A Yale University professor has given his students a reprieve as a result of the controversial US election and made an exam optional for those who are 'in shock' over Donald Trump being named as the President-elect.

The unnamed economics professor’s email to his students in New Haven, Connecticut, on Tuesday night was posted on Twitter by Jon Victor, an editor at the Yale Daily News.

In it the professor explained that 'many' students had asked to postpone the exam because they were in 'fear. rightly or wrongly, for their own families'.

This is the email that was sent out by the economics professor on Tuesday night. It was Tweeted out by the editor of the Yale Daily News

This is one of the messages from a student concerned about the election, asking that the midterms be postponed for the sake of the student body's 'mental health'

However, the professor - who is in charge of the Econ 115 'introductory microeconomics' unit - said that it was too difficult to postpone the exam.

'Therefore, I am making the exam optional,' the email said.

'I will calculate each student's grade both with and without exam 2, placing all of exam 2's weight on the final exam when exam 2 is omitted.

'I will then take, for each student, the maximum of the two final grades (with and without exam). Those maximum scores will then be used for the final curve.'

The decision was met with mixed reactions, with some saying it was a heartfelt thing to do, while others said it worked against the students who had worked hard preparing for the exam.

The professors email was Tweeted out by Jon Victor, an editor at the Yale Daily News

Furthermore, students heading into other exams also asked their professors for the test to be 'optional' as well, however were not granted the privilege.

Victor later tweeted that students in BIO 114 pleaded for a change to their midterm due to the 'emotional toll' of the election, but it was denied.

One plea, posted to a student forum anonymously, said the result of the election was irrelevant, and that postponing exams was about focus and mental health.

'Given the stressful path of the results of the election thus far, regardless of the outcome, the majority of the student body at Yale will be emotionally distraught and distracted tomorrow, and our performance on the midterm will be hindered massively,' the message said.

Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, is yet to comment on the 'optional exam'

'Is there nay (sic) hope of postponing the exam to preserve the sanctity and mental health of students in this class?

'Even though the midterm is more about application than fact recall, I am fairly confident that it will be nearly impossible for anyone to focus tomorrow morning.

'I am sure that man students would even make arrangements to come outside of class time if it means that we will be in a better mental state when taking the exam.

'Please consider such an act of kindness.'