yale FrHbk2013

Yale’17

Freshman Handbook

Welcome to Yale! This handbook provides important information about beginning your academic career. Inside you will find an overview of the academic resources and programs particularly relevant to freshman year. We look forward to welcoming you to campus and hope

that you have an enjoyable, full, and

rewarding summer.

welcome

May 2013

Class of 2017Contents

Welcome from the Dean of Yale College iii

Yale College Calendar iv

1 Introduction to Undergraduate Education at Yale 1Yale’s Academic Philosophy 1

Distribution of Studies 1

Distributional Requirements for the Bachelor’s Degree 3Distributional Requirements by Year 3

Freshman Year 4

Sophomore Year 4

Junior Year 4

Area Requirements 4

Humanities and Arts 4

Sciences 5

Social Sciences 5

Skills Requirements 5

Writing 5

Quantitative Reasoning 6

Foreign Language 6

International Experience 10

Freedom of Expression 11

Academic Honesty 12

2 Advising and Academic Resource Centers 13Advising 13

Residential College Dean 13

Freshman Counselor 13

Freshman Faculty Adviser 13

Resident Fellows and Old Campus Fellows 14 Peer Liaisons 15

Communication and Consent Educators 15 Departmental Advising and the Academic Fair 15 Future Advising 16

Academic Resource Centers 16

Writing Center 16

Science and Quantitative Reasoning Center 17

Center for Language Study 18

The Yale University Library 18

Resource O∞ce on Disabilities 18

Center for International and Professional Experience 19 Undergraduate Career Services 20

Yale Summer Session 20

3 Course Selection in Freshman Year21

General Principles to Keep in Mind 21

Choosing Courses at the Proper Level 23

Special Courses for Freshmen 23

Directed Studies 23

Perspectives on Science and Engineering 24

Freshman Seminar Program 24

Thinking Ahead about a Major 24

4 General Academic Information27

Interpreting Course Numbers 27

Course Selection Period 27

Course Information and Enrollment 27

Dates and Deadlines 28

Credit/D/Fail Option 28

Reading Period 28

Final Exams and Term Papers 28

Online Academic Resources 29

Appendixes

A Acceleration and Acceleration Credits33

B Preparing for Health Care Professions39

C List of Abbreviations42

For additional information and updates, please visit the Freshman Web site at https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html,/content/class-2017.

Welcome from the Dean of Yale College Welcome to Yale College! Everyone in the Yale College Dean’s O∞ce eagerly anticipates your arrival and I, especially, look forward to greeting you in person this August. In the meantime, I am delighted to provide this handbook to you and hope that it eases your transition to Yale.

You will discover at Yale a wealth of opportunities in classrooms, lab-oratories, libraries, and studios. Quickly, however, you will recognize that much of your learning takes place in other environments, from your residential college dining room to chance encounters with pro-fessors and students in courtyards throughout the campus. The gifts and diversity of your classmates will contribute to unique educational opportunities.

I suspect that you and your family members have many questions about Yale and its resources. This handbook will help you prepare to begin your academic career. It outlines the advising program and many other topics that will be useful in considering your program of study. This handbook and other sources of information about Yale College—both in print and on our Web site (https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html,)—will help you become more familiar with what Yale has to o≠er.

During the summer before your arrival at Yale, there are some deci-sions for you to make. These include, for example, whether to apply to special academic programs such as Directed Studies, Perspectives on Science and Engineering, or the Freshman Seminar program. You will also need to begin to think about the courses you plan to take in freshman year. Much advice will be available to you after you arrive on campus, but you will be well served if you have read this hand-book carefully over the summer.

The dean and the master of your residential college and the deans of Yale College will be a part of your lives from your first day on campus until your Commencement four years later. We look forward to wel-coming you to an intellectual and personal experience that will chal-lenge you, inspire you, and help to shape the rest of your life.

With best wishes,

Mary Miller

Dean of Yale College

Sterling Professor of History of Art

iii welcome from the dean of yale college

Yale College Calendar for the Class of 2017 Fall Term 2013

August 23, Friday Residences open to freshmen, 9 a.m.

Freshman registration meetings

(evening)

August 23–September 7 Freshman Orientation

August 28, Wednesday Fall-term classes begin, 8.20 a.m. August 30, Friday Friday classes do not meet

Monday classes meet instead September 2, Monday Labor Day

Classes do not meet

September 27–29 Family Weekend

October 18, Friday Midterm

October 22, Tuesday October recess begins, 11 p.m. October 28, Monday Classes resume, 8.20 a.m. November 22, Friday Classes end, 5.30 p.m.

