Distributional Requirements

The distributional requirements are defined in chapter I. Please note that there is one set of requirements for matriculants with the Class of 2008, and another set for matriculants with the Class of 2009 or subsequent classes.

1. Multiple distributional designations and distributional groups. For the Class of 2008: Although some courses may carry more than one distributional group number, a single course may be applied to only one distributional group. For example, if a course is designated "I or II" in chapter IV of this bulletin, it may be applied toward either Group I or Group II, but not both.

For the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes: Although some courses may carry more than one distributional designation, a single course may be applied to only one distributional requirement. For example, if a course is designated both Hu and So in chapter IV of this bulletin, it may be applied toward either the humanities and arts requirement or the social science requirement, but not both. Similarly, if a course is designated QR and Sc, it may be applied toward either the quantitative reasoning requirement or the science requirement, but not both.

2. Foreign language distributional requirement. For the Class of 2008: Languages currently offered at Yale in which a student may attain the required competence are Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Egyptian, French, German, ancient Greek, modern Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, isiZulu, Italian, Japanese, Kiswahili, Korean, Latin, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian and Croatian, Spanish, Tamil, Turkish, Vietnamese, and Yorùbá. Information about appropriate Advanced Placement test scores, relevant courses, and the nature of the examinations in these languages is contained in chapter IV in the program descriptions of the departments offering courses in foreign languages.

Students who possess competence in a language other than those listed here (including American Sign Language), either because it is their native language, or because they learned it abroad or by study at another university, or by some other means, should consult the appropriate director of undergraduate studies or the director of the Center for Language Study to arrange for an examination.

Students who, for medical reasons, are not able to complete the language requirement may petition the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing for a waiver of the requirement. In granting such a waiver, the committee will normally require that a student complete six course credits in the study of a specific non-English-speaking culture. The committee may, in individual cases and on petition of the student's major program, partially or fully waive the requirement for sound and weighty academic reasons.

Students who arrive at Yale after having graduated from a secondary school or having transferred from another university at which the primary language of instruction was other than English are considered to have satisfied the foreign language requirement. This provision does not apply to students who have attended English-speaking secondary schools in other countries or who may speak a language other than English in their home, who still must undergo testing.

For the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes: All students are required to engage in the study of a foreign language while enrolled in Yale College. The most common paths to fulfillment of the foreign language distributional requirement are illustrated in a chart in the "Advising" section of the Yale College Web site.

Students who matriculate at Yale with no previous foreign language training must complete three terms of instruction in a single foreign language. This requirement is fulfilled by the completion of courses designated L1, L2, and L3 in chapter IV of this bulletin.

Students who have taken the Advanced Placement examination in French, German, Latin, or Spanish and who present scores of 4 or 5 are recognized as having completed the intermediate level of study. Scores of 6 or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Advanced-Level examination are also accepted as evidence of intermediate-level accomplishment. Students at this level fulfill the language distributional requirement by completing one course designated L5 in chapter IV of this bulletin. Alternatively, they may successfully complete instruction in a different foreign language through the level designated L2.

Students who have studied a foreign language before matriculating at Yale but who have not achieved a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement test in French, German, Latin, or Spanish must take a placement test offered by the appropriate language department. Dates and times of placement tests are given in the Calendar for the Opening Days of College and in the departmental program descriptions in chapter IV of this bulletin. The departmental test determines whether students place into the first, second, third, or fourth term of language study (courses designated L1, L2, L3, or L4 in chapter IV of this bulletin), or whether they qualify for language courses beyond the fourth term of study (L5).

Students who place into the first term of a foreign language must complete three terms of instruction in that language, designated L1, L2, and L3 in chapter IV of this bulletin.

Students who matriculate at Yale able to place into the second term of a foreign language must successfully complete three terms of instruction in that language, designated L2, L3, and L4 in chapter IV of this bulletin. Alternatively, they may successfully complete instruction in a different foreign language through the level designated L3.

Students who matriculate at Yale able to place into the third term of a foreign language must successfully complete two terms of instruction in that language, designated L3 and L4 in chapter IV of this bulletin. Alternatively, they may successfully complete instruction in a different foreign language through the level designated L3.

Students who matriculate at Yale able to place into the fourth term of a foreign language must successfully complete one term of instruction in that language, designated L4 in chapter IV of this bulletin. Alternatively, they may successfully complete instruction in a different foreign language through the level designated L3.

Students who matriculate at Yale able to place into the fifth term of a foreign language must successfully complete one term of instruction in that language, designated L5 in chapter IV of this bulletin. Alternatively, they may successfully complete instruction in a different foreign language through the level designated L2.

