Application Process

Some Ph.D. applicants may be eligible for a fee waiver. Please review the instructions, eligibility factors, and required documents. We recommend doing this far in advance of the December 1 application deadline.

Once you submit your fee waiver request form, you will receive an email from the GSAS admissions office (graduate.admissions@yale.edu) within 2-3 business days indicating if you have been granted a waiver. 

A minimum of three letters of recommendation is required. These letters should be from individuals who can evaluate the applicant’s academic work, intellectual ability, or academic potential for graduate work. The letters should address one’s motivation for conducting research in this field; ability to take initiative, think critically, and engage in experimental design, data acquisition and analysis (if applicable); and perseverance in working towards an academic or research goal. The most effective letters originate from faculty members of the last institution you attended as a full-time student, research advisors in laboratories, or supervisors in work environments. It is generally most beneficial to choose recommenders who know the applicant well and can speak about their performance and approach with concrete examples. For other information, please review the FAQs on Letters of Recommendation.

This statement of 500 – 1,000 words explains the decision to apply to Yale for graduate study, research interests, and preparation for the intended field/s of study, including prior research and other relevant experiences. This statement gives the admissions committee an idea of who the applicant is, what motivates them for chemistry graduate study, and how Yale’s faculty, research, and resources would contribute to their future goals. A successful personal statement provides a substantive description of prior research, puts background into context, indicates enthusiasm for research at Yale Chemistry, and shows how the candidate would enrich the intellectual community at Yale. Concrete and specific statements are more useful than broad generalities, though, of course, one does not need to know their future career plans in detail.

We are dedicated to fostering a community where students with diverse backgrounds and experiences are included and feel they belong. In 300 words or less, tell us about the personal experiences, interests, or perspectives that you would bring to the community at Yale. This narrative should demonstrate your perspectives on diversity, why it is important, and how you have contributed to or will contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

For this year’s application, the GRE General is required. Scores for these examinations must be officially released to the Yale University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (institution code 3987). These scores are used as components of a holistic evaluation of an applicant’s qualifications, with due consideration of the limitations of the GRE score. More information is available at GSAS’s FAQs. Students from the USA with financial need can apply for the GRE Fee Reduction Program or request a Fee Reduction Voucher from Graduate Academic Support.

A record of the applicant’s academic performance is required for each institution they list in the Prior Study section of the application. This academic record (a scanned copy of a transcript from the institution’s Student Information System Portal, an “issued to student” transcript, or a certified electronic transcript in PDF form) must be uploaded to the online application.

Students whose native language is not English are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic. Scores from the TOEFL examination must be officially released to Yale University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (ETS code 3987). For the IELTS Academic test, please specify Yale University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The address in the IELTS system, is Warner House, 1 Hillhouse Avenue, room 302, New Haven, CT 06511.

The examination results must be officially released to Yale University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Scores released to other schools of Yale University cannot be transferred to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

The requirement for the TOEFL can be waived only for applicants who will have received a baccalaureate degree, or its foreign equivalent, from a university or college where English is the primary language of instruction before matriculation at Yale. Applicants must have studied in residence at the baccalaureate institution for at least three years to receive the waiver.