Summer Languages Program

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. Instruction is offered in Elementary Biblical Hebrew and Elementary New Testament Greek. 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.  Courses are offered in a synchronous remote format.

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Summer 2026 course information

REL 3608, Elementary Biblical Hebrew: Mark Lester (mlester2@luc.edu). Mark Lester has been teaching summer Hebrew at Yale since 2017. He holds a Ph.D. from Yale (focusing on Hebrew Bible 2020). He is currently an Instructor in the Department of Theology at Loyola University, Chicago.

REL 3609: Elementary New Testament Greek: Christopher Atkins (Chris_Atkins@baylor.edu) has been teaching summer Greek at Yale since 2023. He holds a Ph.D. from Yale (in Classics and Religious Studies). He is currently Assistant Professor of Classics at Baylor University.

Course tuition for incoming and current Yale Divinity School students: free

Course tuition for non-Yale Divinity School participants: $3,822

Non-refundable application fee for all participants: $50

Format: synchronous remote. 

Dates: Courses run May 19 through July 1. Classes do not meet on May 25 or June 19.
 

Enrollment

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, for four hours each day. Classes begin in late May and do not meet on Memorial Day, Juneteenth, or July 4th. Due to the intensive nature of the instruction attendance at all class sessions is critically important.

Grading

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 and fees

Tuition is waived for current and incoming students of Yale Divinity School.  Tuition for all others will be billed through YalePay, Yale’s tuition billing and payment platform. A $50 non-refundable fee is required of all applicants. This fee will be paid as part of the application process.

For non-Yale students, registrations will be processed upon receipt of the application fee. After the registration is processed, information about activating the Yale netid and email and about accessing the course site in the Canvas course platform will be provided.

Advisor Permission

Current YDS students must have the permission of their academic advisor to enroll in a course. Please have your advisor contact roslyn.evans@yale.edu in the YDS Registrar’s Office to provide their permission.

Transcripts

Non-Yale applicants must provide a transcript as part of your course application. This can be an unofficial transcript. You upload your file during the application process. If you have questions, contact roslyn.evans@yale.edu in the Divinity Registrar’s Office.

Following successful completion of the course, students will earn six Yale Divinity School credits. Transcripts of the study will be made available to all students via Parchment. 

Courses for 2026

The following courses are offered:

REL 3608 Elementary Biblical Hebrew—Summer Intensive

This class offers a comprehensive introduction to Biblical Hebrew in six weeks. It is taught five days a week, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST. 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 and Biblical Exegesis I (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. It is taught five days a week, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST. 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 Intermediate New Testament Greek (REL 518) as well as a range of Greek Exegesis courses offered at YDS during the academic year.

For more information about academic content, contact eric.reymond@yale.edu.

Deadlines

Application deadline: April 30, 2026

Registration deadline: May 7, 2026

Last day to drop:  May 25, 2026

Tuition refund dates for course withdrawals for non-Yale Divinity School participants:

  • Withdrawal by 5:00 p.m. EST on May 26 – full refund
  • Withdrawal by 5:00 p.m. EST on June 1 – 50% refund
  • Withdrawal by 5:00 p.m. EST on June 10 – 25% refund
  • Withdrawal after 5:00 p.m. EST on June 10 – no refund

Deadline to request CR/NC grading: June 9 by 5:00 p.m. EST 

If you have any problems with the application process contact: vernice.randall@yale.edu

Apply online for Summer Languages