The Saybrook Blog

You’ve seen the list: two each of WR, QR, Hu(dak?), So and Sc, plus the Language Requirement. Unless the academic gods have endowed you with the knowledge base of a walking Wikipedia and the supple versatility of Nastia Liukin, at least one of these requirements probably gives you a light dusting of cold sweat. Please note that that link combined (mixed?) my metaphors.

In an attempt to alleviate those occasional night terrors, I’ve  compiled a brief guide detailing how exactly you might want to go about fulfilling these requirements. Drawing upon my extensive anthropological background, I will of course break everything down into gross generalizations that I hope will both entertain and inform.

But first, the requirements. The basic rule is that by the end of your freshman year, you need to have completed one credit in each of the skills-based distributions: that is Quantitative Reasoning (QR), Writing (WR) or a Language. However, since by the end of your sophomore year you also need to have finished at least one credit in each disciplinary area (Science, Social Science, Humanities) and at least one credit in all three of your skills (QR, WR, Language), you should probably plan ahead a bit.

The advice to complete the first year’s requirements, grouped to target specific groups of the Yale population, starts after the jump.

The Mathematical Masochist (or the Scientific Suffering-Seeker, not to be confused with the Scientific Suffrage-Seeker)

Academic Interests: Math, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Medical School

If you love problem sets, impossibly steep curves and laboratory classes that eat up entire afternoons, you probably fall into this category. While pursuing your double-major in Biology and Economics and Mathematics (yes, there are three words in that second major), you will probably finish up your QR and Sc credits in the first semester. But how in the world will you possibly complete a WR class?

If you’re looking to fulfill the WR Requirement (but science is more your thing), consider:

• E&EB 240a, Animal Behavior: I don’t know much about this class, but I do know that the evaluations mention spider sex and the class is in one of the Biology departments. That’s always a plus if you prefer writing a research proposal to composing an essay about Keats and Pope.
• EVST 215a, Scientific and Environmental Writing: The title seems pretty self-explanatory although the class looks like a bit more work. Hey, when you’re making money and own all of us humanities majors, at least you’ll be able to tell us what you’re researching “with grace, clarity and accuracy”?
• E&EB 122b, Principles of Evolution, Ecology & Behavior: If you wait until second semester you can always take the basic class for the major for a writing credit. If you’re planning on going to med school, you probably already took MCDB 120 first semester anyways.
• ENGL 114-120, Writing Seminars: A lot of work but they’re classes that look good on your transcript and might help you out when you ultimately decide to drop premed in favor of something a bit more reasonable.

If you’re absolutely insane, Directed Studies completes all your Hu, WR and So credits in one short year. You would work hard, but then you would be pretty much done with your distributional requirements. There are some kids who manage to take a math or science class along with DS, but I would not recommend it for the faint of heart. That said, if you’re even entertaining the idea (after all, you DID get into Yale and you therefore MUST be pretty diligent), your cardiovascular system probably isn’t on the verge of collapse yet anyways.

The Ditzy Intellectual (a.k.a. the Humanities Major)

Academic Interests: English, Philosophy, American Studies, Directed Studies, Theater Studies (pretty much every department that ends in Studies)

We quiver in the face of simple arithmetic. We quake before trigonometry and calculus. We quail at the mere prospect of anything quantitative. But can we compose consonant sentences tricolon crescens while employing one of the most rarely used sounds in the English language? Oh, no question.

If you’d rather write a paper than complete a problem set, then you probably fall into this category. How could you possibly fulfill the QR requirement without doing too much (or even any) math?

