Transcript FAQs

Q: When is a final official transcript required?

A final official transcript is required only after an offer of admission is extended to you and you accept that offer.

For admitted students only:

• The transcript must be sent to us directly from the issuing institution or its authorized agent, properly signed and/or authenticated.
• If the transcript is for a degree program, please wait to send the final transcript until the degree has been awarded and is marked on your official transcript. No interim transcript is necessary.
• If you received a degree from the institution, the final official transcript (or an accompanying degree certificate) must indicate that the degree was awarded.
• If the issuing institution does not indicate that a degree was awarded on their transcripts (common at institutions outside of the United States), please also request a separate degree certificate to accompany the transcript. We cannot accept a final transcript for a degree program unless we receive both a transcript of grades and an indication that the degree was awarded. 

Final official transcripts may be certified electronic transcripts or traditional paper transcripts. PDFs sent as email attachments will not be accepted.

1. Certified Electronic Transcripts (preferred method):

If your institution is able to send a certified electronic transcript (from Parchment, eSCRIP-SAFE, Digitary, National Student Clearinghouse, etc.), it should be sent to:

graduateschool.transcripts@yale.edu

This address is for institutional use only. Transcripts sent to this address by the student will not be accepted.

2.  Traditional Paper Transcripts:

If your institution will be mailing a paper transcript, please have it sent to the appropriate address, below. The transcript must be received in an envelope sealed by the issuing institution and contain authentication, such as a signature or raised seal.

For courier services, such as UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc.:

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Graduate Admissions
1 Hillhouse Avenue
Room 302
New Haven, CT 06511

For US Postal Mail (USPS) only:

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Graduate Admissions
P.O. Box 208236
New Haven, CT 06520-8236

Q: What kind of transcript do I need to submit with my application?

When you complete an application for admission, you must upload a transcript or academic record for all colleges/universities you have attended. This may be an informal transcript that you download from your school’s information system, or it may be a transcript issued to you personally from your college/university registrar. All transcripts you upload to your application must include: 

• Your name
• The institution name
• Course names and grade information
• Any academic comments that would be a part of an official transcript

If you upload a PDF of an electronic transcript, please make sure no additional authentication is needed, as transcripts requiring authentication will not upload successfully. 

Do not submit an official transcript to us by mail. Mailed transcripts are unnecessary during the application process and will be discarded. Official transcripts will only be required for admitted students and they will receive specific instructions about this after they have accepted an offer to enroll. 

Please note: if your transcript includes sensitive identifying information, such as your Social Security Number, you may redact this before scanning and uploading the transcript to your application.

Q: What does 'unofficial transcript' mean?

We define an unofficial transcript as any academic record in your possession, such as:

• A transcript issued to you 
• A record of your academic performance obtained from your institution’s SIS portal

Please Note: All academic records uploaded to your online application are treated as unofficial.

Q: What does 'final official transcript' mean?

We define a final official transcript as a transcript received directly from the issuing institution (whether on paper and still in the envelope or a certified electronic copy) that is properly signed/authenticated.

• If this transcript is in support of your baccalaureate degree-granting institution, it must indicate the award of the baccalaureate degree (or its foreign equivalent). 
• If this transcript is in support of an advanced degree program that you have completed at the same or another institution, it must indicate the award of that degree.
• If this transcript is in support of work taken in a non-degree program, it will contain all coursework taken.

A final official transcript is only required if you have been offered admission and have accepted that offer. Specific instructions will be sent to incoming students in May.

Please Note: Your final official transcript will be reviewed and compared to any transcript or academic record uploaded in support of your application and may also undergo independent verification. 

Q: May I upload a diploma or certificate of achievement or other non-academic record document?

Yes, if you feel they positively support your application, you may upload these as a Supplementary Material when you apply. Do not upload diplomas or certificates in the Academic History section in lieu of a transcript or academic record. 

Q: My institution sends transcripts electronically. Are you able to accept them?

During the application process you must upload your academic record/transcript, which may take the form of an electronic transcript (however, please ensure no additional authentication is required to view the transcript, as this will cause problems with your upload). 

