Light & Verity

When school was in—and out

A look at the incredible shrinking school year, from 1831 to the present.

Chart: Mark Zurolo ’01MFA. Source: Yale Book of Numbers

Chart: Mark Zurolo ’01MFA. Source: Yale Book of Numbers

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The academic calendar has been edging into August in recent years: this year, classes in the college and the Grad School started on August 30. The trend made us wonder how much the schedule has changed over the centuries. As seen in the calendars shown here, Yale College has gone from three terms totaling 40 weeks in the 1830s to two terms totaling 30 weeks today. 

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