November 23, Saturday November recess begins, 9 p.m. December 2, Monday Classes resume, 8.20 a.m. December 6, Friday Classes end, 5.30 p.m.

Reading period begins December 12, Thursday Final examinations begin, 9 a.m. December 17, Tuesday Examinations end, 5.30 p.m.

Winter recess begins

December 18, Wednesday Residences close, 12 noon freshman handbook: class of 2017

iv

Yale College Calendar for the Class of 2017

Spring Term 2014

January 8, Wednesday Residences open, 9 a.m.

January 12, Sunday Freshman registration meetings, 9 p.m.

January 13, Monday Spring-term classes begin, 8.20 a.m.

January 17, Friday Friday classes do not meet

Monday classes meet instead January 20, Monday Martin Luther King, Jr., Day

Classes do not meet

March 7, Friday Midterm

Classes end, 5.30 p.m.

Spring recess begins

March 24, Monday Classes resume, 8.20 a.m.

April 25, Friday Classes end, 5.30 p.m.

Reading period begins

May 1, Thursday Final examinations begin, 9 a.m.

May 6, Tuesday Examinations end, 5.30 p.m.

May 7, Wednesday Residences close, 12 noon

yale college calendar for the class of 2017

v

1introduction to undergraduate education at yale

Introduction to Undergraduate Education at Yale Before embarking on an undergraduate career at Yale, you should know

something about Yale’s philosophy of education. This section provides information about the principles that should guide the academic part of a Yale undergraduate education.Yale College o≠ers a liberal arts education, one that aims to cultivate a broadly informed, highly disciplined intellect without specifying in advance how that intellect will be used. Such an approach to learning regards college as a phase of exploration, a place for the exercise of curi-osity, and an opportunity for the discovery of new interests and abili-ties. The College does not seek primarily to train students in the par-ticulars of a given career, although some students may elect to receive more of that preparation than others. Instead, its main goal is to instill knowledge and skills that students can bring to bear in whatever work they eventually choose. This philosophy of education corresponds with that expressed in the Yale Report of 1828, which draws a distinction between “expanding [the mind’s] powers, and storing it with knowl-edge.” Acquiring facts is important, but learning how to think critically and creatively in a variety of ways takes precedence.To ensure that study is neither too narrowly focused nor too di≠use, the College stands behind the principle of distribution of studies as strongly as it supports the principle of concentration. It requires that study be characterized, particularly in the earlier years, by a reasonable diversity of subject matter and approach, and in the later years by concentra-tion in one of the major programs or departments. In addition, the College requires that all students take courses in certain foundational skills—writing, quantitative reasoning, and foreign language—that hold the key to opportunities in later study and later life. People who fail to develop these skills at an early stage unknowingly limit their futures. In each skill, students are required to travel some further distance from where they were in high school for the reason that these competences mature and deepen. The best high school writer is still not the writer he or she could be; students who do not use their mathematics or foreign language skills in college commonly lose abilities they once had, and can graduate knowing less than when they arrived.1

Yale’s Academic Philosophy Distribution of

Studies

D i s t r i b u t i o n a l R e q u i r e m e n t s M i l

e s t o n e s t o w a r d

f u l fi l l i n

g t

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d i s t r i

b u t i

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r e q u i

r e m e n t s

.

T h e m i l

e s t o n e s a r e c u m u l a t i v e . N o

c o

u r s e s t a k e n

C r e d i t /

D /F a i l

m

a y

b e u s

e d

t o

f u

l fi l l

a

d

i s t r

i b u t i o n

a l

r e q u i r e m e n t .

s o s c

S o p h o m o r e F r e s h m a n h u

s o s c h u

C

r

e

d i

t s

f

o

r

p r

o m o t i o n : 36

h u h u s o s o s c s c C r e d i t s f o r p r o m o t i o n : 26J u n i o r S e n

i o r C r e d i t s f o r p r o m o t i o n : 16C r e d i t s f o r p r o m o t i o n : 8

