Transitions: First Year Focus

Transitions is an optional, year-long program for first-year graduate students, sponsored by the Office for Graduate Student Development and Diversity, to provide incoming students with the skills, connections, and community that will let them flourish at Yale.

Transitions will help you to:

• understand the Graduate School's resources, academic policies, and procedures;
• gain effective, personalized strategies for navigating your department’s culture;
• develop academic and social skills for effectively navigating academia outside of your department;
• identify your academic and professional goals, and help you develop skills to accomplish those goals;
• identify university resources available to assist with the attainment of academic and professional goals;
• experience a richly diverse community;
• connect with mentors and learn strategies for developing useful advising and mentoring relationships;
• explore career opportunities both inside and outside academia;
• get plugged into a community through involvement with an interdisciplinary cohort.

What Does Transitions Involve?

If you join the Transitions program, you will: 

• participate in a Transitions Orientation event at the beginning of Graduate School orientation week; 
• attend and actively participate in the eight Transitions Workshops held throughout the year; (Participants attend two workshops relevant to each category.)
  • Mentoring/Advising
  • Academic Development
  • Diversity, Belonging, and Wellbeing
  • Professional Development
• participate in at least two Peer-to-Peer Advising sessions per semester with OGSDD Fellows;
• enjoy social events and networking opportunities.