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YSS Programs Abroad: Academics & Credit

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On a Yale Summer Session (YSS) Program Abroad, you can earn Yale College credit through courses in intensive language study or in a variety of disciplines, taught in English. 

For the specifics on each program offered (including dates, course numbers, credit, program description, housing, budget, etc.), please review the programs offered in our study abroad searchable database.

TOC: Credit Information

Yale College Students

Graduation Credit

Yale College students will receive Yale College credit for participating in a YSS Program Abroad. Upon completion of the program, course(s) titles and grades will be entered automatically to the Yale transcript. If a program has more than one course, all students are required to complete all program courses. Courses cannot be recorded without the grade. Grades earned on a YSS Program Abroad will be factored into the Yale cumulative GPA and will be included in the calculations of your eligibility for General Honors. 

Distributional and Major Requirements

Courses successfully completed will fulfill the distributional requirements listed on the program brochure page and will automatically be applied to your academic record. They may, with permission from the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) of your major, be counted toward the requirements of your major. Consult your DUS for questions about major requirements.

Credit/D/Fail

A limited number of Yale Summer Session Programs Abroad have courses which are available for students to elect on the Credit/D/Fail basis. Read the details of the CR/D/F policies below.

FAQ: Learn more about the Credit/D/Fail policy including course eligibility, Credit/D/Fail limitations, and deadlines.

Eligibility (including for students from other universities)

Due to their academic structure, few Yale Summer Session Abroad Programs have courses eligible for the Credit/D/Fail option. To be eligible for the Credit/D/Fail option in Yale Summer Session Programs Abroad, a student must be enrolled in at least two concurrent courses of the same length, at least one credit of which must remain at all times for a letter grade or the mark of Pass.

For example, a student enrolled in a Yale Summer Session Program Abroad with a single 1.5-credit course followed by another single 1.5-credit course is not eligible to convert either to Credit/D/Fail. In contrast, a student enrolled in a Yale Summer Session Program Abroad with two one-credit courses running at the same time is eligible to convert one such course to Credit/D/Fail, so long as the other remains for a letter grade or the mark of Pass. In this same vein, Yale Summer Session will allow a student enrolled in an eight-week, four-credit Yale Summer Session Abroad Program—consisting of (a) two consecutive four-week, 1.5-credit language courses and (b) one eight-week, one-credit culture course, which runs concurrently with the two four-week courses—to convert the one-credit culture course to Credit/D/Fail, but neither of the 1.5-credit courses.

Students have until 5:00 p.m. EDT on the last day of the course in question to convert the course grade to Credit/D/Fail. No requests will be considered after that time. Once a course has been changed to Credit/D/Fail, it cannot be reversed. See below for the programs that qualify for the Credit/D/Fail option and program-specific deadlines.

List of 2024 qualifying programs and deadlines:

Credit/D/Fail Application Form

Limits on the Number of Courses Taken Credit/D/Fail

Yale College students may count up to six credits taken Credit/D/Fail toward the bachelor's degree, with two of those opportunities expiring if unused after the first two terms of enrollment. Choosing to take a course Credit/D/Fail in the summer will count toward that limit.

Reporting of Grades

In all Yale Summer Session courses for credit, other than independent study courses evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis, instructors report letter grades for all students. If a student has chosen the Credit/D/Fail option in a course, the registrar converts grades of A, A–, B+, B, B–, C+, C, and C– into the notation CR, which is entered on the student’s transcript. Grades of D+, D, D–, and F are entered on the transcript as reported. Students are not required to disclose to the instructor of a course whether they have enrolled in the course for a letter grade or under the Credit/D/Fail option.

For additional information about the Credit/D/Fail Option, Yale College Students are advised to refer to section B ('Grades') and section K ('Special Academic Programs') of the Yale College Academic Regulations. 

Yale Graduate Students

Yale Summer Session does not grant graduate credit. Yale graduate students wishing to apply for graduate credit must make arrangements in writing, prior to the start of the course, with the instructor, the Dean of Yale Summer Session, and the dean of the student's graduate or professional school. YSS does not certify any of its courses for graduate credit, nor can an individual instructor do so. 

Visiting Students from Other Campuses

Students who wish to transfer Yale credit to other colleges and universities are advised to consult with the appropriate academic authorities at their home institutions in advance. One Yale College course credit is the equivalent of four semester hours. 

Graduate students wishing to be granted graduate credit must make arrangements with their home institution. YSS does not certify any of its courses for graduate credit, nor can an individual instructor do so.

For further detailed information or questions regarding a specific credit hour conversion, contact the Office of the Registrar.There is a fee for each official transcript order. For more information see the Office of the Registrar's website. Transcripts will not be issued to any student who is financially indebted to the University.