Basecamp to the World
At Dartmouth, we have taken the traditional study abroad model, erased its boundaries, and expanded its parameters. 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. Our 10-week terms mean they can do so without losing step with the rest of their demanding academic agenda. Bottom line: Dartmouth graduates are equipped with global experience, connections, and opportunities that will serve them for the rest of their lives.
Case in point
The Earth Sciences roving field program, affectionately known as "The Stretch," is a semester-long geological road trip across the western United States and Canada. Students and faculty pile into a van and make their way from one significant geological site to the next. Dartmouth Professor Eric Osterberg leads students to Greenland, Antarctica, and the Canadian Rockies to study the impacts of climate change.
Off-Campus Study
From the exploration of Chinese language and culture in Beijing to the study of shrinking glaciers in equatorial Africa, our Off-Campus Programs transform the undergraduate experience. Taught by Dartmouth faculty members, the programs extend and enhance the regular curriculum by allowing students to study a culture or subject in depth in the part of the world where it can be experienced firsthand.
Case in point
The Astronomy Foreign Studies Program in South Africa gives Dartmouth students the opportunity to observe the southern hemisphere night sky at the national observatory of South Africa where nearby galaxies are visible to the unaided eye. Through first-hand observations and intensive studies, students learn about astrophysics and observational astronomy. One week of the program is spent at the national observatory in Sutherland (four hours north of Cape Town), where Dartmouth students have access to the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere, SALT.
Internships & Fellowships
Rich, valuable, life-changing global experiences are core to the Dartmouth curriculum. Healthcare, entrepreneurship, public policy, language study, and climate change-the range of opportunities is as broad as the curriculum itself. Just about every course of study offers at least one global component.
Case in point
A native of Haiti, Théry Badin '18 speaks five languages and has had the opportunity to exercise all of them during his time at Dartmouth. He studied the impact of the Olympics on Rio while immersed in the language and culture of Brazil, helped build a community center in the Dominican Republic, and worked with a company providing healthcare services to the underserved of Haiti. Théry's life plan is to channel that experience into a leadership position at a nonprofit dedicated to aiding those living in distressed areas of the globe.
The Dickey Center for International Understanding
The Dickey Center supports curricular programs, internships, fellowships, co-curricular activities, and engagement with experts in support of research initiatives for undergraduate, post-graduate, graduate students, and faculty. The Center also partners with national and international research institutes, medical facilities, universities, and nonprofits to give the Dartmouth community unparalleled connections to the knowledge and experience they need to advance.
Case in point
With a double major in Chinese and economics and a minor in human-centered design, Colleen O'Connor '19 is earning the broad enterprise experience she'll need to launch her own global startup. She has spent weeks in China immersed in the language and culture, helped young women entrepreneurs formulate strategy for their Mexico City startup, and worked with a Peruvian nonprofit to enhance that organization's impact. Colleen will graduate with extensive business knowledge earned in the classroom and in marketplaces around the world.
The Rassias Center
Named in memory of the beloved Dartmouth Professor John Rassias, the center promotes cultural understanding and strengthens communication among people all over the world. A key component of the Rassias Center is a pioneering language training program called The Rassias Method®, which speeds language learning, increases language retention, and has students speaking and understanding in ten days. Originally developed for Peace Corps training, it has been adapted by language teachers worldwide. Dartmouth students and alumni cite it as a seminal experience in their interaction with the world.
Case in point
As a Spanish major, Drew McLaughlin '20 reaped a twofold benefit from the Rassias method. As a student, she developed her own language skills at an accelerated pace. As a peer-to-peer Rassias instructor for Spanish 1 students, she learned from exchanges with her students and deepened her expertise with the method.
Global Village
One of Dartmouth's unique living and learning communities, Global Village offers a rich residential experience that holistically equips students to thrive as ethical, engaged, and responsible world citizens. Students from all class years and from a broad range of cultures, nations, and disciplines live together in Global Village, sharing Dartmouth life as they expand their worldviews, hone their intercultural skills, and build lifelong relationships.
Case in point
Tony DiPadova '19, a resident of the Italian living and learning community in the Global Village, decided to join the living group after returning to Dartmouth from study in Rome. He enjoys exercising his Italian language skills on a casual basis and notes an unanticipated benefit-living with students from different class years and majors that he might not have otherwise met, except for their shared love of Italian language and culture.
Learn more about global learning at Dartmouth.
