FAS Coat of Arms

The FAS coat of arms uses traditional heraldic elements to symbolize the teaching and research mission of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

In the upper left quadrant, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is represented by Maltese crosses (a reference to Wilbur Cross 1889 PhD, dean of the school from 1916 to 1930); FAS faculty are intimately involved in the teaching and training of graduate students. Diagonally opposite, the ermine quadrant is extracted from the arms of Yale College; every FAS faculty member is responsible for teaching at least one undergraduate course annually.

The goat-like mythical Yale, which has long been used informally to represent the university, occupies the shield’s remaining two quadrants, playfully signifying the FAS faculty themselves.