Interested in graduate school at Yale?

I encourage anyone interested in Yale’s programs (or working with me) to apply to political science, economics, or international relations.

Students often contact faculty directly about admissions, especially in summer and fall. Different faculty deal with this different ways. For me, I prefer to meet or chat with students once they have been accepted by the program. There are a couple of reasons for this.

One is that I receive e-mails from more people than I can find time to meet. So in fairness I try not to privilege some over others. Once someone is accepted, that means I have the time to talk with them in more depth to help them make the right decision.

Finally, having a conversation with a professor in the department, in my experience, does not influence the admissions process. It is enough to mention in your application that you are interested in the work of specific faculty and illustrate a linkage. In the end, even that does not weigh heavily in the decision. Focus on getting good recommendations, experience, grades and GRE scores and you will be fine.