Yale Facts
Who goes to Yale?
- Students from all 50 United States and 73 other countries
- 5,300 undergraduates: 49% women; 30% minority students; 8% international students; 55% students from public schools and 45% from private or parochial schools
- Class of 2010 in profile:
- 95% of incoming freshmen ranked in the top tenth of high school graduating class
- The middle 50% of SAT scores for last year's incoming freshmen: 700-790 on both the math and verbal sections; middle 50% of ACT scores: 29-34
- 95% of incoming freshmen ranked in the top tenth of high school graduating class
Curricular Profile
Academic requirements
- Must complete 36 courses in 8 semesters
- Must complete the requirements of the major(s), including a senior essay or project
- Students are required to take at least two courses each in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences and to demonstrate proficiency in quantitative reasoning, foreign language, and writing by completing designated courses in those areas.
- 2,000 courses in over 70 majors
- Approximately 14% have double majors
- Directed Studies: a selective freshman program in the humanities that introduces students to the fundamental works and ideas of Western culture through several intellectual disciplines
- Perspectives on Science: a lecture and discussion course for those freshmen who have unusually strong backgrounds in science and mathematics with a summer research option
- Undergraduate research opportunities through individual faculty sponsored research projects in the departments, fellowships, travel grants, and interdepartmental research programs
- Joint B.A./M.A. programs: students of exceptional ability may undertake graduate work that will qualify them for the simultaneous award of the bachelor's and master's degrees at the end of their senior year
- Special Divisional Majors: for students who want to design a major to suit their specific academic interests
- Study Abroad: programs that enable a student to earn a full term or year of credit toward the bachelor's degree
- Residential College Seminars on topics that fall outside the departmental curricula
Yale's commitment to undergraduate teaching
- Student:faculty ratio of 7:1
- All tenured professors of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences teach undergraduate courses.
- 75% of courses enroll fewer than 20 students
- 29% of courses enroll fewer than 10 students
Resources and facilities
- $15 billion endowment
- $300 million residential college renewal project
- $500 million currently for new science facilities
- A 900-acre campus with over 200 buildings
- Over a dozen libraries totaling 11 million volumes
- Sterling Memorial Library, 2nd largest university library in the country
- Payne Whitney Gymnasium, 2nd largest gymnasium in the world
Yale graduates who have made a difference
- U.S. Presidents William Howard Taft, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
- Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
- Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., Director of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins and author of three best selling books: Gifted Hands, Think Big, and The Big Picture
- Marian Wright Edelman, founder of The Children's Defense Fund
- Philip S. Deloria, Director, American Indian Law Center, expert on the rights of indigenous peoples
- U.S. Senators and Governors including Hillary Clinton, Joseph Lieberman, James Jeffords, Howard Dean, Tony Knowles, and George Pataki
- Entertainers Jodie Foster, Angela Bassett, Sigourney Weaver, Sam Waterston, Ed Norton and Meryl Streep
- Chris Lee, former President of TriStar Pictures and Columbia Pictures
- Gary Trudeau, creator of "Doonesbury"
- Ming Tsai, host of "Simply Ming" on PBS
- Supreme Court Justices Byron White, Potter Stewart, and Clarence Thomas
- Indra Nooyi, President and Chief Financial Officer of PepsiCo
- Professional and Olympic athletes, including Virginia Gilder (Olympic rower), Chris Dudley (NBA), Calvin Hill (NFL), Ron Darling (MLB), and Christine Ernst (Olympic rower)
- Dr. Patricia Nez Henderson, Vice-President of the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health
- Michiko Kakutani, New York Times book critic
- Twelve Nobel Laureates, most recently John Fenn (Chemistry, 2002), Raymond Davis (Physics, 2002), George Akerlof (Economics, 2001), David Lee (Physics, 1996), Eric Wieschaus (Physiology and Medicine, 1995), and Alfred Gilman (Physiology and Medicine, 1994)
Life at Yale
The residential college system
- All undergraduates assigned to one of 12 residential colleges, each with 400-475 undergraduates, a master, and a dean
- Masters oversee the educational and social programs for each college.
- College deans see to the academic welfare of students.
- Tutors and faculty representatives from the major academic departments are assigned to each college.
- Each college has its own library, dining hall, computer room, and exercise facilities.
- College activities include intramural athletics, artistic performances, and social events.
Community service
- Over 75% of Yale students active in community service
- Dwight Hall at Yale (www.yale.edu/dwighthall) one of the largest campus-based community service programs in the country
Athletics
- Over 70% of Yale students participate in intercollegiate or intramural athletics.
- The Yale Athletic Department includes 35 varsity teams, most in NCAA Division I, and over 30 club and intramural sports.
- Varsity Sports:
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- Club and intramural sports include rugby, cricket, wrestling, ultimate frisbee, basketball, and water polo.
- For more information see the Athletics Web site.
Journalism
- Oldest college daily, the Yale Daily News, in addition to approximately 50 other student publications
Arts and culture
- Music: Yale Symphony Orchestra, Yale Concert Band, Whiffenpoofs, Whim n' Rhythm, Baker's Dozen, Shades, New Blue, Alley Cats, and many other groups
- Theater: Yale Dramatic Association, Children's Theater, student productions and improvisational comedy, Six Feet Under, Yale Cabaret, Yale Exit Players, and Fifth Humour. Over 200 theatrical productions each year.
- Art: Yale Art Gallery, Yale Center for British Art
- Peabody Museum of Natural History student organizations
- Over 300 student-run organizations: student government, publications, music, debate, student activism, theater and dance
- Cultural Centers: La Casa Cultural, Afro-American Cultural Center, Asian American Cultural Center, Association of Native Americans at Yale, Despierta Boricua
- Religious groups: Luther House, St. Thomas More House (Roman Catholic), Muslim Students' Association, and the Slifka Center (Yale Hillel)
- For a complete list of organizations see: www.yale.edu/yaleinfo/studentorgs.html
Other social activities
- Master's Teas: residential college masters invite students into their homes to meet people of note from around the world. Guests have included former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, NAACP Chairman of the Board Julian Bond, and celebrities Spike Lee and Al Pacino.
- Spring Fling: annual free concert that has featured such acts as Ben Harper, Rusted Root, Wyclef Jean, and George Clinton
Equal Opportunity Statement
The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and affirmatively seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons of diverse backgrounds. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual's sex, race, color, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran, or national or ethnic origin; nor does Yale discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