F o r t h e b a c h e l o r ’s d e g r e e . A t t h e e n d o f t h e s e n i o r y e a r , a l l d i s t r i -b u t i o n a l r e q u i r e m e n t s m u s t b e c o m p l e t e d : f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e , 2 c o u r s e c r e d i t s e a c h i n q r a n d

w r , a n d 2 c o u r s e c r e d i t s e a c h i n

h u , s c , a n d s o .A t t h e e n d o f j u n i o r y e a r (a f t e r 6 t e r m s o f e n r o l l m e n t ), a l l s k i l l s r e q u i r e m e n t s m u s t b e c o m p l e t e d : f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e a n d 2 c o u r s e c r e d i t s e a c h i n q r a n d w r .A t t h e e n d o f s o p h o m o r e y e a r (a f t e r 4 t e r m s o f e n r o l l m e n t ), e n r o l l m e n t i n a t l e a s t o n e c o u r s e c r e d i t i n e a c h d i s c i p l i n a r y a r e a (h u , a n d s c , a n d s o ), a n d a t l e a s t o n e c o u r s e c r e d i t i n e a c h s k i l l s c a t e g o r y (q r , a n d w r , a n d f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e ).A t t h e e n d o f f r e s h m a n y e a r (a f t e r 2 t e r m s o f e n r o l l m e n t ), e n r o l l m e n t f o r o n e c o u r s e c r e d i t i n t w o o f t h e t h r e e r e q u i r e d s k i l l s c a t e g o r i e s : q r , w r , a n d f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e .D i s c i p l i n a r y A r e a s q r Q u a n t i t a t i v e r e a s o n i n g (2) w r W r i t i n g (2) l

F o r e i g n l a n g u a g e * h u H u m a n i t i e s & a r t s (2) s c S c i e n c e s (2) s o S o c i a l s c i e n c e s (2)* S t u d e n t s a r e r e q u i r e d t o t a k e a t l e a s t o n e c o u r s e i n a f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e w h i l e e n r o l l e d a t Y a l e . R e f e r t o t h e t e x t o f t h i s c h a p t e r f o r c o m p l e t e i n f o r m a t i o n .

The distributional requirements, described below, are intended to assure that all graduates of Yale College have an acquaintance with a broad variety of fields of inquiry and approaches to knowledge. These requirements are the only specific rules limiting the selection of courses outside a student’s major program. By themselves, the distributional requirements constitute a minimal education, not a complete one, and represent the least that an educated person should seek to know. They are to be embraced as starting points, not goals.

Students must fulfill disciplinary area requirements by taking no fewer than two course credits in the humanities and arts, two in the sciences, and two in the social sciences. Students must also fulfill skills require-ments by taking at least 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 require-ment with one, two, or three courses or by certain combinations of course work and approved study abroad.Courses that fulfill the distributional requirements are designated in the course listings in Yale College Programs of Study (the ycps , or “Blue Book,” which will be available on line by July 31) by the abbreviations hu, sc, so, qr, wr , and, for the foreign language requirement, l1, l2, l3, l4, or l5.Although some courses may carry more than one distributional des-ignation, a single course may be applied to only one distributional requirement. For example, if a course is designated both hu and so in the ycps , 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.Courses taken Credit/D/Fail may not be used to fulfill the distributional requirements. (See chapter 4 for information about the Credit/D/Fail option.)Students benefit most from fulfilling the distributional requirements early in their college careers and then building on their new knowledge and capabilities. For this reason, Yale College requires partial fulfillment of the distributional requirements during the freshman, sophomore, Distributional Requirements for

the Bachelor’s

Degree

Distributional

Requirements by Year

and junior years. The chart on page 2 illustrates the “milestone” requirements detailed in the following paragraphs.Students must have enrolled for at least one course credit in two skills categories (writing, quantitative reasoning, foreign language) by the end of the second term of enrollment in order to be eligible for promo-tion 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.Note that credit from outside Yale may not be applied toward the dis-tributional requirements for the freshman year; accordingly, students who are permitted by the Committee on Honors and Academic Stand-ing to repair a deficiency in these requirements over the summer fol-lowing freshman year must do so by means of enrollment in Yale Sum-mer Session.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.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.Yale’s distributional requirements stipulate two course credits in each of three disciplinary areas: the humanities and arts, the sciences, and the social sciences. A brief description of each of these areas follows.Study of the humanities and arts—those subjects that explore the broad range of human thought, expression, and endeavor—cultivates an educated recognition of the greatest accomplishments of the past and enriches the capacity to participate fully in the life of our time. Explora-tion of other civilizations, ancient and modern, gives students insight into the experiences of others and informs critical examination of their own culture. Those who create or perform works of art experience firsthand the joy and discipline of artistic expression. By rigorously and systematically examining the value and purpose of all that surrounds them, students of the humanities and arts can acquire essential prepa-ration for many di≠erent kinds of careers. But independently of any Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Area Requirements

