Each summer, Yale Divinity School offers opportunities for language study in a 6-week intensive format. Each course is fully comparable in scope and intent with two semesters of language work taken during a regular academic year and earns six hours of credit. Typically, instruction is offered in Elementary Biblical Hebrew, Elementary New Testament Greek, and Introductory Latin. Courses are designed specifically to equip students for entry into an intermediate level language course the following fall and/or for taking exams associated with their ordination.
Enrollment is open to current and incoming Yale Divinity School students and to others interested and capable of doing intensive, graduate level language study. All courses meet daily, Monday – Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Classes begin in late May and do not meet on Memorial Day or July 4th. Due to the intensive nature of the instruction attendance at all class sessions is critically important.
Courses are graded on the Divinity School letter grade system (H, HP, LP) but students may request to be graded on the Credit/No Credit scale by submitting the Grade Mode Change Request form by the stated deadline. Tuition will be billed through YalePay, Yale’s tuition billing and payment platform.
For non-Yale University students, a $50 non-refundable application fee is due with course registration. This fee must be paid by check, made payable to Yale Divinity School and mailed to Registrar’s Office, Yale Divinity School, 409 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511. Your registration will be processed upon receipt of the application fee. After your registration is processed you will receive information about activating your Yale netid and email and about accessing the course site in the Canvas course platform.
A course may be cancelled if minimum enrollment of 5 students is not reached by the registration deadline. In the event of a course cancellation, notification will be sent to the email address provided with your registration form.
Summer 2023 course information
Course instructors:
REL 3607, Introduction to Classical and Medieval Latin will be taught by John Dillon (john.dillon@yale.edu)
REL 3608, Elementary Biblical Hebrew will be taught by Mark Lester (mlester2@luc.edu)
REL 3609, Elementary New Testament Greek will be taught by Chris Atkins (chris.atkins@yale.edu)
Course tuition: $ 3,601
Format:
REL 3607: residential (in-person) format only
REL 3609: residential (in-person) format only.
REL 3608: synchronous on-line format only.
Dates: Courses run from May 23rd through July 5th. Classes do not meet on May 29th or July 4th.
DEADLINES:
Registration deadline: May 9, 2023
Tuition rebate dates for course withdrawals:
- Withdrawal by 5pm on May 25th: Full refund
- Withdrawal by 5 pm on June 2nd: 50% refund
- Withdrawal after 5pm on June 2nd: No tuition refund
Deadline to request CR/NC grading: June 13th by 5 pm
The following courses are offered:
REL 3607, Introduction to Classical and Medieval Latin —Summer Intensive
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the Latin language in six weeks. In daily classes students learn new grammatical concepts, practice reading and translating increasingly complex Latin texts, and complete exercises in Latin to gain an active command of the language. This course requires no prior knowledge of Latin or any other foreign language. Completion of REL 3607 earns six hours of credit. This course prepares students for second-year Latin courses in the Classics or Medieval Studies departments, and for the reading of Classical or Medieval Latin texts.
REL 3608 Elementary Biblical Hebrew—Summer Intensive
This class offers a comprehensive introduction to Biblical Hebrew in six weeks. Daily sessions focus on Hebrew grammar, beginning with the alphabet and concluding with the translation of a number of texts from the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. This course assumes no prior knowledge of Hebrew or any other foreign language. Completion of REL 3608 earns six hours of credit, equivalent to two full semester classes. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to read prose passages and some poetry passages from the Hebrew Bible with the help of a lexicon. This course prepares students to take Intermediate Hebrew (REL 574), as well as a range of Hebrew Exegesis courses offered at YDS during the academic year.
REL 3609, Elementary New Testament Greek—Summer Intensive
This intensive six-week course is the equivalent of a two-semester course covering the basics of New Testament, or Koine, Greek. The course begins by focusing on the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary needed to begin reading the New Testament and the Septuagint. As students gain greater facility with Greek, this course shifts to reading New Testament and early Christian texts with greater speed and accuracy, as well as understanding the critical apparatus found in the standard editions of the Greek New Testament. No prior knowledge of Greek is assumed. The course starts with the alphabet and continues from there. Completion of REL 3609 earns six hours of credit, equivalent to two full semester classes. This intensive course prepares students to take the Greek Exegesis courses offered at YDS.
For more information, contact roslyn.evans@yale.edu or lisabeth.huck@yale.edu.