary disabilities, chronic illness, mental illness, and sensory disabilities. Students can meet with our staff Learning Specialist to discuss how to adjust their existing learning strategies to the demands of pursuing college-level work with a disability. We also offer support groups for students with ADHD and one-on-one peer mentoring through the Disability Peer Mentor Program. For more information or to refer a student to our disabilities support, contact Karin Gosselink.

Humanities and Social Science

The Humanities and Social Science Tutoring program offers one-on-one tutoring to students who are experiencing academic difficulty in a specific humanities or social science course (excluding economics courses, which fall under the Science & Quantitative Reasoning Tutoring Program). For purposes of eligibility, “academic difficulty” is defined as currently earning or likely to earn a grade of C or below in the course. Students who need such assistance should be referred to the residential college dean, who will help the student with the simple application process to obtain an individual tutor. Typically, these tutors are advanced undergraduates whose major is in the same department or discipline as the course.

Tutors normally must be requested within the first seven weeks of the course, i.e., by midterm. Students are eligible for ten hours of individual tutoring per course each term. For further information about humanities and social science (including economics courses) tutoring, please see the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning.

Languages

The Center for Language Study (CLS) offers one-on-one language tutoring for Yale students enrolled in language courses. Any enrolled student, from those who are struggling in the language to those who would like to further enhance their language skills, may request a language tutor. Each student is eligible for up to ten free sessions per term with a faculty-approved CLS tutor.

The Center also offers weekly drop-in tutoring sessions at Bass Library in ASL, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. Any Yale student—whether undergraduate, graduate, or professional—may attend these sessions. Please check the CLS website for a schedule.

Visit the CLS website to request a tutor or to read more about language tutoring and drop-in sessions. For additional information, contact David Ortega or Elizabeth Johnson.

Science and Quantitative Reasoning

Most SC & QR tutoring in Yale College happens through individual STEM courses, which frequently employ either undergraduate learning assistants (ULAs) or course-based peer tutors (CBPTs). Students should always start with the tutors assigned to the course and ask the course professor for guidance.

The Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning offers several tutoring programs for students in science and QR courses (including QR courses in the social sciences, such as economics).

The Residential College Math and Science Tutoring program offers tutoring in all areas of math and science at scheduled times in the residential colleges and at the Poorvu Center. Tutoring is available to any Yale College student on a walk-in basis. Areas of expertise and office hours for tutors are available on the website for the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning.

Finally, students who are having difficulty in a course beyond what residential college or course-based tutors can support may apply for small group tutoring. This tutoring is usually restricted to students whose early assignments put them on a track to earn a “C+” or below in a given course. Students are eligible for up to ten hours of work with a small group, led by an advanced undergraduate tutor with expertise in the discipline. Students can request this additional support either by talking to their residential college dean or downloading the application directly from the website for the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. Completed applications must also include a signature from the course instructor. 

Any faculty or staff members with questions may contact the Associate Director of STEM tutoring, Kailasnath Purushothaman.

Writing

Through the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, the Writing Center offers two opportunities for students to work closely with experienced writing coaches. 

First, a writing tutor is associated with each of the residential colleges. Each tutor is available for approximately eight hours a week to work with students on any writing project: course papers from across the curriculum, senior essays, graduate school and fellowship applications, or anything intended for publication. These Residential College Writing Tutors have substantial experience in drafting and revising prose—as classroom writing teachers or as professional editors and writers—and they provide an important resource for both students and faculty. Tutors usually meet with students by appointment on a one-to-one basis to discuss rough drafts of work in progress. Students often meet with the tutor in their own college, although they are welcome to see tutors in other colleges. 

The Writing Center is also home to the Yale College Writing Partners, who offer drop-in help with writing at the Poorvu Center in Sterling Memorial Library. Writing Partners also offer writing support online on select evenings and weekends. Writing Partners are Yale College or graduate school students selected both for their writing skills and for their ability to talk about writing. They can give feedback at any point in the writing process, from brainstorming to final revision.

Writing tutors and partners help all students, including English language learners, with a variety of topics or concerns surrounding writing, but they do not provide full editing or rewriting services. Their goal is to help students learn something about writing; the focus is more on the writer than on the particular paper being revised. Instructors who believe that a student’s work would benefit from additional help with writing should suggest that the student make an appointment with a Residential College Writing Tutor or work regularly with a writing partner; no referral from an instructor or a dean is required. Students who are interested in attending weekly meetings with the same writing partner throughout the semester can email Associate Director Paula Rawlins to request a Weekly Writing Partner. 

For more information about writing resources, visit the Poorvu Center website. Questions or suggestions about tutoring, or about other ways the Writing Center can help you and your students, should be directed to Alfred E. Guy Jr., Deputy Director, Poorvu Center.