Following admission and acceptance of an offer of admission, you may request that your institution send your official electronic transcript to graduateschool.transcripts@yale.edu. (Please note: transcripts sent to this address from applicants who have not accepted an offer of admission will be discarded.)

Q: My institution does not issue a traditional transcript or a record of my academic performance reflecting courses, credits, and grades. What should I do?

You should upload the academic performance document that your institution typically issues.

Q: My academic record from my institution's SIS Portal has an error in a course grade. Can I correct this error?

No. You should not attempt to modify the information reflected on the academic record downloaded from your institution’s SIS Portal.  If there are errors, you must have those errors corrected before downloading the record.

Q: Should I send in, or have sent in, an official transcript in support of my application?

No, a traditional paper or electronic transcript is neither required nor necessary for the review of your application. Instead, please upload an unofficial transcript or other copy of your academic record, as described above.

We do not accept transcripts sent via post or email during the initial application review process. All documentation must be uploaded directly to your application. 

Q: Do I need to have a transcript sent to you if I have uploaded one with my application?

No, you should not send any transcripts to us at the point of application. Instead, you should upload an unofficial copy of your transcript or academic record when you apply.

Applicants who are admitted and who accept an offer of admission will need to send us a final official transcript by July 15. Admitted students will receive specific instructions about this in May. 

Q: I have already asked that a transcript be sent to you. Should or can I upload a copy as well?

Yes. You must upload your academic record to your application prior to submission. Any transcript received by mail will be discarded.

Q: Can I upload my academic record (unofficial) transcripts obtained from my institution’s web site?

Yes. Academic records, such as those frequently available to enrolled students from an institutional Student Information System portal, can be uploaded. However, please make certain that such an academic record contains course identifiers, names, and grades; or consider uploading a scanned copy of your transcript.

In addition, if your institution uses your Social Security Number as an institutional identification number, please ensure that you obscure (using whiteout or a black marker) that number before scanning and uploading to your application.

Q: I am not able to upload a copy of my transcript. May I send it to you via e-mail or upload a self-prepared transcript?

No. Please upload a copy of your academic record/scanned copy of your transcript, which is required in order to submit your application.

We are unable to accommodate and will not accept/process transcripts sent to us via mail or email, whether from an applicant or from an institution. Do not self-prepare your own transcript, as it will be disregarded. 

Q: My uploaded transcript/s already indicate/s the award of the baccalaureate or advanced degree. If I am admitted do I have to send another final official transcript?

Yes. If you are offered admission and you accept that offer, you must have the institution send us a copy of your final official transcript. Incoming students will receive more specific instructions starting in May. 

Q: Do I have to upload both the non-English and English translated transcript?

Yes. If your original transcript is in a language other than English, please upload both the original and the translation.

Q: The academic record I have from my school SIS portal does not contain the name of my school, nor does it have a 'transcript legend.' Is that a problem?

No. While it is preferred that any academic record you upload to your application contain the institution name and a ‘legend,’ we understand that this is not always possible for academic records from institutional portals. If you have or can obtain an unofficial copy of your transcript, you can upload that instead.

Q: My transcript has been evaluated by a credential evaluation service (e.g., WES). Can that evaluation be uploaded in lieu of my transcript?

Yes. The evaluation must contain course and grade information, however. Please note, that if you are offered admission and accept that offer, an original transcript will be required directly from the issuing institution.

Q: Do I need to upload a transcript from my study abroad program?

A separate transcript from the study abroad institution is not required if the information also appears on your home institution’s transcript. You may upload a copy of your home institution transcript to reflect your study abroad coursework.

If home institution transcript does not reflect your study abroad coursework, then you should upload a separate transcript from the study abroad institution. 

Q: Due to the impact of COVID-19, my institution adopted a Universal Pass or Credit/Fail option for Spring 2020 courses. Will my chance of admission be impacted by this change?

No. Yale’s graduate programs evaluate applicants holistically and will take the significant disruptions of COVID-19 into account when reviewing students’ transcripts and other admissions materials relating to Spring 2020. In particular, we will respect decisions regarding the adoption of Credit/Fail and other grading options during this unprecedented period, whether they are made by institutions or by individual students.