Reflecting on our Community
Dear Graduate Students,
As the academic year concludes, I keep thinking about the importance of community. The long journey to a graduate degree includes both triumphs and challenges, exciting discoveries in the lab and archives, but also more difficult moments when you need extra support from your colleagues and friends. At the Graduate School, the strength of our community lies not only in academic pursuits but also in the connections and friendships that form here. Our school’s motto, “Discover Together,” underscores the centrality of both curiosity and collaboration in our mission.
Throughout the year, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing our community come together in extraordinary ways. In March, I served as a judge for the Graduate School’s annual “3-Minute Thesis” competition, which challenges PhD students to distill their dissertation research into a compelling, three-minute presentation for a general audience. The event epitomizes the essence of graduate education: mastering the ability to convey complex ideas succinctly. It was also an opportunity to bring together the extended GSAS community. Students, faculty, staff and alumni filled the room to cheer on participants.
Earlier this semester, the Graduate School began accepting applications for its new Data Science Fellows program, which will support early-stage Yale PhD students interested in incorporating data science into their research and engaging with an interdisciplinary community of scholars. The program, funded by an alumni donor, will facilitate breakthrough discoveries and bolster cross-disciplinary connections in our GSAS community.
Over spring break, a multidisciplinary group of graduate students spent several days on Capitol Hill advocating for science and the importance of our research mission here at Yale. I also had the opportunity to talk with congressional office staff and joined a robust gathering of D.C.-area alumni.
We must continue pushing the boundaries of knowledge through research and teaching and recognize our progress as a community of scholars engaged collectively in responsible thought, work, and dialogue. We recently announced the 2026 Graduate Mentor Award winners and Prize Teaching Fellows, each of whom reminds us of the strength of that community and the importance of engagement.
We recently completed our admissions season and look forward to welcoming our new class of incoming students in August. During Commencement weekend, we will celebrate the many achievements of our fellow GSAS graduating students. This year, over 500 Master’s and over 300 PhD degree recipients will go on to advance the common good in a myriad of career paths. Please join me in congratulating our graduating class on reaching this life-changing milestone!
Thank you for your hard work, resilience, and continued pursuit of excellence. Whether your summer is devoted to writing, research travel, or tackling a big project, I hope the months ahead provide both rejuvenation and momentum for the fall semester.
With regards,
Lynn Cooley
Dean, Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Vice Provost for Postdoctoral Affairs
C.N.H. Long Professor of Genetics
Professor of Cell Biology and of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology