Yale College
Dean's Office
P.O. Box 208241
New Haven, CT
06520-8241   USA

Physical address:
1 Prospect Street
SSS 110
New Haven, CT
06510

phone: 203-432-2900
FAX: 203-432-7369

Requirements & Forms

Notice 

The application forms have recently been updated (May 2009). Please be sure to use these new forms for the September 1 deadline for Spring 2010 courses.

Deadlines:
 

  • September 1st, 2009 (For Spring Term 2010)
  • January 12th, 2010 (For Fall Term 2010)

Note: The College Seminar Office is closed June 15 - Aug 15.

I. Proposal Form and Other Required Elements for a Complete Application.

Instructions:

To download the writable, savable PDF forms (Proposal Form, Budget Information Form, Form for Yale Graduate Students) follow the instructions below:

Please email the requested materials to the College Seminar Office. The naming convention for the forms is LastnameFormname.pdf,

  • Ex., A person with the last name Doe will save the completed proposal form as DoeProposalform.pdf.
  
In This Section 

Residential College Seminars

Related Documents (PDFs)
  1. Course Proposal Form (writable, savable PDF - revised 5/16/09)
    This form contains the information that will appear in the online course description of the course.
  2. Applicant Resume or Curriculum Vitae
    A bio is not acceptable. CV is not required for Yale College faculty or emeriti.
  3. Week-by-week Syllabus
    The syllabus should begin with a 1-page course description and should include topics and specified readings (with chapters or page numbers specified) for thirteen two-hour class sessions. The syllabus is critical; it should be specific in detail and include a breakdown by percentage of the components of a student's grade (please note that classroom participation can represent no more than 20%-25% of a final grade). The syllabus should contain a bibliography of texts that will be discussed each week.

    Although an instructor may revise the syllabus while preparing to teach the course, the syllabus presented for review by the faculty committees should be as thorough and as accurate as possible. This is particularly true in the case of instructors with little classroom experience. A short narrative for each week indicating themes and goals (and/or questions for weekly discussion) proves useful to the committee in determining the overarching academic context for the course. A list of thirteen weekly topics is not sufficient.

    See the following sample syllabi: Example Syllabus 1 (PDF), Example Syllabus 2 (PDF)
  4. Supplemental Bibliography (optional)
  5. Budget Information Form (writable, savable PDF - revised 5/16/09)
    The applicant must request any funds needed for the course in advance. If the course is sponsored, the instructor will be notified by the program coordinator if requests have been approved. No travel support is provided. No application is complete without this form.
  6. Additional Form for Yale Graduate Students (writable, savable PDF - revised 5/16/09)

II. Letters of Recommendation

In addition to the required components listed above, two current letters of recommendation must be requested by the applicant. A single copy of each letter should be sent directly by the recommender to Catherine Suttle, Residential College Seminar Program, P.O. Box 208241, New Haven, CT 06520-8241 (Campus Address: SSS 20 (lower level) Rm 30, 1 Prospect St. Letters submitted at the time of an application remain on file for 2 years, but an additional new or updated letter is required each time a proposal is submitted.

The deadline for letters of recommendation is three weeks after the proposal due date. At least one of the letters of reference should address the teaching ability or potential of the applicant.

III. Additional Required Supporting Materials

  1. For a member of the Yale University faculty: letter from the Chair or Dean approving release time within 3 weeks of the application deadline.
  2. For a faculty member of another educational institution: letter from the applicant's Chair or Dean approving teaching within 3 weeks of the application deadline.
  3. For students in the Yale Graduate School: confirmation from the DGS that the candidate is ABD and signature of the candidate's dissertation advisor granting permission to teach a college seminar (form provided) submitted in one copy to the Central Office, SSS 20 (lower level) Rm 30, 1 Prospect St., within 3 weeks of the application deadline.
  4. For students enrolled in Yale's professional schools: a letter from the Registrar or Dean confirming student’s registration in final year of the program within 3 weeks of the application deadline.

Note: Graduate students from institutions other than Yale are not eligible to teach in the Residential College Seminar Program.