Distributional Requirements for the Class of 2009 and Subsequent Classes
Distributional requirements for the bachelor's degree.
Students are required to take no fewer than two course credits in the humanities and arts, two course credits in the sciences, and two course credits in the social sciences. In addition to completing courses in these disciplinary areas, students must fulfill skills requirements by taking two course credits in quantitative reasoning, two course credits in writing, and courses to further their foreign language proficiency. Depending on their level of accomplishment in foreign languages at matriculation, students may fulfill this last requirement with one, two, or three courses or by a combination of course work and approved study abroad.
Courses that fulfill the distributional requirements are designated in the course listings in chapter IV by the abbreviations Hu, Sc, So, QR, WR, and, for the foreign language requirement, L1, L2, L3, L4, or L5.
No credits earned in courses completed on a Credit/D/Fail basis may be used to fulfill any of the distributional requirements, nor may credits earned in independent study, tutorial, directed research, or directed reading courses. In addition, acceleration credits may not be applied toward fulfillment of distributional requirements.
Distributional requirements for the freshman, sophomore, and junior years.
Students benefit most from fulfilling the distributional requirements early in their college careers and then building on their new knowledge and capabilities. Yale College recognizes this benefit by requiring partial fulfillment of the distributional requirements during the freshman, sophomore, and junior years.
Distributional requirements for the freshman year:
Students must have enrolled for at least one course credit in two skills categories (foreign language, quantitative reasoning, writing) by the end of the second term of enrollment in order to be eligible for promotion to sophomore standing. They may elect no more than four course credits in a single department, and no more than six course credits in a single disciplinary area (humanities and arts, sciences, social sciences), except that a student taking a laboratory course may elect as many as seven course credits in the sciences.
Distributional requirements for the sophomore year:
Students must have enrolled for at least one course credit in each of the three disciplinary areas and for at least one course credit in each of the three skills categories by the end of the fourth term of enrollment in order to be eligible for promotion to junior standing.
Distributional requirements for the junior year:
Students must have completed all of their skills requirements by the end of the sixth term of enrollment in order to be eligible for promotion to senior standing.
Area requirement in the humanities and arts (two course credits).
Study of the humanities and arts—those subjects that explore the full range of human thought, expression, and endeavor—cultivates an educated appreciation of the greatest accomplishments of the past and enriches the capacity to participate consciously in the life of our time. By engaging other civilizations, both ancient and modern, students gain insight into the experiences of others and enhance the critical examination of their own culture. Those who create or perform works of art experience firsthand the joy and discipline of artistic expression. Because students of the humanities and arts examine the value and purpose of all that surrounds them in a rigorous and systematic way, they acquire essential preparation for careers in many areas of modern life. But independently of any specific application, study of these subjects also fosters understanding of, and delight in, some of the highest achievements of the human spirit.
Area requirement in the sciences (two course credits).
Acquiring a broad view of what science is, what it has achieved, and what it might continue to achieve is an essential component of a college education. Closer study of a science develops the critical faculties that educated citizens need. These include an ability to evaluate the opinions of experts, to distinguish quackery from responsible science, and to realize which things are known and which unknown—which are knowable and which unknowable—to science. Studying a science gives rise to new patterns of thought, as students participate in theoretical inquiry, experimental analysis, and firsthand problem solving. To know science is to appreciate a thousand intricate coherences in nature, which are hidden from casual observation but which, once revealed, lend richness to everyday life.
Area requirement in the social sciences (two course credits).
Insights attained through the social sciences take on a critical significance at a time when the world's population is increasing rapidly and diverse cultures are coming into closer contact and even conflict. Among the major subjects of inquiry in the social sciences are international and area studies. Those who have been educated in the United States ought especially to acquire knowledge of the societies of Africa, Latin America, Asia, and eastern Europe, as well as broaden their familiarity with the range of cultures in North America and western Europe. Questions of class, gender, and identity are also central to work in the social sciences. Methods in the social sciences test for connections between the familiar and the exotic, the traditional and the contemporary, the individual and the group, the predicted result and the anomalous outcome. Their theories propose explanations for the entire range of human phenomena: from governments and economies to social organizations, communicative systems, cultural practices, and the psychology of individuals.
Skills requirement in foreign language (at least one course, depending on preparation).
The study of languages has long been understood to be one of the distinctive and defining features of a liberal arts education, and in the world of the twenty-first century, knowledge of more than one language has become increasingly important. The benefits of language study include enhanced understanding of how languages work, often resulting in heightened sophistication in the use of one's own language; unmediated access to texts otherwise available only in translation, or not at all; and the ability to recognize and cross cultural barriers.
All Yale College students are required to engage in study of a foreign language, regardless of the level of study achieved at the time of matriculation. Students who have not studied a foreign language before arriving at Yale, and those whose prior language study does not qualify them for placement into a second-year course, are required to study a single foreign language through three terms to fulfill the distributional requirement. Students who can place into the third term of a language program must successfully complete two terms, and those who can place into a fourth term must successfully complete one term, of further study in that same language. Students who can demonstrate ability beyond the fourth term of language study, either by a score of 4 or 5 on an Advanced Placement test or by a requisite score on a placement test at Yale, must either successfully complete one term of further study in that language, or successfully complete instruction in a different language through the level designated L2. Students must enroll for at least one course credit toward satisfaction of the foreign language requirement by the end of the fourth term of enrollment, and the requirement must be completed by the end of the sixth term of enrollment.
Students may complete an approved study abroad program in lieu of intermediate or advanced language study at Yale. Further details of the foreign language distributional requirement are listed under "Distributional Requirements" in chapter III under the heading "Requirements for the B.A. or B.S. Degree."
Skills requirement in quantitative reasoning (two course credits).
The mental rigor resulting from quantitative study has been celebrated for as long as formal education has existed, and applications of quantitative methods have proven critical to a wide range of disciplines. Mathematics and statistics are the basic languages of the natural and the social sciences, and they have become useful tools in many of the humanities. Algorithms and formal logical constructs are the foundation of contemporary information technology, of mathematics itself, and of the rigorous dissection of logical arguments in any discipline. An educated person must be able to make, understand, and evaluate arguments on the basis of quantitative information.
To ensure that they have an opportunity to improve their quantitative reasoning skills, all students must take two courses designated QR in this bulletin; at least one of these courses must be taken by the fourth term, and two by the sixth term. Many such courses are taught through the departments of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, but appropriate courses may also be found in Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Geology and Geophysics, Philosophy, Physics, and Psychology.
Skills requirement in writing (two course credits).
Writing well is the hallmark of an educated person, and is indispensable to advanced research in most disciplines. In leading students beyond merely recording other people's knowledge to making their own critical contributions, writing fosters and supports the intellectual practices that distinguish active from passive learners.
All students are required to take two courses that focus on writing clearly and cogently. Courses that fulfill this requirement are designated WR in the course listings in chapter IV; at least one must be taken by the fourth term of enrollment, and two by the sixth term. Over 160 courses, spanning more than 30 different academic departments, may be applied toward the WR requirement. The English department in particular offers many courses that provide special attention to writing skills, and freshmen should strongly consider taking one of the following: ENGL 114a or b, 115a or b, 116b, 117b, 120a or b.
