The Humanities program brings world-class scholars and undergraduates together in pursuit of fundamental questions in literature, the arts, history, philosophy and the sciences.
Academics
Unlike most Departments and Programs at Yale, the Humanities Program has no graduate program; we focus exclusively on providing a liberal education to Yale College undergraduates. It is home to two of Yale’s most distinctive undergraduate courses of study, the Directed Studies (“DS”) program for first-year students, the Humanities Major, and so much more.
Listed below are both academic and extra-academic offerings for students of all backgrounds. Whether you’re a STEM major looking to fill your HU requirement (our classes all count), or Humanities Majors hungry for more, the Humanities Program offers something for everyone!
Major in Humanities
The Humanities Major integrates courses from across disciplines, allowing students to develop their intellectual, moral, civic, and creative capacities to the fullest.
First Year Student?
Whether you want to major in Humanities or you’re just curious, feel free to explore our first year offerings.
Core Seminars
The major requires two core seminars that model interdisciplinary conversation on questions of “interpretation” and “modernity”. Each seminar is taught by a pair of faculty members in the Humanities Program from complementary disciplines. The two broad themes remain consistent from year to year, but the content and instructors change.
