The World
The Internationalization of Yale: A Framework for the Future
Yale’s international strategy is motivated by three overarching goals:
1. Preparing our students for leadership and service in an increasingly interdependent world
This has implications for both the curriculum and the co-curriculum. We must incorporate into our educational programs the international content and experiences required to educate Yale graduates for leadership in an increasingly integrated world. For Yale College students, we have staked a bold resolve: every Yale College student will have the opportunity to go abroad at least once during his or her four years, and for those on financial aid, we will provide the resources they need. Just as the development of athletics and other extracurricular activities in the late nineteenth century became a defining part of a Yale College education, the conscientious development of international opportunities for undergraduates may be Yale’s chief contribution to this generation’s education beyond the classroom.
Also, Yale’s professional schools are in the midst of integrating international subjects and opportunities into the very grain of their programs. For example, the School of Management’s new curriculum requires first year students to have an intensive two-week module abroad. Think how students will benefit from visiting Infosys and other IT companies in Bangalore, or exploring new opportunities for private equity investment in China. And imagine how students in the first-year procedure course at Yale Law School are advantaged by branching out to incorporate – not as an elective, but as part of the core course – study of the international dispute resolution processes and civil law systems prevalent elsewhere in the world. A number of professional schools are expanding the definition of a student (i.e., those we teach) to include established leaders in their fields, such as Chinese environmental protection administrators studying at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies or cabinet ministers from Kazakhstan studying at SOM last spring. Alongside these initiatives, the Graduate School, with the support of the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale, needs to increase support for Master’s and Ph.D. students’ research efforts overseas.
2. Attracting the most talented students and scholars to Yale from around the world
Maintaining a superb academic program is the principal means to this end. Providing sufficient financial aid is also crucial, and securing such funds is an important part of the campaign. Some of our schools have been successfully recruiting international students for some time; the School of Music is a conspicuous example. But, beyond recruitment, we need to develop strong and distinctive support services so Yale is well known as a place that welcomes and embraces international students and scholars. We have substantial work to undertake to earn this reputation. We also need to refine our overseas recruitment efforts even as we improve our on-campus services.
3. Positioning Yale as a global university of consequence
We will do this by finding additional resources for international research and training projects by the faculty, and for new international initiatives of the schools, centers and libraries that most significantly advance school-wide and University-wide objectives. We will also be working to increase Yale’s visibility around the world. Some of our new inititives, like the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization offer important avenues toward this goal.