Humanities

and Arts

particular application, study of these subjects fosters understanding of, and delight in, the reach and sweep of the human spirit.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 col-lege education. Close study of a science develops critical faculties that educated citizens need. These include an ability to evaluate the opin-ions of experts, to distinguish special pleading and demagoguery from responsible science, and to realize which things are known and which unknown—which are knowable and which unknowable—to science. The theoretical inquiry, experimental analysis, and firsthand problem solving inseparable from studying a science give rise to new modes of thought. To know science is to appreciate a thousand intricacies in nature and the universe, which are hidden from casual observation but which, once revealed, lend richness to everyday life.Insights attained through the social sciences take on a critical signifi-cance at a time when the world’s population is increasing rapidly and diverse cultures are coming into closer contact and sometimes into conflict. One major field of inquiry in the social sciences is interna-tional and area studies. Those who have been educated in the United States ought especially to acquire knowledge of cultures outside North America and western Europe, as well as broaden their understanding of the societies they know. Questions of class, gender, and identity are also central to work in the social sciences, whose methods test for connec-tions between the familiar and the exotic, the traditional and the con-temporary, the individual and the group, the predicted result and the anomalous outcome. Social science theories propose explanations for the entire range of human phenomena, from governments and econo-mies to social organizations, communicative systems, cultural practices, and individual psychology.In addition to the area requirements, Yale’s distributional requirements stipulate course credits in each of three skills: writing, quantitative reasoning, and foreign language. A brief description of each of these categories follows.The ability to write well is one of the hallmarks of a liberal education and is indispensable to advanced research in most disciplines. As stu-dents strengthen their writing skills, they develop intellectual practices that distinguish active from passive learners. Social Sciences

Sciences

Skills Requirements Writing

Quantitative

Reasoning Foreign Language The English department in particular o≠ers many courses that focus on writing clearly and cogently, and courses in other departments stress writing skills within the context of their disciplines. Over 130 courses, spanning approximately 40 di≠erent academic programs, give special attention to writing. Such courses, designated wr, do not necessarily require more writing than other courses; rather, they provide more help with writing assignments. Some characteristics of wr courses include writing to discover ideas, learning from model essays, detailed feed-back, and reviewing writing in small groups. Note that credit toward the writing requirement cannot be earned in courses in creative writing (specifically poetry, fiction, and playwriting) nor in courses conducted in a language other than English.

The mental rigor resulting from quantitative study has been celebrated since ancient times, and applications of quantitative methods have proven critical to many di≠erent disciplines. Mathematics and statistics are basic tools for the natural and the social sciences, and they have become useful in many of the humanities as well. Information technol-ogy and the rigorous dissection of logical arguments in any discipline depend on algorithms and formal logical constructs. An educated per-son must be able to use quantitative information to make, understand, and evaluate arguments.

Many quantitative reasoning courses are taught through the depart-ments of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science. Such courses may also be found in Architecture; Astronomy; Chemistry; Economics; Engineering; Environmental Studies; Geology and Geophysics; Global A≠airs; Linguistics; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology; Operations Research; Philosophy; Physics; and Psychology.

The study of languages has long been one of the distinctive and defin-ing features of a liberal arts education, and in the world of the twenty-first century, knowledge of more than one language is increasingly important. The benefits of language study include enhanced under-standing of how languages work, often resulting in heightened sophis-tication 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 proficiency at the time of matricula-tion. The most common paths to fulfillment of the foreign language distributional requirement are illustrated in the chart on page 8.

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 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 the ycps.

Students who have taken the Advanced Placement examination in French, German, or Spanish and who present scores of 5, or who have taken the Advanced Placement examination in Latin 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 Bac-calaureate 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 desig-nated l5 in the ycps. Alternatively, they may successfully complete one or more courses in a di≠erent foreign language at least through the level designated l2.

