Ellie Park, Multimedia Managing Editor

Starting with the class of 2029, Yale will increase its class size by 100 students.

To pursue its strategic plan and provide a Yale education to more people, Yale College will increase its class size to 1,650 while investing in faculty and student resources to support the growth. According to Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis, the University spent a couple of years planning the expansion, recognizing that it can accommodate more students with some adjustments. 

“We figured that being able to admit an additional 100 students a year over time means 10,000 more students in the next century,” Lewis told the News. “I’d like the idea of 10,000 more people graduating from Yale in the next century.”

The proposed total college size of 6,600 students is lower than the current size of the Yale student body at around 6,700 due to COVID-19 deferrals of enrollment. 

In a University-wide announcement, University Provost Scott Strobel and Lewis wrote that with the increased student body size, the University will increase the target size for faculty by five positions, four in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and one in the School of Engineering & Applied Science.

Additionally, the University has promised to commit additional resources to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to offset the costs of graduate student support, such as teaching fellow positions and undergraduate research supervision.

Lewis told the News that the University will also increase per capita resources for undergraduate students, such as the number of first-year counselors until there are equal ratios in each residential college. He added that Yale will continue to meet 100 percent of financial need and “financial aid will also grow” to support the increasing number of students.

Two faculty-led committees evaluated the University’s needs and made recommendations regarding how Yale might support a larger class size. 

The decision also received input from the Yale College Admissions and Financial Aid Policy Committee, FAS-SEAS Senate, residential college heads and deans, department chairs, directors of undergraduate studies and Yale College staff. It was also approved by Yale’s trustees.

The class of 2028 had a 3.7 percent acceptance rate, the lowest in Yale’s history.