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The Cross Cultural Education and Service Program, which is centered upon the principles of education, immersion, service and reflection, creates opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to: create living, learning and serving communities; live, work and share with persons from different countries and different cultures; prepare for a life of citizenship that encompasses both local and global responsibility, and; prepare students to be civic leaders.The Program also hopes to encourage a life of self-examination and reflection as well as help students develop intercultural skills and understand diverse cultures.

The Common Ground symbol, the official symbol of the Cross Cultural Education and Service Program, depicts two converging circles, which represent the worlds of Dartmouth and another culture coming together. Each of these worlds has its own multitude of viewpoint, as represented by the many points on each circle.When these two worlds come together on an equal plane, with an attitude of service, respect, and learning, they create a third world. It is in this world of overlap that transformation takes place, hence lines connect these distinct overlapping points to a central point, or a common ground: a ground where people from different cultures recognize their shared humanity in one another.

Through the relationships that form, an inextricable bond joins these two worlds together. It is in this spirit that students and faculty from Dartmouth College endeavor to carry out the Cross Cultural Initiative.

The Cross Cultural Education and Service Program was initiated in the winter of 2001 and is sponsored by the William Jewett Tucker Foundation in conjunction with the Tuck School of Business, the Thayer School of Engineering and the Dartmouth Medical School.