Hello everyone! My name is Natasha Raman and I'm a freshman at Dartmouth. Although I'm undecided on my major, I am leaning towards something related to government, economics, and Asian studies. In my free time, I like to watch The Office, keep up with current events, learn new languages, and hang out with my friends. I am excited to explore my interests at Dartmouth and take advantage of the amazing opportunities offered here!
Because Dartmouth values the importance of a liberal arts education, all students take courses across a variety of academic fields: the social sciences, natural sciences, arts, humanities, and more. Dartmouth's emphasis on a liberal arts education is clearly displayed in our graduation requirements (linked here is a list of Dartmouth's general education requirements).
World Culture Requirement. Each student must take and pass one course in each of three areas: Western Cultures, Non-Western Cultures, and Culture and Identity
Distributive Requirement. Each student must take and pass ten courses, as follows:
One in the Arts
One in Literature
One in Systems and Traditions of Thought, Meaning, and Value
One in International or Comparative Study
Two in Social Analysis
One in Quantitative and Deductive Sciences
Two in the Natural Sciences
One in Technology or Applied Science
One of the courses in the Natural Science or Technology categories must have a laboratory, field, or experimental component.
Although this may seem like a lot of classes, it is very doable to complete all of these requirements by senior year! In fact, many students at Dartmouth are able to double major and still fulfill these general education requirements.
In addition to the general education requirements, students are required to take two writing courses during their freshman year: Writing 5 and a First-Year Seminar class. For my Writing 5 class, I took an amazing course with Professor Rockmore titled "Happiness and the Law." In this course, I analyzed various texts and wrote essays discussing the factors that contribute to happiness and the role happiness should play in the creation of laws. This term, I am taking my First-Year Seminar class titled "Nanotechnology and Society," which is being taught by Professor Wybourne. Although I didn't know a lot about nanotechnology going into this course, I am enjoying this class a lot so far and am looking forward to learning more about nanotechnology. Apart from this course, there are many other First-Year Seminars offered, ranging from "The Art of the Interview" to "Mafias"!
A liberal arts education is truly invaluable. In addition to being academically well-rounded and attractive to employers, Dartmouth students graduate with strong analytical skills and the ability to use an interdisciplinary approach to solve any problem they face.
In case you didn't know, Dartmouth operates on a quarter system, which means that in each term, students typically take three classes. However, they can also elect to add an additional course!
Have you ever wondered what a Dartmouth freshman's course of study may look like? The beauty of the D-Plan is everyone can customize their own schedules, so this term I'm taking International Politics, Global Health & Society, and Expository Writing.
Professors at Dartmouth really love their discipline and want to share their knowledge with as many students as possible through a variety of resources. I'll walk you through some of the ways they do this while telling you about my classes this term.
This winter is my first term really focusing on classes in the government and economics departments, so I thought I'd walk you all through my class schedule and experiences so far!
Dartmouth's Center for Social Impact has several opportunities for students to be involved with the Upper Valley. This year, I have the privilege to be involved in Foundations, a first-year program, and can't wait for other opportunities!
While taking four classes at most other schools with semester-based calendars seems like a breeze, Dartmouth's unique D-Plan and quarter system make my efforts to take four classes this winter a bit more challenging.
DUJS is a great opportunity for students across campus to get together and discuss scientific thought and innovation, whether from psychology, astrophysics, or more social justice-oriented medical research.
