Finding a community you feel comfortable socializing and engaging with is incredibly important for your overall well-being. Yale is home to many centers, offices, and spaces on campus that work to promote students’ and scholars’ social and cultural lives and to support their well-being. Consider the resources below if you are looking to:
- find a space for cultural or spiritual celebration, dialogue, and discussion
- discover student-specific resources
- engage with a community you identify with
- take a break and socialize
Afro-American Cultural Center
The Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale, or “The House,” is a space dedicated to sharing in the culture of the African diaspora community through programs, events, and activities. In celebration of the African diaspora and African-American culture, the House serves as home to resident student and community groups related to the House’s mission and serves as a space where students can experience a “shared sense of family and belonging.” Visit The House at 211 Park Street, Monday to Friday, 4:00 to 10:00 p.m., Saturday 3:00 to 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, 9:00 to 1:00 p.m.
Asian American Cultural Center
Established in 1981, the Asian American Cultural Center (AACC) promotes Asian and Asian American culture and explores the social and political experience of Asians in the United States. The Center’s mission also includes fostering support for Asian American Studies and the creation of academic and intellectual programming that invite students and broader constituents to engage with the field and support emerging scholarship. Home to 52 student organizations, the AACC also hosts programs and activities that bring together undergraduate and graduate/professional students, alumni, faculty and staff to share in these common goals. Equipped with a kitchen, TV room, Karaoke equipment, seminar style room, study lounge and other meeting rooms, the cultural center is an accessible, welcoming space for all. Seen as a second home for students, the AACC is committed to providing a space for Asian and Asian Americans to feel a shared sense of belonging, celebrate their cultural heritage and traditions, build pan-Asian unity, and create an atmosphere that nurtures the personal, intellectual, and leadership development of its students. Visit the AACC at 295 Crown Street (between High and York Streets) from Monday through Thursday, 4:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Chaplain’s Office
The Chaplain’s Office is committed to complementing the university in its task of educating students and expanding the boundaries of human knowledge. The office fosters respect and mutual understanding among people of different faiths and cultures and actively promotes dialogue within the university. It seeks to bridge classroom and co-curricular discussion of religious, ethical and spiritual topics, facilitate the presence of a wide variety of religious resources and groups on campus, and encourage dialogue and partnership between religious groups and individuals for the common good. The Chaplain’s Office supports many groups of students working to encourage meaningful conversation across boundaries, including The InterFaith Forum at Yale and the Chaplaincy Fellows. The office also hosts regular study breaks in the basement of Bingham Hall, interfaith service projects, lectures, discussions, celebrations and much more.
Chaplain’s Office Breathing Space
Breathing Space is a technology-free “de-stress zone” where students are invited to sit, relax, drink tea, reflect, meditate, perform text studies, or read. A “retreat and recharge station,” the space features a prayer or meditation room with an indoor waterfall, floor pillows, and dim lighting. Art and craft sessions are held at Breathing Space every week and are announced in the Chaplain’s Office newsletter or on the Facebook page below. Breathing Space is open Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Chaplain’s Office Lounge
Located in the basement of Bingham Hall, the Chaplain’s Office Lounge features couches, chairs, and a fireplace where students are welcome to sit, study, and relax. Free ice cream is always on hand for a special treat.
La Casa Cultural
La Casa, the Latino Cultural Center at Yale, provides an inviting space for Latinos/as at Yale to share their traditions and heritage with one another and with the Yale and New Haven community. Along with its resident organizations, La Casa “provides opportunities that foster a sense of belonging and pride while also supporting the intellectual, personal, leadership, and social development” of students. Visit La Casa at 301 Crown Street, Sunday through Thursday, 4:00 to 10:00 p.m.
McDougal Graduate Student Center
The McDougal Graduate Student Center is located in the Hall of Graduate Studies and includes offices and services that enhance the life of graduate students at Yale. Consisting of the McDougal Common Room, the Blue Dog Café, meeting rooms, offices for the Graduate Student Assembly, the McDougal staff and fellows, and other graduate services, the McDougal Center provides academic and social resources and opportunities for graduate students and their families. Learn more about the work of the McDougal Center and its spaces at the website below, or visit the center at the Hall of Graduate Studies, 320 York Street.
Native American Cultural Center
The Native American Cultural Center (NACC) provides a “permanent and prominent Native American presence at Yale that incorporates and supports the success of future Native leaders through recruitment, encouragement, mentoring, service, and the fostering of a community for Native American achievement, research and solidarity.” NACC and its student groups produce events and activities specific to the needs and interests of Native American students and those interested in the Native American cultural experience. All undergraduate, graduate, and professional students are invited to visit the NACC at 26 High Street, Sunday through Friday, 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Office of International Students and Scholars
The Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) provides assistance for the 4,700 international students, scholars, and family members studying at Yale. OISS offers services related to immigration matters and offers a variety of programs and services to help international students and their families become acclimated to living in the United States and at Yale. The International Center, home to OISS, offers space for students and scholars and their organizations to study, meet, and socialize. A variety of programs, including a local host program, a social group for international spouses and partners, and an English language support group help international students navigate their academic and personal lives at Yale and in New Haven.
Office of LGBTQ Resources
The Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Resources helps students, faculty, and staff “connect to others in the community and learn about Yale’s LGBTQ social, cultural, and academic programs and events.” Visit their office, call, or e-mail for more information: Suite 124, Swing Space, 40A Ashmun Street; lgbtq@yale.edu; (203) 432-0309.
Office for Postdoctoral Affairs
The Office for Postdoctoral Affairs provides information and resources to all Postdoctoral Associates and Postdoctoral Fellows at Yale. Working alongside departments and schools, the office supports postdocs’ career development, guides them to available resources (including family life services), and organizes social activities.
SHARE Center
Sexual Harassment and Assault Response & Education Center or SHARE Center is available to members of the Yale community who are dealing with sexual misconduct of any kind. Call 203-432-2000 (24/7) or visit 55 Lock St., Lower Level (9am-5pm Mon to Fri), for help with a variety of concerns, large and small, related to sexual misconduct. Yale Mental Health professionals offer confidential and anonymous information, support, and recommendations related to the concern at hand.
Student Wellness
Student Wellness works to advance the health of the Yale student community by empowering students to make healthier choices. Student Wellness achieves this mission through listening to the needs and concerns of the student community; focusing on sexual health, stress management, sleep hygiene and basic nutrition education as key components of students’ wellness; providing free comprehensive programming, resources and information to all undergraduate, graduate and professional students at Yale; offering inclusive, informative one-on-one and group education; providing widely available access to safer sex supplies; and maintaining a social media presence with accurate and helpful information for students.