The world needs technical leaders to create solutions to pressing problems facing humanity in areas such as energy, healthcare, the environment, sustainability, security, and communications. Such problems don't fall neatly within disciplinary boundaries. That's why Dartmouth Engineering takes a non-departmental, interdisciplinary approach to engineering. Our project-based curriculum focuses on the system fundamentals that apply to all areas of engineering, giving our students the critical skills for solving the complex problems of today and the uncharted challenges of tomorrow.
“Working with undergraduates is fun because they're filled with enthusiasm. Dartmouth offers students opportunities to work closely with faculty members on leading-edge research across the campus. If I were an undergraduate and I had a long-term interest in furthering knowledge, this would be a top stop for me.”
Learn more about Eric Fossum, Director of Dartmouth’s PhD Innovation Program and Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer"Empathy is an important design skillset, What tools can we use to understand the perspectives of various stakeholders in a problem? If you allow yourself to come up with different ideas, some good and some bad, and then test the best ideas, you can replicate creativity, In my classes, effective teamwork is an explicit learning objective."
Learn more about Rafe Steinhauer, Assistant Professor of Engineering“Experiential learning—that's how I learn. We're developing this new pathway into the major that incorporates the math in a just-in-time fashion rather than in just-in-case fashion. So the math is introduced in an engineering context—this is much stickier in your brain than something that's front-loaded.”
Learn more about Petra Bonfert-Taylor, Professor of EngineeringDartmouth creates a rich academic culture imbued with critical thinking and creativity, one that promotes experimentation, reflection, learning, and leadership. But don't take our word for it. We asked our students to tell us about some of their favorite engineering courses.
Undergraduate Engineering at DartmouthDartmouth Engineering Research & Entrepreneurship OpportunitiesAcademics at Dartmouth
A DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES COURSE
The hype around this class is real. Through pure luck, I took ENGS12 my freshman fall. It teaches students the basics of human-centered design (ideation, prototyping, content collaboration, etc) through a series of fast-paced projects. Experiencing human-centered design has encouraged me to take on any project, knowing it can be broken down into manageable chunks with the help of other smart people. I’m now a TA for this course, getting paid to help with a class I love. There’s no better job.
A DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES COURSE
We looked at the roles of architects and engineers in today’s changing world, and how recently these came to be considered different professions. It really showed how collaborative the design process is, and I loved how interactive this class was. It was a lecture-based class, but we often had in-class building activities and one large project—building a cardboard chair!
A Department of engineering sciences Course
If you're interested in experiential learning, this is one of my favorite intro courses, where students create solutions to real-world problems. In addition to learning how to turn an identified problem into a functional solution, ENGS 21 also teaches students about the patent process, and a number of former class projects have been patented and turned into marketed products!
A Department of Engineering sciences Course
This product design course uses a human-centered design approach to solve complex problems facing real people all over the world. I applied what I've learned about design thinking, systems mechanics, social entrepreneurship and qualitative research to tangible products. Not only is the class geared around projects, but guest lectures from visiting professors and professional designers add an additional element that highlights how far-reaching the implications of successful product design can be!
Nobel laureates, government leaders, judges, scientists, writers, scholars, journalists, entertainers-Dartmouth alumni have distinguished themselves in all fields. Here are some notable alumni in the engineering field making a difference in the world.
Learn More About Our Alumni
Major: Engineering
Tomasz Tunguz was a member of the crew team at Dartmouth, where he studied machine learning and mechanical engineering, and also earned a masters in engineer management from Thayer. After college Tomasz quickly moved into the venture capital world, and he’s now managing director at Repoint Ventures. He also co-authored the book Winning with Data.
Major: Engineering
While an engineering student at Dartmouth, Maia fell in love with skydiving and introduced hundreds of fellow students to the adventure through the club she formed. She put that passion to work after graduation when she founded Urban Escapes, a company offering outdoor adventures to adults. After being honored on Inc Magazine's 30 Under 30 and selling the company to LivingSocial, Maia spent a year and a half spent traveling the world before joining Greenhouse Software as vice president of strategy and marketing.
Major: Engineering
Anna Stork’s entrepreneurial instincts have provided light to disaster victims worldwide. After studying engineering at the Thayer School of Engineering she became the co-inventor of the LuminAID, an inflatable solar-rechargeable light designed to assist in disaster relief efforts. The product was featured on Shark Tank and is available for sale, and was recently used to assist Hurricane victims in Puerto Rico.
At Dartmouth, we have taken the traditional study abroad model, erased its boundaries, and expanded its parameters. Arranged through Dartmouth's Frank J. Guarini Institute for International Education, study abroad here is not an isolated semester in another country. The curriculum and structure of the school year allow students to follow their research around the world.
