The Jackson School itself does not facilitate credit for internships. To receive credit for an internship, you must do this through Yale College’s Office of Career Strategy (Derek Webster oversees the process).

There are strictly no substitutes for some of the Global Affairs major requirements. For students accepted before Fall 2025, there are no substitutes for:

• Applied Quantitative Analysis II (GLBL 2122);
• Either of the two core courses (Approaches to International Security and Approaches to International Development); or
• Intermediate microeconomics or Intermediate macroeconomics.

For students accepted after Fall 2025, there are no substitutes for:

• Any of the courses with attributes or course numbers associated with the “2 Political Science” courses requirement;
• Applied Quantitative Analysis II (GLBL 2122);
• The “Challenges in Global Affairs” integrated core course (GLBL 3101); or
• Any of the courses with attributes or course numbers associated with the “one additional advanced course” requirement.

Please note that only students who have tested out of Intro to Microeconomics and/or Intro to Macroeconomics may take a substitute course that lists the course they've tested out of as a prerequisite, or alternatively, an additional Global Affairs elective.

Yes, you can keep your adviser. You may also request a specific faculty member who teaches in Global Affairs as an advisor.

No. However, students pursuing a double major or combination of a major and (one or two) certificate(s), or similar, are encouraged to meet with the DUS/Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education to discuss their plan of study, after creating and sharing a spreadsheet outlining a concrete plan to complete both/all academic programs successfully in time for graduation.

Students who have tested out of Intro to Microeconomics and/or Intro to Macroeconomics must take a substitute course that lists the course they've tested out of as a prerequisite, or alternatively, an additional Global Affairs elective.

Yes, but only with approval from the DUS upon your return from study abroad and after the credit transfers to Yale. Students must submit the syllabus and their coursework to the DUS. Provisional approval for a course counting toward the major may occur before the program takes place. Final approval for any study abroad course can only take place after the completion of the study abroad program. Please use this Course Exception form to request that the study abroad course be approved. Students should note that only language courses and electives may be petitioned to count toward their major requirements, with the exception of the London School of Economics’ summer courses “Introductory Microeconomics” and “Introductory Macroeconomics” in the Economics program. Additionally, no more than one summer study course plus one semester-long course, or two courses during a full semester abroad, may be petitioned.

Global Affairs majors are encouraged to complete an internship or a research project in a field/topic in global affairs in the summer between their junior and senior year. The Jackson School Career Development Office assists Global Affairs majors in finding suitable internships and projects. The Jackson School also has some funding available for these internships and/or projects.

Yes, as long as they have the same attributes or course numbers (for example, an attribute as a YC GLBL Elective) as the requirement(s) in question, and, for those admitted starting Fall 2025, any courses that are clearly noted according to the Global Affairs major course requirements for students accepted during or after Fall 2025.

Not necessarily, but Global Affairs majors and Jackson School M.P.P. students do have some priority in any course that is primarily a Jackson course. Although majors may not be able to take all classes taught by Senior Fellows, this policy means they should be able to take at least one and likely more while at Yale. If a Global Affairs course that counts as an elective is offered at a graduate level, please follow the Yale College policy of Enrolling in a Graduate and Professional Schools courses.

Per Yale College policy and for any student completing a double major or a major and certificate, no more than two classes may be applied to the requirements of a double major or a major and one or more certificates.

Courses that count toward the major are clearly noted on the Jackson website under the Global Affairs Major courses tab. You may also find courses by the term that you are looking for by searching on Yale Course Search using the "Any Course Information Attribute" filter. There, you can search by “YC GLBL Additional Methods” courses (only for those admitted prior to Fall 2025),“YC GLBL Qualitative Methods” (only for those admitted starting Fall 2025), and “YC GLBL Elective” and “YC GLBL 121 Alternative” courses for all Global Affairs majors.

No. The Global Affairs language requirement can only be fulfilled with a modern language other than English, as the purpose of this requirement is a proficiency in communicating beyond American borders. Students with heritage or native speaking ability in a modern language other than English may consult the DUS and/or Jackson registrar on whether this ability fulfills the Global Affairs language requirement.

No. All Global Affairs majors must take GLBL 225 and GLBL 275.

Students can use the Yale Course Search "Any Information Attribute" and filter by “YC GLBL: Elective” to determine which courses count as electives in each term. If a course you have taken or plan on taking does not have the “YC GLBL Elective” attribute but you strongly believe it should count as such, you can petition for it to be accepted as an elective by filling out the Course Exception form.

