Looking Ahead: Pressing Pause on ISSOS at Yale for Summer 2026

After a lot of thought, we’ve made the difficult decision to pause our Yale summer school programme for 2026.

This isn’t a decision we’ve taken lightly. Every summer, around half of our incredible U.S. staff team comes from the UK or EU on J1 visas, and many of our students need visas to attend as well. That mix of cultures, perspectives, and experiences is at the very heart of what makes ISSOS so special - it’s what brings our classrooms and campuses to life, and what creates the international community we’re so proud of.

At this moment in time, there’s just too much uncertainty around whether visas will remain reliably available, or whether changes could be made with little notice. That makes it hard for us to plan with confidence, and even harder to promise the high standards and student experience that we hold ourselves to.

We’re also aware that the current climate in the U.S. may not feel as open or welcoming to international travellers as it once did. We’re committed to running our programmes in environments where all of our students and staff feel safe, supported, and celebrated. Right now, we unfortunately don’t believe we can do that in the U.S.

We want to be really clear that this decision isn’t about Yale. For over a decade, Yale has been an exceptional partner to ISSOS - supportive, aligned with our values, and a hugely important part of our success in the U.S. We’re so grateful for the relationships we’ve built there, and we absolutely intend to return when the time is right.

In the meantime, we’ll continue delivering unforgettable summers at our campuses in St Andrews and Cambridge, where our international community will keep growing and thriving together.

Thank you to our students, parents, staff, and wider ISSOS family for your continued trust and support. This pause is just that - a pause - and we can’t wait to welcome you back to Yale in the future.