View Locations ListExploring Chicago with my fellow women engineers from Dartmouth! We explored the city outside of the SWE conference and got to see how exciting Chicago can be.
In Solid Mechanics, we designed and constructed a bridge that held 10kN, around 1000kg! The process, from SOLIDWORKS design to laser cutting to gluing parts together, took us weeks, but it was one of the most rewarding projects I have ever done.
My first time in Chicago at the Society of Women Engineers Conference in Chicago, Illinois! Fully funded by Dartmouth, I had a great time meeting amazing companies and getting to know fellow women engineers.
Academics can be challenging at Dartmouth. But there are lots of groups across campus here to support you through your academic journey. Read on for my experience asking for help and a few organizations that might be helpful to you!
Unlike some other universities, many of the STEM lecture classes at Dartmouth require concurrent enrollment in a laboratory section. What is it like navigating that time as a student?
My course schedule for this term and my thoughts so far!
This year I was awarded the EE Just Fellowship, an award that provides two years of research funding! I am so excited to dive into research this fall!
Dartmouth is special because it offers abundant resources with little risk or cost. This environment allows passions to flourish, as students have the time, resources, and security to take the necessary risks and grow in their chosen fields.
The Green City Program in Berlin has four course options! This is an account of my experiences with the classes I took, hoping to help anyone considering the program.
Dartmouth Bachelor of Arts (AB) candidates who major in engineering sciences learn to synthesize concepts from many fields and also have the opportunity to specialize in a chosen area. They can join multidisciplinary research teams and collaborate with faculty and graduate students. Most AB candidates also pursue the Bachelor of Engineering (BE), a professional degree program accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET requiring an additional nine courses beyond the AB. BE students interested in specific engineering fields can use a variety of sample programs as models when designing their individual programs. Students can also choose to complement a major in another discipline with a minor in engineering sciences.
Biomedical engineering is the broad area of study in which engineers use an interdisciplinary approach to solve problems in the medical field often associated with the interaction between living and non-living systems. The breadth of solution methodologies requires biomedical engineers to take a quantitative approach to system analysis in "traditional" engineering fields, while simultaneously employing a fundamental understanding of the relevant life sciences.
Dartmouth's biomedical engineering sciences major is offered to students interested in medical school. Faculty from Dartmouth Engineering and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth jointly advise the research projects. Geisel offers an opportunity for accomplished biomedical engineering and engineering sciences majors to apply for admission to Geisel through the Biomedical Engineering Early Assurance Program (BME EAP).
Students who love both engineering and physics can pursue an engineering physics major offered jointly by the Department of Engineering Sciences and the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
The engineering physics major consists of a 5/5 split of 10 courses between engineering sciences and physics. These courses include three required core courses, two electives in engineering, and two electives in physics. Students wishing to pursue the B.E. degree are advised to choose an engineering sciences course as an elective. Students majoring in engineering physics also complete a culminating experience, either as one of the two electives involved in the major or as an additional course.
All engineering sciences majors earn a Dartmouth AB, and most take additional courses to also earn a Bachelor of Engineering (BE). Dartmouth's BE is a professional degree accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. The degree generally takes one to three terms of additional study, depending on the courses taken during the first four years. Advanced standing on entry to Dartmouth may shorten the time required.
Most students add a fifth year to earn the BE (financial aid is available), but students may also finish a combined AB/BE in four years. The flexibility of the five-year BE program makes it possible for students majoring in physics or computer science at Dartmouth to also obtain the BE with an additional year of study following the AB. Students interested in pursuing a BE are encouraged to work closely with their assigned faculty advisor to develop a multi-year course progression plan that will meet degree requirements, and the student's personal academic goals.
The minor in human-centered design is an interdisciplinary program focused on the process of innovation to address human needs.
Dartmouth students pursuing the human-centered design minor gain an intellectual foundation for the minor through coursework in introductory engineering and design thinking before advancing to study ethnographic methods of anthropology and research. Students also explore the human factors that shape design thinking—including perception, learning, social psychology, cognitive neuroscience, emotion, and cognition—before completing the minor with elective coursework in topics like sustainable design, digital parts, architecture, and social entrepreneurship.
The study of materials science and engineering relates the properties of materials—chemical electrical, magnetic, mechanical, optical—to their internal architecture or microstructure. In turn, structure is related to processing—solidification, thermal/mechanical treatment, vapor deposition and so forth—and to the underlying thermodynamic "driving forces" and kinetics that underlie changes in structure and hence in properties and behavior. Fundamental to the study are both qualitative and quantitative methods of microstructural analysis.
The departments of chemistry, physics, and engineering sciences offer the minor in materials science, which can be combined with majors in any of the three areas. The minor requires prerequisites in chemistry and physics and consists of coursework in materials science, methods of experimental physics, methods of materials characterization, and electives from three different topic areas within the discipline.