None of the courses required for the major can be taken credit/d/fail. Only an L5 (if admitted prior to Fall 2025) or L4 (if admitted starting Fall 2025) language course used to demonstrate language proficiency may be taken credit/d/fail. A "credit" in the L5/L4 course will meet the major’s proficiency requirement.

Start with Yale’s Office of Career Strategy (OCS), which has a large resource center, oversee ERecruiting (an online opportunities system), and offer resume advising. After you have visited OCS, please contact the Assistant Dean for Career Development at Jackson, who can provide you with global affairs-specific information.

Jackson's Office of Academic Services & Registrar, Jackson.registrar@yale.edu, is the best first contact for these sorts of questions.

Interested majors must first apply to and get admitted to Yale College, so you should reach out to the Yale College Admissions Office with questions. Current Yale undergraduate students apply for the major during their sophomore year. You can find information about the Global Affairs major on our website and our FAQs, and students can attend an information session that is held early each fall semester.

During the senior year, Global Affairs majors are required to complete either a senior thesis or a capstone course. A senior thesis is the product of original, individual research that a student completes either in a substantive seminar or in the Global Affairs senior thesis course. A capstone is a semester-long public policy project on behalf of a real, external partner. The clients for these capstone courses will be government agencies, not-for-profit groups, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector entities in the United States and abroad. Each course will consist of up to 10 students and will be overseen by a Yale faculty member. Students are presented with their project prior to the start of the semester. Working together as a group, and with their faculty instructor, the students will complete the project over the course of the semester.

Yes. If the course record indicates that a course fulfills a distributional requirement (Hu, Sc, So, QR, WR), it will count toward your Distributional Requirements, regardless of where it fits in the major.

In addition to working toward Yale College Distributional Requirements, students interested in applying to the major are strongly encouraged to take courses from among the following: introductory economics courses (ECON 1108, ECON 1110, or ECON 1115, and ECON 1111 or ECON 1116); introductory political science courses (Introduction to International Relations, PLSC 1113; Introduction to Comparative Politics, PLSC 1413; or Political Theory, PLSC 1327, 1335, 1352, or Directed Studies); and one or two History courses. Prospective students are also encouraged to work toward the L4 language requirement early in their course planning. These courses are all required for the updated major and progress toward completing them, at the time of application, will be considered. All students interested in applying to the Global Affairs major should also plan to take GLBL 2121 Applied Quantitative Analysis I in the fall of their sophomore year (and not beforehand) to best prepare them for GLBL 2122 Applied Quantitative Analysis II, a requirement that is taken in the spring of sophomore year and is closed to non-majors. Enrollment in the first AQA requirement (GLBL 2121) is also considered at the time of application. We strongly recommend that students take GLBL 2121 rather than one of its accepted substitutes unless they have a course planning issue that cannot otherwise be resolved (or other compelling reason).

Global Affairs does not have a waitlist for admission. Students accepted into the Global Affairs major will be notified and must confirm their acceptance of the offer.

Yes. Documentation must be provided that shows that the language of instruction in high school was not English. This is the same documentation that is usually required by Yale College. If the non-English native language was not the language of high school instruction, students must receive approval of L4 equivalence from the appropriate language department.

We recommend choosing courses during your Term Abroad in light of your interests as a Global Affairs elective or in fulfillment of Yale College Distributional Requirements. Economics courses taken abroad may count toward the major only if Yale's Economics Department reviews them as comparable to Yale's offerings, which is rare. Courses are approved only with the express written permission of the DUS, and may only be formally petitioned to count toward the major requirements after the credit transfers to Yale. We strictly do not allow course substitutes for: any of the courses with attributes or course numbers associated with the “2 Political Science” courses requirement; Applied Quantitative Analysis II (GLBL 2122); The “Challenges in Global Affairs” integrated core course (GLBL 3101); or any of the courses with attributes or course numbers associated with the “one additional advanced course” requirement.

No.

Applicants will be assessed by a combination of preparedness (in terms of having taken recommended courses required for the major, such as the introductory political science, economics, or history courses, Quantitative Analysis I or an acceptable substitute, or the language requirement) and academic performance. Overall, we look for applicants with a strong foundation in analytical skills and frameworks, a clear roadmap to the successful completion of the major, a demonstrated record of academic excellence, and an exceptional interest in addressing the complex challenges that we face as concerned global citizens.

Historically, we have accepted anywhere from 50-90 students per year. However, it would be best to attend the information sessions (usually listed here) to get the most accurate number in the year in which you are applying.

Each fall, the call for applications is posted on the Jackson School website, circulated through Residential College deans’ offices, and noted in Yale's Advising Resources .