Hello! My name is Mario and I'm a Dartmouth '28. I am double majoring in government and economics with a concentration in international relations. I love to spend my free time swimming at the Connecticut River or skiing at the Dartmouth Skiway with friends!
In today's blog, I wanted to outline what classes I took this winter quarter—please note this is only one example of a possible first-year winter schedule. There's an endless variety of classes and opportunities to explore at Dartmouth to create your own perfect courseload!
International Politics is an introductory course in the Government Department at Dartmouth. This course covers a wide variety of topics relevant to the international system, such as coercive diplomacy, terrorism and counterterrorism, international security, international political economy, and more!
GOV 5 is incredibly interactive since it's based on in-class discussions and participation, which stem from readings due before each class. It also has several group activities based on current international issues. This course provides you with the tools you need to make educated guesses and analyze current geopolitical and international security issues, such as global warming and international development.
This course is one of the main reasons I have started looking at more courses related to international security and foreign policy!
Design Thinking is one of the most popular courses offered to undergraduates by Dartmouth Engineering. It's an introductory course required for the Human Centered Design Minor—a minor focused on the design process to address human needs through a creative and innovative approach.
The class is based on five projects throughout the quarter. It also relies heavily on group work, which allows students to make new friends and have a great time while working on every new project. The course also introduces students to several new skills, such as sewing and Photoshop editing, to complete every project.
A snapshot into project #2 of Design Thinking (Building a Rollercoaster)
ENGS 12 helped me reconstruct the way I think about ideas and how I bring them to light. Sometimes, I bring myself down by discarding ideas too early because I dismiss them as not feasible. However, this course gave me the tools I needed to analyze my ideas and take away the best part of them to create one impactful final product!
WRIT 5 is an option students can take to fulfill the first portion of the first-year writing sequence (read about other ways to fulfill the requirement here). WRIT 5 can serve as the first part of the two-course sequence, followed by a first-year seminarcourse.
WRIT 5 is often a course aimed at helping students improve and polish their writing skills to get their ideas across better. WRIT 5 courses have a variety of topics for students to choose from. My WRIT 5 was a Philosophy-based course based on epistemology—the study of what knowledge is.
Introductory writing courses are small seminar-style courses where students read about a topic and discuss it during class. Students often use these class discussions to clarify their thoughts on a piece of literature/academic paper and then write about it. They're a great opportunity to read and write about a topic that interests you!
The courses I've taken this winter quarter have inspired me to continue taking classes in the Government and Philosophy Departments. Dartmouth is a place where students have the opportunity and freedom to explore courses they find interesting and pursue these courses if they like them.
This makes me incredibly excited to see what my spring quarter courses have to offer!
Winters at Dartmouth are beautiful, but if you're coming from a warmer climate, winter can also feel a little intimidating. Know that you're not alone! This guide covers how to best prepare for the season.
Classes at Dartmouth aren't always held in the classroom. Whether you go down to the river for a lab experiment or venture to The Hood, you never know what to expect. Come with me as I take you along on my journey in an unconventional classroom!
