<p>I was just wondering what current students' relationships are with their professors at Yale. At some schools kids are really close with their professors and even go out for coffee or something to discuss a paper topic, that day's lecture, etc. At other schools the professors don't care much for their undergrads and often shirk their teaching duties by handing over their class to a TA. Where does Yale fall on this topic?</p>
<p>I have great experiences with the professors. All the professors I’ve had and I’d venture to say most Yale professors, loooooove teaching undergrads (unlike at other schools :cough: harvard :cough: ). They get really excited about it. You can get close to professors if you want to. You can take them out to dinner (usually in the one of the dining halls) and some professors even take their students out. I went berry picking with one of mine. Large classes are broken up into sections led by TAs but the professors will pop into the sections every now and then and talk to students. Most of the professors I’ve had stay after lecture and talk to students, about anything really. I loved my professors and go to know some of them personally. It also helps that many professors (or maybe all? I’m sure) are associated with a residential college so if you want to find one and talk, go to his or her college during lunch or dinner and you’ll bump into them eventually. My friends and I do this pretty often.</p>
<p>Going to coffee with a professor is out of the ordinary. Talking to them after class / at office hours / via email is pretty typical. Yale professors make time for students, but they do have their own lives.</p>
<p>With the changes in society, I doubt they hit on you as much now. </p>
<p>I’m not kidding. </p>
<p>On a humorous note, one of my professors stopped his lecture to say - paraphrased - “I was reading the rule book for professors last night and I noticed that it now says I can only be discharged for ‘gross misconduct.’ It used to say ‘misconduct.’ What is gross misconduct? Do I have to sodomize a student in front of the class?” He then went back to his lecture. </p>
<p>When you’re in your res college, you’ll find yourself eating with the faculty who come there to eat. You’ll get to know them if you care to. Some professors are friendly, others less so. Some of the biggest names in my day used to love when kids would come by.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information guys! It’s hard to know with a big research university like Yale, you know? So that’s why I asked :)</p>
<p>I love that all Yale profs are required to teach at least one undergrad course per semester (or was it per year?). It’s just so perfect, because I’m sure professors wouldn’t choose to go to Yale if they weren’t interested in undergrad work. I’ve seen faaaar too many brilliant professors shut themselves away with their cliques of grad students, and it’s super annoying.</p>