The Non-degree Students program is designed to meet the needs of students with specific and defined educational goals, which may include personal or professional enrichment, exploration of new fields, or preparation for career changes. Normally, students are admitted for a period of one to two terms; students wishing to extend their enrollment must reapply through the Admissions Office.

The Non-degree Students program offers nonresident students who are unable to attend college full time the opportunity to enroll in Yale College courses for credit. The Non-degree Students program is open to graduates of Yale College, and is also open to academically qualified persons who have attended other colleges and universities or who have not continued their education beyond high school. Like all Yale College students, students in this program are required to comply with the academic regulations. Students not matriculated at Yale but participating in one of Yale's Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) programs under a cross-town arrangement are registered as non-degree students. As such, they are subject to Yale College undergraduate regulations as a condition of their participation in Yale's ROTC program.

Non-degree students may enroll in from one to five course credits in any academic term. Non-degree students may not take more than a total of eighteen course credits in the Non-degree Students program.

1. Academic requirements Non-degree students are required to meet all of the academic obligations of any course in which they enroll. At the end of a term, the record of any non-degree student who does not have at least a C average for that term will be reviewed and that student may not be permitted to enroll in a subsequent term. To remain in academic good standing, a student is furthermore expected to complete at least one course per term. Withdrawal from all courses in any given term may jeopardize good standing and enrollment in a subsequent term. Students who plan not to enroll in courses in any given term must apply for a leave of absence on or before the fifteenth day of the term in question. A leave of absence may be granted for no more than two terms. Any student who does not enroll in courses in a term and does not apply for a leave of absence may be removed from the program.
2. Enrollment and registration Non-degree enrollment may begin in either the fall or the spring term. All non-degree students register for courses with the Office of Academic Affairs. In general, admission to limited-enrollment courses is not available to non-degree students. Auditing is not permitted in the Non-degree Students program. Non-degree students are not eligible for enrollment in individual tutorial courses; nor are they eligible, while in the Non-degree Students program, for enrollment in courses in the graduate or the professional schools. Those interested in enrolling in such courses should apply directly to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences or to the particular professional school in whose courses they wish to enroll.
3. Credit/D/Fail option Non-degree students who wish to elect a course under the Credit/D/Fail option must make a compelling case for that election in a petition to the Director of Academic and Educational Affairs at least one week prior to the last day of classes in that term. Non-degree students may take no more than one course in a term using the Credit/D/Fail option, and must be enrolled in at least one other course worth a minimum of one course credit during the same term. A maximum of two courses may be taken Credit/D/Fail during a student’s time in the Non-degree Students program.
4. Tuition The tuition for non-degree students per course credit can be found on the Admissions, Non-degree Students Program website. Yale employees and their spouses are entitled to a tuition reduction; questions about this employee benefit should be directed to the Office of Human Resources, 203-432-5552. Tuition must be paid in full to the Office of Student Financial Services before registration. Yale provides no financial assistance for non-degree students. Students withdrawing from a course may be eligible for a refund of all or a portion of the tuition fees, in accordance with the tuition refund policy: (1) a student who drops a course for any reason on or before the last day of the add/drop period will be refunded the tuition fees paid for that course; (2) a student who drops a course for any reason after the add/drop period but on or before the day of midterm will be refunded one-half the tuition paid for that course; (3) a student who drops a course after midterm will not be refunded any portion of the tuition. Fees for late submission of course schedules apply as outlined in section E, Course Enrollment. Late tuition payments will be accepted no later than the course schedule deadline date (see the Yale College Calendar with Pertinent Deadlines). Any student who has not completed payment in full for courses by this deadline will not be permitted to enroll for that term.
5. Facilities and services Non-degree students are entitled to use the library system and other facilities that are required for the courses in which they are enrolled, such as laboratories, computers, and the like. For a fee, they are entitled to purchase gymnasium memberships and Yale Health coverage. Non-degree students are not eligible for undergraduate housing or dining hall meal plans, and they may not serve as first-year counselors.
6. Regulations Non-degree students are governed by the academic regulations of Yale College and by the rules contained in the Yale online publication Undergraduate Regulations. In disciplinary matters, non-degree students are subject to the jurisdiction of the Yale College Executive Committee.
7. Yale students Students who have withdrawn from Yale College or who did not complete degree requirements within the number of terms of enrollment for which they were admitted may not return to Yale College to complete degree requirements as non-degree students. This rule includes former Yale College students who are currently employees of the University. Students on leave of absence may not be admitted to the Non-degree Students program.
8. Yale graduates Graduates of Yale College who have received the bachelor’s degree after eight terms of regular enrollment are eligible to apply as non-degree students either on a full-time or on a part-time basis. But Yale College graduates who have taken degrees after fewer than eight terms of regular enrollment are eligible to apply as non-degree students only on a full-time basis until they have completed the equivalent of eight terms of enrollment in Yale College. Thus a student who took a seven-term degree must be a full-time student for the first term in which they are a non-degree student, but may be a part-time non-degree student in a subsequent term. For example, a student who has completed degree requirements at the end of a fall term after eight terms of regular enrollment is eligible to apply as a non-degree student either on a full-time basis or on a part-time basis during the subsequent spring term, but a student who has completed degree requirements at the end of a fall term after seven terms of regular enrollment is eligible to apply as a non-degree student during the subsequent spring term only on a full-time basis. Please note that any courses taken by a former Yale College student in the Non-degree Students program will appear on the undergraduate transcript.
9. Transfer students Students who have been accepted for admission as transfer students may not attend Yale as non-degree students before their first term of enrollment at Yale.
10. Yale employees Yale employees require permission of their supervisors to apply. 

Further information and application forms are available at the Non-degree Students Program website.