TRUMBULL COLLEGE: September 4, 2025
Hi Trumbullians! Dean’s Notes are a little late this week – sorry about that. Hope you all looked through the class-specific messages that went out earlier in the week (from the big dining hall meetings for each class). Thank you for your attention to those details!
Hope you had some time to relax over the long weekend and hope you’re enjoying this amazing weather! Over the long weekend, we managed to fit in two visits to Lake Compounce, a water/amusement park close to my parents’ house (I’m justifying the season passes we got this year). We also spent some time getting Sahej ready for school, which started yesterday!
Shifting to business, remember that Add/Drop ends tomorrow, Friday, September 5th at 5:00pm. More info on that below.
Add/Drop period is a particularly busy time for all of the RC Deans’ offices. Some of you have realized that popping into my open Zoom hours can be an efficient use of your time. If you haven’t already, please get into the habit of %20alice.kustenbauder@yale.edu">copying Alice on e-mails to me – thank you. Please also come by the office (G104) – Alice may know the answer to your question(s), and when I have a few minutes between meetings, she can try to squeeze you in for a quick meeting with me.
Wishing you all the best as we settle in for the term. Have a wonderful rest of the week and have a great weekend!
Meeting with me – please take note of my open Zoom hours (below)
To make an appointment, please use the Calendly scheduling tool, https://calendly.com/dean_c, or reach out to Alice with any scheduling issues. For in-person meetings, please come to the office. We’re right here in Trumbull G104, which you can access across from Entryway A or through Entryway G. Zoom meetings (including open Zoom office hours) will be through my Zoom page: https://yale.zoom.us/my/skchandhoke.
My OPEN ZOOM office hours for each week are listed on the top of my Calendly page. When you click on the Zoom link, you will be placed into a waiting room. I will speak to students (one-on-one) in the order they “arrive.” My upcoming open hours are Friday, September 5th (10:30am-12pm and 2:30-4:30pm). Please check the little blurb on Calendly for my latest open Zoom hours.
Please note that I teach on Wednesday mornings during the fall term.
ACADEMICS
Important Notes on Course Enrollment
The University Registrar’s Office (URO) has a helpful website devoted to course registration, at registration.yale.edu. The “Registration FAQs” and “Key Registration Dates” are particularly useful! There are even video tutorials for using your registration worksheet! If you still need help, stop by their office (246 Church St, 3rd floor) during URO’s walk-in office hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 9am-4pm and Wednesdays 10:30am-4pm.
Add/Drop ends at 5pm EST on Friday, September 5th - the courses listed on your registration worksheet at 5pm on Friday, Sep 5th will constitute your fall course schedule.
Canvas Worksheets and Registration worksheets are different! The Canvas worksheet – while useful for planning purposes – does not enroll you in courses. It only allows you to see the announcements and assignments of those courses during Drop/Add. To enroll in a course, you must include it on your registration worksheet. Read more in the Registration FAQs on distinguishing the two worksheets.
Overloads, Overlaps, Professional School Courses, and Other Petitions
Course Loads Requiring Special Permission: A schedule of 3.0 course credits or a schedule of 6.0 or 6.5 course credits needs Dean Chandhoke’s permission before the end of Add/Drop (September 5th 5pm). To request an overload or underload, make an appointment with me as soon as possible. NOTE: Requesting an overload also requires you to complete an online form: Petition for Credit Overload (Yale College).
Course Overlap Information: To enroll in two overlapping courses, you must petition the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing through my office. Regardless of the course or reasons, it is always the case that:
* petitions to my office are due by the end of Add/Drop period;
* no more than two courses may overlap;
* the express permission of both instructors is necessary, but not itself sufficient, for approval;
* the two final exam times, as given in Yale Course Search, may not overlap.
The length of the overlap permitted depends on the course format as described below:
- Two fully synchronous courses may have a small and insignificant overlap in meeting times (i.e., no more than 15 minutes once per week, including travel times), with permission from the instructors of both courses, via petition to the residential college dean, so long as the final exams do not overlap.
- One partially synchronous course (e.g., a hybrid course with recorded lectures and in-person discussion sections) may overlap with one fully synchronous course, including for the full class meeting time stated in the course catalog, with the permission of both instructors, via petition to the residential college dean, so long as the final exams do not overlap. Note: all Yale College courses must have weekly, in-person instruction, and so fully asynchronous courses are not permitted.
