We officially call this publication the Yale College Programs of Study, but generations of students and faculty have known it simply as the blue book. A companion to the roughly 2,000 courses to be offered in Yale College in 2024–2025, the blue book is a resource to use as you learn about the curriculum, intended to complement the counsel of faculty and deans who can guide you. Here you will find the guiding principles of Yale College's liberal arts education, including its distributional and major requirements. Use it to explore old and new interests in ways that will lead you to become cultivated citizens of the world. Our expectation is that when you leave Yale, you will not only have acquired a trained mind, broadened knowledge, and a greater sense of citizenship; you also will have come to a deeper understanding of the continuing joy of disciplined learning.

We hope that the blue book will stir you to consider courses of study that you had never before imagined and lead you deeper into intellectual worlds you already have explored. It represents the heart and soul of what the Yale faculty holds in promise for you. It comes to you with our best wishes for a successful year.