Students who have studied a foreign language before matriculating at Yale but who have not achieved a score of 5 on the Advanced Place-ment test in French, German, or Spanish, or a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement test in Latin, must take a placement test o≠ered by the appropriate language department or, for languages in which no departmental placement test is o≠ered, consult the appropriate direc-tor of undergraduate studies. Dates and times of placement tests are given in the Calendar for the Opening Days of College and on the Web at https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html,. 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 the ycps), 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 suc-cessfully complete three courses in that language, designated l1, l2, and l3 in the ycps.

Students who matriculate at Yale able to place into the second term

of a foreign language must successfully complete three courses in that language, designated l2, l3, and l4 in the ycps. Alternatively, they may

C o m m o n P a t h s f o r F u l fi l l i n g t h e F o r e i g n L a n g u a g e R e q u i r e m e n t

successfully complete three courses in a di≠erent foreign language at

least 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 courses in that lan-

guage, designated l3 and l4 in the ycps. Alternatively, they may suc-cessfully complete two or more courses in a di≠erent foreign language at least 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 course in that lan-

guage, designated l4 in the ycps. Alternatively, they may successfully complete one or more courses in a di≠erent foreign language at least

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 course in that lan-

guage, designated l5 in the ycps. Alternatively, they may successfully complete one or more courses in a di≠erent foreign language at least

through the level designated l2.

Students whose secondary school transcript shows that the language

of instruction was other than English may fulfill the foreign language requirement by successfully completing engl 114, 120, or 450. Alter-

natively, students in this category may fulfill the requirement by suc-

cessfully completing one or more courses in a third language, neither English nor the language of their secondary school instruction, at least through the level designated l2.

In order to promote firsthand experience in foreign cultures and the

learning of language in real-world settings, students are permitted

to apply toward the satisfaction of the foreign language requirement

the completion of an approved study abroad program in a foreign-

language-speaking setting if they have first completed or placed out of a language course designated l2 in the ycps. Students seeking to under-take study at another institution or program for this purpose must con-sult the relevant director of undergraduate studies in advance of their proposed study for advice about appropriate programs and courses, and for information about the approval process. Study abroad may be used in place of l1 and l2 courses only if it is part of a Yale College program, such as Yale Summer Session. Study abroad opportunities are described in the ycps under the heading “International Experience.”

introduction to undergraduate education at yale

9

10

freshman handbook: class of 2017

Intensive language courses provide the equivalent of a full year of

instruction in a single term. A course designated l1–l2 in the ycps ful-fills 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.

Not all of the languages o≠ered in Yale College are o≠ered at all levels, and it may not be possible to fulfill the language requirement in some of them. Languages currently o≠ered in Yale College are Akkadian, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, hieroglyphic Egyptian, French, German, ancient Greek, modern Greek, biblical Hebrew, modern Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, isiZulu, Italian, Japanese, Kiswahili, Korean, Latin, Persian, Polish, Portu g uese, Romanian, Russian,

Sanskrit, Spanish, 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 o≠ered. 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.

Students who, for medical reasons, are not able to complete the lan-guage requirement may petition the Committee on Honors and Aca-demic Standing for a waiver of the requirement. In granting such a waiver, the committee will normally require that a student complete four course credits in the study of a specific non-English-speaking culture.

While students can be introduced to the dynamics of a globalizing world through the course o≠erings at Yale, experience abroad is an invaluable complement to academic training. Such experience may

include course work at foreign universities, intensive language training, directed research, independent projects, internships, laboratory work, and volunteer service. Yale College provides a variety of international opportunities during term time, summers, and post-graduation, as well as a large and growing number of fellowships to support students abroad.

Students may seek advice about summer or term-time study abroad, internships abroad, and fellowship funding from the Center for Inter-national and Professional Experience, https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html, . Summer

International Experience

11courses abroad are o≠ered by Yale Summer Session, https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html,, and by eligible outside programs through Summer Abroad, https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html,/yalecollege/international/opportunities/type/study/summer_abroad . Students may search for all grants and fellowships at Yale that support international activities at https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html, . Students on financial aid may be eligible for summer funding through the International Summer Award program, https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html,/yalecollege/international/funding/isa .

