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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 Yale College students to elect to receive a grade of Credit/D/Fail. 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

Yale College students may choose to convert one course on a Yale Summer Session Program Abroad to Credit/D/Fail only if the selected program has two courses that are taken simultaneously. A program that includes both a language and a culture course taught concurrently would qualify. Two courses taken sequentially would not.

Students have until 11:59 p.m. EDT the Friday prior to the last week 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 2023 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.

Note - Since the language courses attached to YSS Programs Abroad count for three credits total, if you elect Credit/D/Fail for both language courses, you would be utilizing three of the credits allowed for Credit/D/Fail.

Distributional Requirements

Yale Summer Session courses taken Credit/D/Fail may not be applied toward satisfaction of the distributional requirements for the bachelor’s degree.

Major Requirements

The program description of each major specifies whether or not courses taken on the Credit/D/Fail basis count toward the requirements of that major. Any credits earned in Yale Summer Session are governed by the rules specified by the major.

Acceleration Credit

Work completed under the Credit/D/Fail option cannot yield acceleration credit.

Prizes and Honors

Marks of CR are included in the calculations for some prizes, for Distinction in the Major, and for election to Phi Beta Kappa as non-A grades; however, marks of CR are not included in the calculation for General Honors. See under Honors in the Yale Curriculum section.

Reporting of Grades

For all courses, instructors report letter grades. If a Yale College 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 their request to take a course Credit/D/Fail. 

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.