Multidisciplinary Academic Programs provide opportunities for Yale College students to examine pressing social challenges from a variety of disciplinary perspectives among a community of students and faculty who have shared interests. Students from any major can participate in these programs, and faculty from across the University contribute to them. Each program focuses centrally on a distinct and different set of issues, but they all share common features, including a set of commonly taken courses and opportunities for practical experience that allow students to combine theory and practice, applying what they have learned in the classroom and in their research. Each of these programs offers an interdisciplinary certificate for students who complete stated requirements. 

Education Studies

The Education Studies Program in Yale College provides a structure for students interested in the research, policy, and practice of education. By virtue of studying education at Yale, students engage in the interdisciplinary study of a primary institution impacting citizenship, governance, social reproduction, child development, and social inequality. Students seeking to engage with Education Studies can pursue one of two certificates alongside their major: the Scholars Intensive Certificate, with a focus on learning with a cohort of Yale students and completing a senior year research or creative capstone project, or the uncapped Education Studies Certificate, which offers an individualized pathway to develop expertise through Education Studies coursework. For more information, see the program website.

Global Health Studies

The Global Health Studies Program prepares students to critically engage with global health and its multifaceted concerns in contemporary societies. Global health is an interdisciplinary field, and as such, students develop a sophisticated understanding of the roles of politics, history, and economics, engage with the insights of anthropology, ethics, law, and sociology, and relate this knowledge to public health and the biomedical sciences. Students who seek to earn a Global Health Studies certificate need to apply to the program in sophomore year and will be expected to complete interdisciplinary coursework to gain a broad understanding of global health research, practice, and leadership. For more information, see the program website.

Human Rights Studies

The Human Rights Studies program presents human rights as a rich and interdisciplinary field of study. The program aims to provide students with the analytical, conceptual, and practical skills necessary for human rights study; connect students to affiliate faculty and peers; support student research projects and internships; and offer guidance for post-graduate careers and studies related to human rights. Students who seek to earn a Human Rights Studies certificate need to apply to the program in sophomore year and will be expected to complete interdisciplinary coursework to gain a broad understanding of contemporary issues such as gender disparities, racial discrimination, climate change, global health, human trafficking, refugees, world poverty, and humanitarian intervention. For more information, see the program website.