Intensive language courses provide the equivalent of a full year of instruction in a single term. A course designated L1–L2 in chapter IV of this bulletin fulfills both the L1 and the L2 levels of the foreign language distributional requirement. Similarly, a course designated L3–L4 satisfies both the L3 and the L4 levels.

In order to promote firsthand experience in foreign cultures and the learning of language in real-world settings, students are permitted to satisfy the foreign language requirement by either completing or placing out of a language course designated L2 in chapter IV of this bulletin and then completing an approved study abroad program in a foreign-language-speaking setting. A student may seek permission from the appropriate director of undergraduate studies or the director of the Center for Language Study to substitute a term or a summer abroad in an approved program for intermediate or advanced language study at Yale. Study abroad may be used in place of L1 and L2 courses only if it is part of a Yale College program. Study abroad opportunities are described in chapter I under the heading "International Study."

Students who present a secondary school transcript showing that the language of instruction was other than English may fulfill the foreign language requirement either by completing ENGL 114a or b, 120a or b, or 450b, or by successfully completing instruction in a third language, neither English nor the language of instruction in the secondary school, through the level designated L2. The option of fulfilling the foreign language requirement by completing one of the English courses listed above is also available to students who demonstrate by testing that they are native speakers of a language other than English, but not to students who have attended English-speaking secondary schools in other countries.

Not all of the languages offered in Yale College are offered at all levels, and it may not be possible to fulfill the language requirement in some of them. Languages currently offered in Yale College are Akkadian, Arabic, Chinese, Coptic, Czech, hieroglyphic Egyptian, French, German, ancient Greek, modern Greek, biblical Hebrew, modern Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, isiZulu, Italian, Japanese, Kiswahili, Korean, Latin, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Sanskrit, Serbian and Croatian, Spanish, Syriac, Tamil, Turkish, Vietnamese, and Yorùbá. Students wishing to fulfill the foreign language requirement in a less commonly taught language should consult the director of undergraduate studies in the relevant department to verify that the appropriate level of study will be offered. Students who have intermediate- or higher-level proficiency in a language other than those listed here (including American Sign Language) should consult the appropriate director of undergraduate studies or the director of the Center for Language Study to arrange for a placement examination.

3. Courses taken on the Credit/D/Fail basis. For the Class of 2008: A student may offer as many as four course credits earned on the Credit/D/Fail basis toward the bachelor's degree (see "Credit/D/Fail Option" under the heading "Grades" in this chapter). A student may apply no more than one course credit earned on the Credit/D/Fail basis in any distributional group toward satisfaction of the distributional requirements for the bachelor's degree.

For the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes: A student may offer as many as four course credits earned on the Credit/D/Fail basis toward the bachelor's degree (see "Credit/D/Fail Option" under the heading "Grades" in this chapter). A student may not apply any course credit earned on the Credit/D/Fail basis toward satisfaction of the distributional requirements for the bachelor's degree. It is expected that course credit earned in independent study, directed reading or research, or the like, will not be taken on the Credit/D/Fail basis, but whether or not this is the case, such course credit may not be used toward fulfillment of the distributional requirements.

4. Acceleration credits. For the Class of 2008: Acceleration credits may not be employed to meet the distributional requirements for the freshman year or the distributional requirements for the bachelor's degree. Acceleration credits may be employed to meet the foreign language requirement and the distributional requirement for the first two years, whether or not the student uses those credits in order to accelerate.

For the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes: Acceleration credits may not be employed to satisfy the distributional requirements for the bachelor's degree. Acceleration credits may not be employed to meet the distributional requirements for the freshman, sophomore, or junior years.

5. Course credit earned at Yale before matriculation. For the Class of 2008: Course credit earned at Yale before a student's matriculation, either at the Yale Summer Session or in the Nondegree Students program while the student was enrolled as a secondary school student in the New Haven area, may be applied to the distributional requirements for the bachelor's degree and to the distributional requirement for the first two years, but it may not be applied to the distributional requirements for the freshman year.

For the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes: Course credit earned at Yale before a student's matriculation, either at the Yale Summer Session or in the Nondegree Students program while the student was enrolled as a secondary school student in the New Haven area, may be applied to the distributional requirements for the bachelor's degree and to those for the sophomore and junior years, but it may not be applied to the distributional requirements for the freshman year.

