The Yale Graduate School has always comprised an international community, but it recognizes as well that now, more than ever, advanced scholarship must occur on trans­national grounds. It is increasingly important that we prepare our students to participate in a global economy of research and knowledge and that we create institutional channels through which such participation can flourish. In addition to formal student exchanges that enable graduate students to perform research and fieldwork abroad, individual faculty members, departments, and the school participate in collaborative efforts with international partners.

Over forty percent of full-time graduate students at Yale come from outside the United States. In addition, many international students come to the graduate school as nondegree students in the Division of Special Registration (DSR). DSR students may undertake course work and/or research for periods of one term or one year. When appropriate the period may extend for a second year. These students are subject to the usual admissions procedure, are admitted to a department, and often work with a specific faculty member.

A Global University

Global engagement is core to Yale’s mission as one of the world’s great universities. Yale aspires to:

• Be the university that best prepares students for global citizenship and leadership
• Be a worldwide research leader on matters of global import
• Be the university with the most effective global networks

Yale’s engagement beyond the United States dates from its earliest years. The university remains committed to attracting the best and brightest from around the world by offering generous international financial aid packages, conducting programs that introduce and acclimate international students to Yale, and fostering a vibrant campus community.

Yale’s globalization is guided by the vice provost for global strategy, who is responsible for ensuring that Yale’s broader global initiatives serve its academic goals and priorities, and for enhancing Yale’s international presence as a leader in liberal arts education and as a world-class research institution. The vice provost works closely with academic colleagues in all of the university’s schools and provides support and strategic guidance to the many international programs and activities undertaken by Yale faculty, students, and staff.

Teaching and research at Yale benefit from the many collaborations underway with the university’s international partners and the global networks forged by Yale across the globe. International activities across all Yale schools include curricular initiatives that enrich classroom experiences from in-depth study of a particular country to broader comparative studies; faculty research and practice on matters of international importance; the development of online courses and expansion of distance learning; and the many fellowships, internships, and opportunities for international collaborative research projects on campus and abroad. Together these efforts serve to enhance Yale’s global educational impact and are encompassed in the university’s global strategy.

The Office of International Affairs (https://world.yale.edu/oia) provides administrative support for the international activities of all schools, departments, centers, and organizations at Yale; promotes Yale and its faculty to international audiences; and works to increase the visibility of Yale’s international activities around the globe. OIA also coordinates Yale's program for hosting scholars at risk.

The Office of International Students and Scholars (https://oiss.yale.edu) hosts orientation programs and social activities for the university’s international community and is a resource for international students and scholars on immigration matters and other aspects of acclimating to life at Yale.

The Yale Alumni Association (https://alumni.yale.edu) provides a channel for communication between the alumni and the university and supports alumni organizations and programs around the world.

Additional information may be found on the “Yale and the World” website (https://world.yale.edu), including resources for those conducting international activities abroad and links to international initiatives across the university.