At the time Pinchot was serving as Bernhard Fernow's successor as Chief of the Division of Forestry (predecessor of the U.S. Forest Service, USFS).

Pinchot released two foresters from the division to start the school: fellow Yale graduate Henry Solon Graves and James Toumey.

When the school opened, other places in the United States offered forestry training, but none had a post-graduate program.

)[2] In the fall of 1900, the New York State College of Forestry at Cornell had 24 students, Biltmore Forest School 9, and Yale 7.

From 1904 to 1926, the summer session leading to a master's degree in forestry was held at Grey Towers and Forester's Hall in Milford, Pennsylvania.

[5] Beginning in 1912, Yale classes took occasional field trips to the land of the Crossett Lumber Company in Arkansas.

The school's 16th and present dean is Ingrid "Indy" Burke, who replaced Sir Peter Crane in October, 2016.

These groups range in interest from Conservation Finance and International Development, to the Built Environment and "Fresh & Salty: The Society for Marine and Coastal Systems.”There are also social and recreational groups, such as the Forestry Club, which every Friday organizes themed "TGIF" ("Thank-God-I'm-a-Forester") happy hours and school parties; the Polar Bear Club, which swims monthly in Long Island Sound under the full moon (year-round); Veggie Dinner, which is a weekly vegetarian dinner club; the Loggerrhythms, an a cappella singing group; and the student-run BYO Café in Kroon Hall opened in 2010.

[16] A notable YSE tradition is the extravagant environmentally inspired decoration of graduation caps in preparation for commencement.