FACULTY & ACADEMICS
Political science, Yale’s second-most popular major, adds requirements and new thesis track

The department will add methodology and intermediate lecture requirements as well as an honors thesis track, with changes going into effect starting with the class of 2026.

Jonathan Spence, acclaimed professor of Chinese history, dies at 85

For more than 40 years, Jonathan Spence GRD ’61 GRD ’65 lit up packed lecture halls with vivid stories of emperors and everyday people that […]

After a term of in-person classes, some final exams moved online

With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and the presence of online alternatives to in-person class meetings, some professors have elected to move their final exams online.

Chun contemplates Credit/D/Fail reforms, students and faculty weigh in

Dean of Yale College Marvin Chun expressed a willingness to consider proposals for applying the Credit/D/Fail option to distributional requirements and extending the conversion deadline, while students and faculty chimed in on how reforms might impact academic risk-taking.

“A chilling, hostile environment”: faculty protest China Initiative as tensions continue to disrupt research

In the last three weeks, nearly 100 Yale faculty have signed onto an open letter condemning the Justice Department’s anti-espionage campaign, which they say is invasive and discriminatory. Meanwhile, Chinese researchers and students continue to face visa and administrative barriers, chilling scientific collaboration on campus.

“Six Pretty Good Selves” offers first-years a diverse intellectual perspective in the humanities

Since 2019, ‘The Six Pretty Good Ideas’ course series has given humanities-oriented first-years an opportunity to explore works across canons.

“Iel” at Yale: A new French pronoun slowly appears

The nonbinary “iel” entered the “Le Petit Robert” dictionary, generating backlash in France and a few discussions in Yale classrooms.

Gary Tomlinson appointed Sterling Professor of music and humanities

Professor of music and humanities Gary Tomlinson was awarded a Sterling professorship in October following over a decade of work at the University.

New Librarian Michelle Light aims to link the University’s special collections

Michelle Light has begun her role as associate university librarian for special collections and director of the Beinecke Library after working in archives around the country for 20 years.

Yale’s legal experts unpack the Supreme Court term

Members of the Yale Law community unpack an eventful year for the Supreme Court and discuss the court’s future.

How academic freedom might be protected, or not

As the FAS Senate meets with administrators to deliberate on next steps in addressing academic freedom, professors weigh in on the range of policies that could possibly be implemented — or whether any changes are necessary.