When you come to Yale College you join a community of scholars from around the nation and the world. Yale, like every community, has cer-tain values and principles by which it operates. Among the College’s most cherished principles is its commitment to free expression.Freedom of expression is especially important in an academic commu-nity, where the search for truth holds a primary value. In 1975, a com-mittee chaired by the late C. Vann Woodward, one of Yale’s most dis-tinguished professors, issued the Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression at Yale, informally called the Woodward Report. This document emphasizes that the history of intellectual growth and dis-covery demonstrates the need to be able to “think the unthinkable, dis-cuss the unmentionable, and challenge the unchallengeable.” The report acknowledges that such freedom may sometimes make life uncomfort-able in a small society such as a college. But it also asserts that “because no other institution combines the discovery and dissemination of basic knowledge with teaching, few need assign such high priority to it.”Yale’s commitment to freedom of expression means that when you agree to matriculate, you join a community where “the provocative, the disturbing, and the unorthodox” must be tolerated. When you encoun-ter people who think di≠erently than you do, you will be expected to honor their free expression, even when what they have to say seems wrong or o≠ensive to you.

As we honor the right of free expression, we also honor Yale College as a community of teachers and learners who value civility in all their interactions and who maintain a sensitivity to the circumstances and feelings that inform their ideas. It is in a civil and respectful community that freedom of expression can best thrive.

The Woodward Report is a document worth reading in full. More excerpts from it appear in the section on free expression in Yale’s Undergraduate Regulations, available on line at https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html,/

Freedom of Expression

introduction to undergraduate education at yale

content/undergraduate-regulations. The entire report can be downloaded

at https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html,/sites/default/files/woodward_report.pdf.

Like freedom of speech, academic honesty holds a special place in a Academic Honesty

community devoted to the creation, preservation, and dissemination

of knowledge. For this reason, it is important for you to learn how

to acknowledge the contributions of others in your own work and to

document properly your reliance on their thinking.

Discovering how to use others’ work to advance your own is a key part

of learning. Very few of us ever have completely original ideas, and

even the greatest scholars build on their predecessors’ achievements.

Understanding how to incorporate others’ points into your own

arguments, and how to acknowledge them properly, is one sign of

maturing scholarship.

It is also important to understand that failure to know or follow the

conventions of documentation and citation—even when inadvertent—

is considered a grave breach of academic integrity. The concept of aca-

demic dishonesty or cheating, detailed at greater length in the Under-

graduate Regulations (https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html,/content/cheating-plagiarism-and-

documentation), includes any misrepresentation of others’ work as your

own, such as unacknowledged paraphrasing or quoting, use of another

student’s material, incomplete acknowledgment of sources (includ-

ing Internet sources), or submission of the same work to complete the

requirements of more than one course.

You can learn more about the conventions of using sources by refer-

ring to the Yale College Writing Center’s Web site, writing.yalecollege.

https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a83493733.html,. If ever you have doubts about when or how to cite, ask the

course instructor, your writing tutor, or your residential college dean.

12freshman handbook: class of 2017

Advising and Academic Resource Centers When you arrive on campus for your first term at Yale, many people will be ready and willing to o≠er advice about campus life and your academic choices. It is our hope and expectation that you will make use of Yale’s many advising resources. Remember that it is in the nature of a liberal education to ask questions and that you have an important role to play in seeking advice.Your primary academic adviser is your residential college dean, to whom you may always turn for academic and personal advice. The dean lives and has an o∞ce in your residential college. He or she can answer questions about academic requirements and connect you to other advis-ing resources on campus. In addition, your residential college dean oversees your college’s own advising networks.On the first evening of Freshman Orientation your dean will welcome you at a meeting of all the freshmen in your residential college. He or she will give you some recommendations about how best to take advan-tage of the opening days and course selection period. You will also have many occasions to meet with your dean throughout freshman year. If you have a question to which you cannot find an answer, or if you need advice you cannot find elsewhere, consult your dean.Freshman counselors are seniors who live near you to be sources of information and assistance throughout the year. Your counselors can o≠er suggestions about curricular and extracurricular choices, take an interest in your concerns, and give firsthand advice on how best to use the academic and other resources of your residential college and of Yale College.Your freshman adviser is a Yale faculty member or administrator a∞liated with your residential college who has volunteered to talk with you about your academic interests and aspirations. He or she can o≠er general guidance about constructing a sensible overall schedule for your first year, help you think through larger questions and plans, and direct you to relevant resources. Please note that the primary purposes of these conversations are to provide general advice about acclimating to Yale’s academic culture and to give you an opportunity to become acquainted Residential College Dean

Advising Freshman

Counselor

Freshman

Faculty Adviser

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