Spouse & Partner Privileges

Below are some of the resources available to spouses and partners of current students to support you during your time on campus.

McDougal Graduate Student Life

Spouses, partners, and children of GSAS students are welcome to use common spaces and facilities at the McDougal Graduate Student Center. We have a lactation room, baby changing tables, stroller-friendly access via elevator, and highchairs/booster seats. 

The McDougal Family Fellows host many events for spouses, partners, and families with children to enjoy throughout the year. McDougal Family Fellows plan monthly family activities and outings, such as farm trips, holiday parties, and arts programs, as well spouse date nights and arts programs. Check Yale Connect and the weekly McDougal Student Life Notes email for a full listing of events. 

Yale ID Access

If you are a legally married spouse of a Yale graduate student, you are eligible for a Yale Sponsored Identity (SI) Access Card ID Badge. Benefits of having a Yale-issued ID include: 

  • A Yale photo ID, which grants access to certain Yale buildings (on-campus apartments for students living in Yale Housing, Bass Library, the Schwarzman Center, Sterling Memorial Library, the Office for International Students and Scholars, and Woolsey Hall)
  • Fitness facilities and classes at the Yale’s Payne Whitney Gymnasium for a membership fee
  • Discounted tickets to Yale events and shops
  • A Yale netID and email access

Follow the instructions on the Yale ID Center website to obtain a spousal ID card. Documentation should be sent to the Graduate School’s registrar (registrar.gsas@yale.edu). At the start of the term, the verification process can take 4-6 weeks to complete.

After receiving an ID, spouses and partners can call the ITS Helpdesk to verify their identity and activate their netID and email.

Once you have an ID card and netID, you may submit a request for ID card access to McDougal Center facilities and online resources in Yale Connect.

Library Privileges

Your Yale ID card will also offer you certain borrowing privileges through the Yale University Library system. 

Spouses of Yale students are eligible for borrowing privileges at the library at no charge. These privileges include:

  • Cost: none
  • Book loan period: 2 months
  • Number of books/loans: 50
  • Number of Yale Film Archive items: 20
  • Access to Sterling Memorial and Bass Library after 6 pm, when an ID is required to enter the building
  • NetID access to public computer terminals
  • Access to the Yale Secure network while on campus

Spouses are not eligible for Scan and Deliver, Borrow Direct, Interlibrary Loan services, or remote access to library resources.

Auditing Yale Courses

Spouses and partners may audit Yale College and GSAS classes without charge. If you would like to take a course for credit or receive a transcript, you must complete an application for non-degree study and, if admitted, pay tuition fees.

For Yale College courses, follow the policies described in the undergraduate bulletin.

For Graduate School courses, you must reach out directly to the course instructor and ask permission. If granted, you should request “guest access” in order to access the course site on Canvas, the online course information system.