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Student Registration Status

Some situations require students to change their registration status. If any of the circumstances below apply to you during the academic year, you need to notify us, to ensure that your registration status is accurate. 

Dissertation Completion Status (DCS)

Use this status if you are not eligible for full-time registration (usually because of full-time employment restrictions), but wish to complete your Ph.D. dissertation under the supervision of a member of the Graduate School faculty. DCS allows you to maintain your University access privileges such as Net ID, electronic library resources, and Yale email account. Request Dissertation Completion Status by submitting the Change of Status form. 

Extended Registration

If you are a Ph.D. student and you intend to register as a full-time student in your 7th or 8th year of study, you must submit your most recent dissertation progress report along with the extended registration application. Request Extended Registration by submitting the applicable Extended Registration form. 

  1. Extended Registration – 7th Year
  2. Extended Registration – 8th Year

Leaves of Absence

Policies governing a leave of absence (medical, personal, or parental) are described in more detail in the Graduate School’s Programs and Policies handbook. Please review these policies carefully to understand the benefits and limitations of the leave status you are considering. Medical and personal leaves are normally granted only if you are current with your degree requirements. Doctoral students have a maximum total of two years of leave available to them over the course of their programs. Master’s degree students in two-year programs have a maximum total of one year available. Master’s degree students in one-year programs have a maximum of one term available. Request a Leave of Absence by submitting the Change of Status form.

  • Medical: If you wish or need to interrupt your study temporarily because of physical or mental health concerns, you may request a medical leave. You should request an appointment with an appropriate Yale Health chief clinician in Mental Health and Counseling or Student Medicine who will recommend the leave to the dean’s office. Then, complete the change of status form above and return it to your department/DGS for signature. If you are an international student, you should reach out to OISS to see how the leave will impact your visa status. With all medical leaves, students will be given an academic assignment upon which their return is contingent. The dean’s office will arrange the assignment in consultation with your department. Once approved for a medical leave, students at Yale University may sign up for student affiliate coverage, if they intend to retain Yale Health insurance; PhD students retain a GSAS Health Award to cover the cost of the remainder of the coverage period in which they go on leave. After that first coverage period of the leave ends, PhD students on medical leave self-pay if they retain student affiliate coverage. There is no obligation to retain Yale Health coverage while on leave. Students on a medical leave are also eligible to apply for a Medical Leave Hardship Award. Please reach out to GSASadministrativedean@yale.edu if you have any questions.
  • Personal: If you wish or need to interrupt your study temporarily because of personal matters, you may request a leave.
  • Parental: If you wish to modify your academic responsibilities because of the birth or adoption of a child, you can request a parental leave. Please note: The parental leave status halts both your academic clock and your funding. This is different from the Parental Support and Relief policy described below.

Renewing or returning from a leave: To request a renewal or to resume your course of study as a registered student, send an email to gsasadministrativedean@yale.edu six weeks prior to the end of your approved leave. Students are eligible to return from a leave at the start of a semester or on June 1. 

Non-Cumulative Registration

Use this status if you are a registered Ph.D. student who needs to acquire an academic or methodological skill that is an essential degree requirement for your program or necessary for the completion of your dissertation. This status is typically used for immersive foreign language study. Request Non-Cumulative Registration by submitting the Change of Status form.

Parental Support and Relief

The Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ relief policy is designed to assist Ph.D. students when they become parents, and enables students to modify their academic responsibilities in the semester during or following the birth or adoption of a child. 
 
During your semester of parental relief:
1. Your academic clock stops, effectively adding an additional term to the total time to degree.
2. You will remain a registered full-time student; relief is not a leave of absence.
3. You will receive a standard stipend and health award.
4. In consultation with your DGS and adviser, you can modify your academic activity to suit your specific situation; all students are entitled to a minimum of eight weeks of full relief, free from any academic obligations.
 
This benefit is limited to two birth or adoption events over the course of a student’s doctoral program. If both parents are Ph.D. students at Yale, both may receive this benefit per birth or adoption event.
 
Please use this form request a semester of parental relief. If you have any questions or would like additional advising, please contact GSASadministrativedean@yale.edu.
 
Please note, a new birth or adoption may also qualify you for the Graduate School’s Family Support Subsidy.
 

Registration in Absentia 

Use this status if you are a Ph.D. student who will be living outside the New Haven area in order to conduct full-time dissertation research, full-time field work, or full-time study at another academic institution. Forms for requesting in Absentia registration should be filed with your DGS at least one month before the beginning of the term in which you expect to be away from New Haven. Request Registration in Absentia by submitting the Change of Status form.

Intent to Withdraw

If you wish withdraw “in good standing,” you must submit a change of status form and return your ID card to the University Registrar’s Office. If you were enrolled as a Ph.D. student prior to withdrawing and have met the requirements for the award of the M.A./M.S. or M.Phil. degree(s), you must also submit a degree petition form to receive the degree(s). These degrees are not automatically awarded after withdrawal. Indicate your Intent to Withdraw by submitting the applicable Change of Status form.