- Two partially synchronous courses, as defined above in (b), may overlap with each other, including for the full class meeting time, with the permission of both instructors, via petition to the residential college dean, so long as the final exams do not overlap.
To petition, here’s what you need to do:
- Confirm that the final exams for the two courses are offered at different times.
- Explain how enrollment in the two courses is possible, despite the conflict in published meeting times (refer to the information above).
- Secure both instructors’ explicit (written) permission to take the two overlapping courses
- Fill out the Petition For Overlap Online Form with all of the relevant information, including the instructors’ permissions, before 5pm on Friday, Sep 5th. Do not just e-mail me the details, please.
Professional School Courses: A schedule with a course in a professional school requires an additional form for each course to finalize enrollment and determine Yale College credit: Request to Enroll in a Professional School Course.
If you’re taking a School of Management course, you must also submit their own SOM form: review the information at https://som.yale.edu/programs/resources-non-som-students.
NOTE: Only four professional school credits can be offered toward the 36 credit requirement; however, students may enroll in more than four credits understanding that all courses will remain on the academic record and be included in the GPA even if not offered toward the 36 credit requirement.
NOTE: Courses at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and at a professional school cannot elect the CR/D/Fail option.
NOTE: Credit for these courses on your transcript. When you put a Professional School course on your schedule, zero (0) course credits are recorded for the course until you submit your required form(s) and the Registrar’s Office determines the course credits for that course based on that. Some courses earn 1 course credit in Yale College and some earn 0.5 course credits (most commonly in SOM and EPH). Some do not earn credit. See historical determinations at https://registrar.yale.edu/graduate-and-professional-school-courses-for-yale-college-credit.
See the YCPS for full details: https://registrar.yale.edu/students/course-selection/enrolling-graduate-and-professional-school-courses-credit.
Independent Studies: (Directed Reading, Directed Research, etc. as listed by most departments). There are limits on the number that a student can enroll in during a given year and over four years. Enrolling in an independent study requires the additional permission of a Director of Undergraduate Studies. See the YCPS for details: http://catalog.yale.edu/ycps/academic-regulations/course-credits-course-loads. Such courses may not be used to fulfill any distributional requirements. Independent study courses, other than senior projects and certain other courses designated for A-F grading by the department offering the course, are graded Pass/Fail. Students cannot petition for a conversion from P/F to A-F; only the department or program offering the course may do so.
Double credit: If you are interested in petitioning to earn double credit in a single-credit course, please read the relevant section in the YCPS, and then consult with me. The deadline to submit this petition is Midterm, but I recommend that you do so well before that date.
Yale Degree Audit: Yale Degree Audit (YDA) is a tool that tracks your progress toward the bachelor’s degree. You can learn about – and access! – Degree Audit at https://registrar.yale.edu/student-records/degree-audit. Degree Audit displays the Yale College degree requirements that you have already completed and those that are still pending. A “Look Ahead” feature shows you how future course enrollment might apply toward your degree. If you believe that academic information in your degree audit is incorrect, contact our office.
UPCOMING DATES AND DEADLINES (5pm unless noted)
September 5 Add/drop period ends, 5pm
September 10 Withdrawal from Yale College on or before this date entitles a student to a full rebate of fall-term tuition (Undergraduate Regulations).
September 10 Final deadline to apply for fall-term Leave of Absence.
September 15 All students planning to complete degree requirements at the end of the fall term must file a petition by this date.
September 15 Students in their final term of enrollment must petition to complete the requirements of two majors by this date.
September 15 Students in their final term of enrollment planning to change their major, must by this date, declare as such in Yale Hub.
September 15 Students in their final term of enrollment planning to earn a certificate, must by this date, declare as such in Yale Hub.
September 18 Last day to withdraw from a course offered in the first half of the fall term without the course appearing on the transcript.
September 20 Withdrawal from Yale College on or before this date entitles a student to a rebate of one-half of fall-term tuition. See Undergraduate Regulations.
CLASS SPECIFIC NOTES
FIRST-YEARS
First-Year Distributional Requirements: At the end of your first year (after two terms of enrollment) the student’s record must record enrollment in at least one course credit in two of the three skills categories (WR, QR, and foreign language). For a course with two distributional designations, only one or the other designation can be counted toward the distributional requirements; in other words, no double dipping. A course may, however, count toward both the requirements for a major and for a distributional requirement.
SOPHOMORES
Sophomore Year Distributional Requirement: At the end of the sophomore year (after four terms of enrollment) the student’s record must record enrollment in at least one course credit in each disciplinary area (Hu, Sc, and So) and at least one course credit in each skills category (WR, QR, and foreign language). For a course with two distributional designations, only one or the other designation can be counted toward the distributional requirements; in other words, no double dipping. A course may, however, count toward both the requirements for a major and for a distributional requirement.
JUNIORS
Junior Year Distributional Requirement: At the end of the junior year (after 6 terms of enrollment) a student’s record must show successful completion of all skills requirements: two course credits in QR, two course credits in WR, and foreign language). A course completed CR cannot count toward a distribution requirement. For a course with two distributional designations, only one or the other designation can be counted toward the distributional requirements; in other words, no double dipping. A course may, however, count toward both the requirements for a major and for a distributional requirement.
SENIORS
Distributional Requirement for the degree: Successful completion of two course credits each in WR, QR, Hu, So, and Sc and completion of the foreign language requirement. A course completed CR cannot count toward a distribution requirement. For a course with two distributional designations, only one or the other designation can be counted toward the distributional requirements; in other words, no double dipping. A course may, however, count toward both the requirements for a major and for a distributional requirement.
Please also note that, Monday, September 15th, is the deadline to file a petition for students planning to complete their degree requirements by the end of the fall term.
TUTORING
Advising Resources: http://advising.yalecollege.yale.edu
Academic Strategies Program: https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/academic-strategies-program
Sc/QR Tutoring: https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/learning/help-with-stem/stem-tutoring
Language Tutoring: https://cls.yale.edu/programs/language-tutoring
Writing Center/Tutors/Partners: https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/undergraduates/undergraduate-writing-and-tutoring; https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/undergraduates/writing-center
Trumbull Writing Tutor: Adam Reid Sexton is the Trumbull College Writing Tutor. Adam teaches three courses in the English department (The Craft of Fiction, Reading and Writing the Modern Essay, and Writing About Music) and is a Critic in the graduate School of Art. During summer 2022 he taught Writing About Music for Yale in London. Adam is also a writer; his next book, Difficult Listening, is due to be published soon.
To meet with Adam, please reserve a half-hour by logging on to https://www.yalewco.com/index.php, and be sure to email him the document you want help with by 7am on the day of your appointment. Include the instructor’s prompt, your focus for the meeting, and when the paper is due. Adam looks forward to working with you!
GENERAL DEAN’S NOTES TOPICS
Each week, we highlight events and resources from several campus offices in the Dean’s Notes. This week, we encourage you to check them out on your own – and maybe sign up for a few newsletters that seem most useful/interesting to you!
Academic Strategies Program
The Academic Strategies Program helps students navigate the “hidden curriculum” at Yale, the invisible set of underlying assumptions and expectations about how to do well as a student. The “hidden curriculum” is implicitly embedded in Yale’s culture. By becoming aware of these implicit norms, students are empowered to take ownership over their academics and get the most out of their academic experience. They offer workshops, support groups, and individual mentoring. Learn more at https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/learning/academic-strategies and https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/learning.
Career Strategy
The Office of Career Strategy (OCS) offers career advising, professional school advising, employment and internship opportunities, and career development resources. The office works with students and alumni to clarify career aspirations, identify opportunities, and offer support at every stage of career development. Check out OCS events, opportunities, and services at https://ocs.yale.edu/channels/student.
Fellowships and Funding
Yale and outside funding options can help support research, study abroad, public service, unpaid internships, and self-designed projects, in New Haven and around the globe. Postgraduate fellowships support independent projects, graduate study, and much more. The Office of Fellowships and Funding helps students identify funding opportunities and navigate the application process. Visit https://funding.yale.edu to learn more.
Study Abroad
Study Abroad is fully integrated into your time at Yale. By spending a summer, semester, or full academic year studying abroad, you will be taking courses that earn graduation credit at Yale, maintaining your advising network on campus, and using Yale funding (as applicable). Plus – through navigating new environments, norms, and perspectives – you will strengthen your soft skills, including adaptability, resiliency, problem solving, resourcefulness, and intercultural communication. These valuable skills in turn aid your future endeavors when pursuing internships, fellowships, or graduate study. Yale Study Abroad is here to support you through the process from start to finish, and it’s never too early to begin planning. Get Started!
OTHER: Yale Library Workshops; YC3 Events; Yale Farm Workdays & Speaker Series; select invitations and opportunities from other Yale offices and organizations