Lily Johnson

The Liberal Arts and a Note on Environmental Science

I want to preface this post by saying that it is typically better in your college search process to look at what a college offers as opposed to what is required of you (or maybe just glance at requirements). If you are a meticulous planning type of thinker, try to take a bit of a step back from that in the college search! I had to in my search process. 
During orientation week (yes, a whole week!) when covering course selection, two things are emphasized: breadth and depth (the CORE concepts of the liberal arts!).

At Dartmouth, most people take around 35 courses prior to graduating. This means that there is ample time to explore with clarity and purpose-- looking into departments and courses that you are already interested in and others that strike your curiosity.

That is how I ended up in 'Religion and Technology' this term; I was interested in religion but was anticipating taking courses focused on specific world faith traditions, whereas 'Religion and Technology' covers a range of faiths in the context of many technological advancements. I am really happy that I decided to follow my interest in this class as I am really enjoying the content and discussions as there are only twelve of us enrolled in the class.

During orientation week and again before winter term course selection there are academic open houses, and I recommend going around to the ones you are most interested in and if they offer syllabi, take any that seem interesting to you.

Now to emphasize the 'depth' that I mentioned, this is when you choose a major(s)/minor(s) which is not required until the fifth term in residence and while subject areas of depth are important, I love the spirit liberal arts experience of exploring.

It is helpful to be aware of writing, seminar, language, wellness education, and distributive requirements, but it is generally easy to cover these areas if you allow yourself to take advantage of the liberal arts curriculum and explore! Clearly, I cannot emphasize this enough.

Outside Fairchild Physical Science Center

For people like me who are wondering about Environmental Science (ENVS) courses and Susty (Sustainable) Office programs, there is a wide range of possibilities to explore this interest. I encourage you to explore the websites linked below, courses such as 'ENVS 12: Energy and the Environment', and the Sustainable Action Programs may peak your curiosity.

Outside Steele Hall

I hope you enjoyed my fall photos! I focused on Steele and the Fairchild Center as they are the home of the Environmental Science department.

Undergraduate Course Offerings (Click on the department dropdown and then on the department/program title to get the course numbers and names)

Sustainability Office

Another post on the Liberal Arts