6. Credit from outside Yale. For the Class of 2008: Course credit earned at another university may be applied toward the distributional requirements for the bachelor's degree and the distributional requirement for the first two years whether or not it is counted toward the 36-course-credit requirement for graduation. Credit from outside Yale may not be applied toward the distributional requirements for the freshman year. See "Credit from Other Universities" in this chapter. Note particularly that Yale does not award course credit or distributional credit for courses completed at another college or university before the student graduated from secondary school.

For the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes: Course credit earned at another university may be applied toward the distributional requirements for the bachelor's degree and to those for the sophomore and junior years whether or not it is counted toward the 36-course-credit requirement for graduation. Credit from outside Yale may not be applied toward the distributional requirements for the freshman year. See "Credit from Other Universities" in this chapter. Note particularly that Yale does not award course credit or distributional credit for courses completed at another college or university before the student graduated from secondary school.

7. Major programs. For the Class of 2008: A student in an interdisciplinary major program that includes more than one distributional group should, in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies, determine the group in which the proposed studies chiefly lie. The student must then fulfill the distributional requirements accordingly, with that group being considered the group of the major. In this way some courses offered for the major may, for the purposes of the distributional requirements, be counted as falling outside the group of the major. Tutorial, directed reading, or directed research courses in interdisciplinary major programs may be applied toward satisfaction of the distributional requirements only in the group in which the project chiefly lies, as determined by the director of undergraduate studies.

A student who has been given permission to complete the requirements of two major programs, each of them in a different group, may, for the purposes of the distributional requirements, be considered as having only one major; in such a case, courses in the other major count toward the distributional requirements. See "Two Majors" under the heading "Special Arrangements" in this chapter.

For the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes: Courses taken in fulfillment of a student's major requirements may be applied toward satisfaction of the distributional requirements for the freshman, sophomore, and junior years and toward the distributional requirements for the bachelor's degree.

8. Permission for a partial waiver of the distributional requirements for the freshman year. For the Class of 2008: If, with the permission of the residential college dean, a freshman enrolls in a program of study for the first two terms of enrollment worth more than nine course credits, the dean may waive the year limit on the number of course credits that a student may elect in a single department or distributional group. Under no circumstances may a student be promoted to sophomore standing without having enrolled for at least two course credits in Group I or II and two course credits in Group III or IV.

For the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes: If, with the permission of the residential college dean, a freshman enrolls in a program of study for the first two terms of enrollment worth more than nine course credits, the dean may waive the year limit on the number of course credits that a student may elect in a single department or disciplinary area. Under no circumstances may a student be promoted to sophomore standing without having enrolled for at least one course credit in two skills categories (foreign language, quantitative reasoning, writing).

9. Permission to postpone fulfillment of the distributional requirement for the first two years (Class of 2008) and the distributional requirements for the sophomore year (Class of 2009 and subsequent classes). For the Class of 2008: In exceptional circumstances, a student may petition the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing for permission to fulfill the distributional requirement for the first two years in the fifth term of enrollment. Such a petition must be filed no later than the date of midterm of the fourth term of enrollment; it should explain the sound academic reasons why this requirement cannot be satisfied within four terms of enrollment and give an exact description of how it shall be fulfilled in the fifth term. Students who have not fulfilled the distributional requirement for the first two years by the end of the fourth term of enrollment and who have not been granted permission by the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing to postpone its fulfillment will normally not be promoted to junior standing.

For the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes: In exceptional circumstances, a student may petition the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing for permission to fulfill the distributional requirements for the sophomore year in the fifth term of enrollment. Such a petition must be filed no later than the date of midterm of the fourth term of enrollment; it should explain the sound academic reasons why these requirements cannot be satisfied within four terms of enrollment and give an exact description of how they shall be fulfilled in the fifth term. Students who have not fulfilled the distributional requirements for the sophomore year by the end of the fourth term of enrollment and who have not been granted permission by the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing to postpone their fulfillment will normally not be promoted to junior standing.

10. Permission to postpone fulfillment of the distributional requirements for the junior year. For the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes: In exceptional circumstances, a student may petition the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing for permission to fulfill the distributional requirements for the junior year in the seventh term of enrollment. Such a petition, which must include the written support of the director of undergraduate studies in the student's major and the residential college dean, should be filed no later than the date of midterm of the fifth term of enrollment; in no case will a petition be accepted later than the date on which the student's course schedule is due in the sixth term of enrollment. It should explain the sound academic reasons why these requirements cannot be satisfied within six terms of enrollment and give an exact description of how they shall be fulfilled in the seventh term. Students who have not fulfilled the distributional requirements for the junior year by the end of the sixth term of enrollment and who have not been granted permission by the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing to postpone their fulfillment will normally not be promoted to senior standing.