• PHIL 115a , First-Order Logic: Don’t want to do math? Would you rather learn the language of logic and do great on your LSAT? Then this class if for you! Plus, I hear the professor is fantastic (and it’s a class in the philosophy department!).
• LING 263a, Introduction to Semantics: Along the same lines as first-order logic, you will have problem sets that have more to do with the implications of sentences than partial derivatives.
• STAT 101-106a, Introduction to Statistics: There are five different sections, each of which focuses on a particular field of study. This diversity also means that the course can count for the E&EB, MCDB, EP&E, Statistics and Political Science majors. Apparently, it’s a course in Minitab as well as statistics, so it’ll be good to have access to a Windows computer if you take the course.
• ECON 110a or 115, Introductory Microeconomics: In either a lecture or seminar format, you could maybe learn something that actually applies to the real world. Although I guess if you’re brilliant enough, someone will handle your finances. The seminar requires a bit more math, but may be more engaging.

The A-muhr-ican

Academic Interests: Anything but classes that require me to make funny noises with professors I cannot understand

You got your roommate assignment in the mail and eagerly Facebook stalked until you found him/her. After checking him/her out to make sure he/she was not a total crazy, you exchanged phone numbers and agreed on a time to coordinate furniture shopping. Unfortunately, in your excitement you made a fatal error.

“Hey. Ale-jah-andro/a?”

Oops.

If you find Spanish stale, French flat and Latin lackluster, here are some options to finish off that language requirement.

• HNDI 110a & 120b, Elementary Hindi I & II: Supposedly a reasonable language with a reasonable workload. And since Hindi is one of those all or nothing languages, you can expect that nobody else in the class will know what’s going on either.
• EGYP 110a & 120b, Introduction to Classical Hieroglyphic Egyptian I & II: It only meets twice a week, as compared to other L1 classes that meet 5 times a week. Don’t expect this to be a walk in the park though. It’s a lot of memorization, and both the professors and the other students take it very seriously.
• SPAN 150a or 151b, Advanced Conversational Spanish: If you tested into L5, but aren’t in love with Spanish, give this class a try. I know that it says “Advanced,” but the class is very reasonable and incredibly engaging. All the professors are excellent. I took it with Profesora Carballal (who I highly recommend).
• If you do not like foreign langues and want to survive, do not take Arabic or Chinese. Most of you will probably ignore this warning because you plan to work for the CIA or something. After all, not all spies can get by with a pierc(e)ing stare, martinis and a British accent. You may regret this decision if you’re not a language whiz.

The Young and the Restless

Academic Interests: Soap operas and looking glam

So you have no idea what you want to study. That’s cool, too. Here are some tips on getting started on those requirements while staying broad enough to avoid pigeonholing:

• Go for classes that satisfy prerequisites for multiple departments but also fulfill your distributions. Microeconomics is a great place to look for a QR if you might be interested in the social sciences (it counts in the Economics, EP&E, International Studies and (sometimes) Political Science Departments). If you don’t love writing  but might want to pursue any major in the social sciences consider the writing intensive section of PLSC 114, Introduction to Political Philosophy (Steven Smith is a genius).
• If you’re interested in science and need to look for a WR, Hu or So credit, look around in the Environmental Studies and E&EB departments. The distributions are ripe for the picking in those departments because they tend to be a little more accessible and less hard science.
• If you’re considering Psychology, you have tons of options that are broad enough to be useful in other departments. PSYC 120, Introduction to the Human Brain, is cross-listed with the Cognitive Science department and fulfills your Sc requirement. PSYC 129, Statistics as a Way of Knowing, is cross-listed with Statistics and, if you ask the DUS, could apply to multiple departments while fulfilling your QR. PSYC 137, Language and Mind, fulfills the preqrequisite for the Linguistics department and is a So. PSYC 127 & 140, Early Childhood Methods & Developmental Psychology, are both WR credits and the former counts for Teacher Prep.
• If you need a Sc credit and know you’re not looking for science, look for the nonmajor classes in many of the departments. Some of them are freshman seminars, and some of them are decent. Check out the evaluations. Other options are ANTH 116, Introduction to Biological Anthropology (I might be taking that) or an Astronomy course.

If you have questions, corrections or additional advice, please comment!

Back to How to Navigate Freshman Year at Yale

Sign up for Email Updates

Become a Fan on Facebook