in the beginning, yale only taught undergraduate students. over time, it created graduate schools for medicine, nursing, environmental science, law, music, drama, business, and other professions. in 1869, yale became the first school in the united states to offer a phd. because it had grown to have many types of schools, degrees, and courses, yale changed its name to yale university in 1887. the undergraduate college began to accept women as students in 1969.