YES Programs

Program Offerings

The Yale Education Studies Program offers Yale undergraduates two pathways to study education across Yale’s liberal arts curriculum and develop expertise in the research, policy, and practice of education. 

  • The Education Studies Scholars Program (Intensive Certificate) is a selective, cohort-based program with an emphasis on community learning and research through the senior capstone project. Yale students apply to the Scholars Intensive in the fall of their sophomore or junior year after taking EDST 110 Foundations in Education Studies. Accepted students are part of a community of  students who learn together over the next two and a half years. Scholars complete six course credits including EDST 110, EDST 261 seminar for new students, and EDST 400 & 410 the senior capstone. They are closely mentored over multiple years by Yale Education Studies faculty.
  • The Education Studies Certificate is a five-credit course-work based program allowing students to develop expertise in Education Studies.  Students may join the certificate any time after enrolling in EDST 110. The certificate is a good option for students who have other significant curricular committments (such as a double major) and want a more individualized learning experience.

Certificate Comparison: 

Scholars Intensive Certificate (by application, cohort-based)

Certificate (uncapped)

6 courses & field experience 

  1. EDST 110, Foundations in Education Studies
  2. EDST 261, Research seminar for new scholars
  3. One EDST course, Social Contexts & Policy 
  4. One EDST course, Individuals in Society
  5. EDST 400, First semester of senior capstone
  6. EDST 410/490, Second semester of senior capstone

+ a Field Experience, completed before or after after acceptance into the cohort

5 courses

  1. EDST 110, Foundations in Education Studies
  2. One EDST course, Social Contexts & Policy 
  3. One EDST course, Individuals in Society 
  4. Any EDST elective
  5. Any EDST elective 

Additional Details

Following Yale guidelines about combining programs, Yale students may participate in a total of 3 academic programs including majors and certificates.


Core EDST courses must be taken for a grade: EDST 110, EDST 261, EDST 400, and/or EDST 410/490. Otherwise, one EDST course may be taken Credit/D/Fail and counted for either the Scholars Intensive Certificate or regular Certificate. 


Please note that although neither program is a teacher-prep program that certifies students to teach after graduation, many Yale students go on to pursue careers in education.


See Frequently Asked Questions for more information on both Education Studies Certficiate Programs.


Yale Education Studies also hosts the Partner Teachers Program, funded by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Fund. A cohort of 15 New Haven Public School teachers collaborate with Yale students and professors from three Education Studies courses (Anti-Racist Curriculum and Pedagogy, Foundations in Education Studies, and Principles of Effective Teaching in the Secondary Classroom).