Course Selection at Dartmouth
Dartmouth students usually take three classes per term, with the option to take a maximum of four classes or a minimum of two classes. Course election for the following term usually takes place in the last few weeks of the preceding term. For the fall term, due to scheduling conflicts and a few missing prerequisites within my economics major plan, I could not decide on a third class to take during course selection in the summer term. This gave me the opportunity to take advantage of Dartmouth's "add/drop period", where students can attend various classes they are interested in during the first two weeks of term and see what class(es) they like best.
As an Economics and African and African American Studies (AAAS) double major, I try to create a balance between these two disciplines in the classes I take each term to ensure a good variety while preventing burnout. This term, I am taking a Macroeconomics class and an (AAAS) class on Gender Identities and Politics in Africa. At the time of course election during the previous term, I could not decide on a third class. Therefore, I decided to wait until fall term's add/drop period to explore a few classes and see what stood out to me.
As a junior at Dartmouth with only two years left until graduation, I wanted to take a class that would either fulfill one of Dartmouth's distributive requirements or fulfill the requirements for a major, minor or a modified major. I have recently been considering a minor or a modified major in Environmental Studies with a focus on Sustainability, so I checked out three classes within or related to the Environmental Studies program: Climate and Power in U.S. History, Carbon Sequestration and Environmental Justice. I also checked out a class within the AAAS department, Africa and the World. These were all amazing classes taught by talented and dedicated professors with fascinating syllabi. However, they did not really meet my academic needs for the term.
At the end of the add/drop period, I finally selected an AAAS class called "James Baldwin: From the Civil Rights Movement to BLM". This class fulfills one of the requirements for my AAAS major. Additionally, it would give me the opportunity to read the works of James Baldwin, a welcome step out of my comfort zone. Lastly, the class is being taught by a visiting professor, and I felt it would be an amazing opportunity to take advantage of the presence of distinguished academics from across the country present on Dartmouth's campus.
Dartmouth's method of course selection makes it practically impossible to end up in a class you do not like and/or does not suit your academic needs. Dartmouth professors are also extremely understanding of students' needs for exploration during the add/drop period which reflects the college's desire to be a welcoming environment for all academic interests and passions.
