Students who wish or need to interrupt their study temporarily may request a leave of absence. There are two types of leave, personal and medical. There are very important considerations about deadlines and about continuation of medical insurance, the details of which are described in the Graduate School Programs and Policies Bulletin. Students facing any type of personal or health difficulties are strongly encouraged to consult with the DGS and/or Dean.
Registered Ph.D. students who wish to modify their academic responsibilities because of the birth or adoption of a child may request parental support and relief during or following the term in which the birth or adoption occurs. For the whole of the term in which the support and relief are granted, the student’s academic clock stops, effectively adding an additional term to the total time to degree. During this period, students remain registered full-time, receive a standard financial aid stipend and Health Award, and receive modified departmental academic expectations that best suit the specific situation. The precise nature of the academic responsibilities undertaken or suspended during this period should be a matter of consultation between the adviser and the student, with the understanding that students are entitled to full relief from responsibilities for at least an eight-week period. Most students take an entire term of parental relief, but the relief may be split in two, with a student taking only eight weeks of relief during the term in which, or just after, a birth or adoption occurs and then receiving an additional eight weeks of stipend funded by the Graduate School postponed to a later term. Parental relief may not be combined with other funding. To arrange for parental relief, a student should contact the associate dean for graduate student advising and academic support prior to the term of the birth or adoption. This benefit is limited to two birth or adoption events. If both parents are Ph.D. students at Yale, both may receive this benefit per birth or adoption event.
Graduate students in terminal M.A.S./M.A./M.S. programs may modify their academic responsibilities because of the birth or adoption of a child. They should contact the associate dean the term before the planned modifications would occur.