Application Deadline (for next cohort):

The deadline for applications for acceptance into the next cohort of Fields students is October 15th. Applications will be accepted beginning September 1st. Students will be notified of their acceptance into the program by November 1st.

Eligibility

Interested students must be highly motivated, self-disciplined and self-directed. They must be able to demonstrate compelling reasons why they wish to enter into a discipline-specific language study program and they must be fully committed to the program. Students will establish a planned program of study upon entering Fields. They will be fully responsible for acquiring and assimilating the information and material from the various instructional components and for following the agreed-upon schedule. The planned program of study will be formulated in consultation with the language program director, the language partner, and others.

Undergraduate students must be in good academic standing and will need the approval of their Residential College Dean and the recommendation of the language program director or language instructor at Yale. Recognizing the time commitment required for language study (and discipline-specific language study in particular), students should carefully consider their decision to apply to the Fields Program. Students having already attained a fairly advanced level of language proficiency and/or having already taken content-based/bridge language courses, for example, would be ideal candidates for the Fields Program. Most of the students accepted into the program have been juniors, although some sophmores (and possibly even freshmen) may be at advanced enough levels to apply.

Application Procedures

The application process includes the following steps:

Step 1: Application
The first step is to submit by the posted deadline the following documentation:

Application Form: Please download and complete the Fields Application Form and email it to fields@yale.edu as an email attachment.
Internal Academic Record (Transcript): Please obtain an internal academic record from your Residential College Dean and mail or deliver it to the Fields Program at the Center for Language Study, 370 Temple Street, New Haven, CT 06511.

Step 2: Interview
Students will be informed as to the status of their applications within two to three weeks after the application filing deadline, and may at that time be invited for an interview.

Step 3: Assessment
Those students identified as promising candidates for participation in the Fields Program will be assessed for language proficiency. Generally, Fields students should have an Intermediate level of proficiency as measured by standards of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) at the start of the program.

Step 4: Acceptance
Students whose proficiency levels are determined to be equivalent to an ACTFL Intermediate level or above will be notified of their final acceptance into the program.

After Acceptance

Between the time of your acceptance into the program and the start of Spring semester, several preliminary program activities will take place (e.g., students will attend an orientation and meet with a Fields coach to discuss their goals, to plan their program of studies, and to consider fieldwork options; language partners, mentors, and learning materials will be identified). The main program activities will span one calendar year, from the beginning of the Spring semester to the end of the Fall semester. Fields students also have an opportunity to apply for continued study beyond their first year in the program.

More Information

For a detailed description of the program, please click here.

For questions not answered on this website, contact fields@yale.edu or call (203) 432-0584.