Dartmouth College

What is the history of Dartmouth College?

Dartmouth College was founded in 1769 in Hanover, New Hampshire, by Eleazar Wheelock. Its charter named the education of Native American youth among its purposes, but the institution did not fulfill that founding commitment in its early history. Dartmouth remains a private institution called a college, although it now includes graduate and professional schools.

The U.S. Supreme Court's 1819 decision in Dartmouth College v. Woodward protected the college's charter against an attempted state takeover. Later milestones include the development of Dartmouth's medical and engineering programs and its transition to undergraduate coeducation in 1972. Dartmouth renewed its commitment to Native American education in 1970; prospective students interested in that history can distinguish the college's present-day programs and commitments from the claims made in its original charter.

What are the faculties and departments at Dartmouth College?

Dartmouth offers a liberal arts undergraduate education alongside graduate and professional study. Undergraduates pursue majors across the arts and humanities, sciences, social sciences, and interdisciplinary fields; examples include English, biology, computer science, economics, government, and studio art.

Its academic organization includes the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, the Geisel School of Medicine, the Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business. These schools serve different applicant groups: admission to Dartmouth as an undergraduate is not admission to its medical or business programs.

The undergraduate calendar follows the D-Plan, a year-round quarter system that gives students some flexibility in choosing terms on campus and away. The calendar has requirements and limits, including a summer residence expectation for many undergraduates. Students comparing Dartmouth with semester-based colleges should check how their intended major, internships, and study-abroad plans fit that schedule. Thayer also offers a Bachelor of Engineering pathway that can require additional study beyond the standard undergraduate degree.

What is the location of Dartmouth College?

Dartmouth's main campus is in Hanover, a small town in New Hampshire's Upper Valley near the Vermont border. The setting places academic buildings, residence halls, and much of student activity close together, but it offers a different day-to-day experience from an urban campus.

Hanover has local shops and services, while nearby Lebanon, New Hampshire, and White River Junction, Vermont, provide additional connections. Lebanon Municipal Airport is nearby; bus service and rail service from the surrounding region are other options for longer trips. Students planning to commute, travel for internships, or leave campus during breaks should compare schedules and costs rather than assume frequent big-city transit. First-year students are not permitted to register or park a car on campus under the reported parking policy.

What is the mission and vision of Dartmouth College?

Dartmouth describes its educational purpose as combining undergraduate teaching with the creation of knowledge and preparation for lifelong learning and responsible leadership. Its stated approach connects liberal arts study with research and professional education; those are institutional aims, not a guarantee of any individual outcome.

The college has no religious affiliation governing admission or study. Its current identity also includes a stated commitment to Native American students and scholarship, which should be understood in the context of the gap between its founding purpose and its early record. For an applicant, the practical expression of Dartmouth's educational philosophy is its breadth of undergraduate study, quarter calendar, and access to a larger research institution's schools and resources.