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One of the fundamental purposes of Dartmouth College is to educate women and men who have a high potential for making a significant positive impact on society. To this end, a distinguished faculty of teacher-scholars forms a partnership with students in pursuit of the highest standards of academic excellence. The academic and intellectual life at Dartmouth is paramount.
In the "Courses of Study" section of The First Year book, we have included descriptions of those courses most frequently taken by first-year students in the fall term. A complete collection of course offerings and academic regulations may be found in the College bulletin entitled Organization, Regulations, and Courses (ORC), which will be available for you in the fall. In addition, during Orientation you will be assigned a faculty advisor. Deans in the First-Year Office, department chairs, and individual professors also are available to discuss your academic program. What follows here is some basic academic information to assist you in making preliminary plans.
Dartmouth's academic calendar consists of four terms which roughly correspond to the seasons. In general, when enrolled, students take three courses per term. For the bachelor's degree, a student must receive credit for 35 courses, no more than eight of which may be passed with the grade of D. Students also must satisfy the three-term physical education requirement which includes passing a 50-yard swimming test.
Students are required to be in residence in Hanover during the first year and the senior year, as well as during the summer following the sophomore year.
A student must successfully complete a major program, which usually consists of eight courses and other requirements specified by the departments, although students may also select modified or special majors that involve more than one academic department. Any time after the first term, a student may elect a major program in conference with the chair or major advisor of the department concerned; this must be done by the end of the fifth term of enrollment.
Dartmouth's current curriculum was established by the faculty out of the desire to reflect contemporary changes in the many areas of human knowledge, and to prepare young men and women for citizenship in a complex world.
Writing: Writing 5, or 2 and 3, is required of all students unless exempted on the basis of College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) scores. Students must complete this requirement during the first or second term of their first year.
First-Year Seminar: One seminar is required of all students from over 70 offered in approximately 30 departments. Writing 5 or Writing 2/3, is a prerequisite. This requirement must be completed during the first year, in the term immediately following Writing 5 or 3.
Foreign Language: Foreign language courses numbered 1, 2, and 3 are required of all students unless exempted on the basis of College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) scores or by qualifying examination taken during Orientation, a student must complete this requirement before the end of the seventh term, either by studying a language on campus or participating in a Dartmouth Language Study Abroad program. Where no department or program exists to determine a student's fluency in a language, the Office of the Dean of First-Year Students shall make the necessary arrangements to determine fluency.
Distributives: Each student must take one (or two if so indicated) course(s) in each of the following areas:
- Art: creation, performance, history, or criticism; (ART)
- Literature: the history, criticism, or theory of texts; (LIT)
- Systems and Traditions of Thought, Meaning and Value; (TMV)
- International: or comparative study; (INT)
- Social Analysis: two courses; (SOC)
- Quantitative and Deductive Science; (QDS)
- Natural and Physical Science: two courses; without/with lab (SCI/SLA)
- Technology or Applied Science: without/with laboratory (TAS/TLA)
NOTE: At least one of the courses taken in categories 7 or 8 must have a laboratory, experimental, or field component (LAB).
World Culture: Each student must take at least one course in each of the following cultural areas:
- Western Cultures (W)
- Non-Western Cultures (NW)
- Culture and Identity (CI)
All undergraduate courses other than Writing 2, 3, and 5 and beginning language courses may potentially satisfy one of the Distributive requirements. Such a course may also satisfy one of the World Culture areas. For example, a course in nineteenth century British fiction might satisfy both the Literature requirement under the Distributive category, and the Europe requirement under World Culture. It is thus possible, by careful selection of courses which satisfy requirements in multiple categories, to complete the Distributive or World Culture requirements with a total of just ten courses. The course catalog (ORC) and the Elective Circulars sent to students prior to pre-enrollment in courses for each term will carry complete information as to which courses satisfy which Distributive and World Culture categories. Distributive and World Cutures Requirements cannot be fulfilled with pre-matriculation credit.
Physical Education: Each students, unless excused by the Director of Health Services or the Dean of First-Year Students, is required to complete satisfactorily three terms of physical education by graduation. Students must also complete a 50-yard swimming test.
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