Dartmouth College was established in 1755 by Congregationalist minister Eleazar Wheelock and Mohegan Indian Samson Occom as the Moor’s Indian Charity School for natives. After a Supreme Court battle, Dartmouth University was officially chartered in Hanover in 1817. Further advancements were made by pioneers like Ernest Fox Nichols until today’s elite private, coeducational Ivy League liberal arts institution was born in 1972. Endowed for $4.47 billion, Dartmouth College has Carnegie’s RU/VH status with 39 academic departments, including the Department of Computer Science, serving 4,310 undergrad and 2,099 post-grads. Dartmouth occupies a whopping 31,869 acres in New Hampshire’s Grafton County and White Mountains overlooking the Connecticut River. Famous Dartmouth alums include Nelson Rockefeller, Shonda Rhimes, and Fred Rogers.

According to the US News and World Report, Dartmouth College is the 11th best national university, seventh best value, and fifth top high school counselor pick with the 40th best computer science degrees. On Forbes, Dartmouth is graded “A+” as America’s 12th best private college with the #1 most grateful alums. Niche crowned Dartmouth the 16th best college for computer science with the fourth best professors countrywide. Kiplinger’s named Dartmouth College the 10th most value-added private institution. Dartmouth was proclaimed the United States’ 55th best college for low-income students in The New York Times. Washington Monthly lauded Dartmouth as the 64th best university for civic engagement. The CWUR also placed Dartmouth College 44th globally for top-quality education.

Dartmouth College Accreditation Details

Reaffirmed in 2010 under President Philip J. Hanlon, Dartmouth College is institutionally accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE). It’s one of six regional bodies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for extending 10-year accreditations. The Thayer School of Engineering has programmatic approval from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology’s (ABET) Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC) for computer science courses.

Dartmouth College Application Requirements

Getting into Dartmouth College can be a long stretch for some with the “most selective” admission rate of 11 percent. Freshmen seeking the Computer Science A.B. must be extremely competitive with a high school diploma and class ranking in the top 25th percentile. AP Computer Science credits could transfer for an exam score above 4. Admitted Dartmouth undergrads have an average secondary GPA of 4.06. First-year applicants also present a mean SAT score of 1500 and ACT score of 32. Undergrads who’ve completed two or less years of regionally accredited college coursework could transfer up to 60 credits with a minimum 3.0 GPA.

The Dartmouth Graduate Studies Division welcomes post-grads into its tight-knit, collegial community who’ve finished an accredited bachelor’s or are within nine credits of doing so. Degrees from foreign colleges are accepted if students present a minimum IELTS score of 7.0 or TOEFL score of 600. Fall cohorts for the Computer Science M.S. need a cumulative GPA above 3.0 and GRE scores submitted via code 3351. Dartmouth post-grads achieve an average verbal score of 159 and quantitative score of 158. The Ph.D. Program in Computer Science admits candidates with a bachelor’s or master’s, preferably in technical fields, with a 3.5 GPA or higher.

Dartmouth College has established the Early Decision deadline on November 1st and Regular Decision deadline on January 1st for undergrads. Post-grad computer science majors can apply until December 15th annually. Dartmouth accepts the Common Application or Coalition Application online with extra materials mailed to 6016 McNutt Hall in Hanover, NH 03755. Computer science programs expect the following attachments:

  • $80 application fee or pre-approved waivers
  • Scanned copies of transcripts from every school
  • Official standardized test scores via ETS
  • Two to three letters of academic recommendation
  • Typed, 250-650 word application essay
  • Computer science supplement with work samples
  • Professional résumé or curriculum vitae (MS/PhD only)

Tuition and Financial Aid

Full-time undergrads earning the Computer Science A.B. are billed $51,468 for tuition and $1,482 for mandatory fees annually. Living on-campus in Hanover adds $9,144 for housing and $6,015 for food too. Indirectly, Dartmouth undergrads spend roughly $1,260 for textbooks and $2,040 on miscellaneous expenses. Total yearly cost of attendance before aid is $71,827. Unless waived, health insurance premiums add $2,859. Post-grad students in the Thayer School of Engineering must afford $17,156 per term or $51,468 each year full-time.

The NCES estimates that 62 percent of beginning, full-time Dartmouth Big Green receive financial aid packages worth $45,867 on average. Computer science majors might obtain institutional awards, such as the James B. Reynolds Scholarship, H. Allen Brooks Fellowship, William Hill Memorial Loan, Alfred K. Priest Fellowship, Charles H. Woodbury Memorial Prize, and MacLean Grant for Summer Research. Dartmouth participates 100 percent in the Yellow Ribbon Program for G.I. Bill benefits. Filing the FAFSA could unlock funding like the FSEOG Grant for $4,000 yearly. New Hampshire residents may earn the Granite State Scholars Grant, Tuition Waiver for Foster Children, or Scholarship for Orphans of Veterans. CS students could work 10-12 hours weekly for Federal Work-Study (FWS). Borrowing Federal Perkins, Direct, and Grad PLUS loans is limited to $57,500 total.

Studying Computer Science at Dartmouth

Chaired by Dr. Hany Farid in Sudikoff Hall, the Thayer School’s Department of Computer Science has three ABET-accredited training options. First, the Computer Science A.B. Major gives undergrads an introduction to computational concepts involved in programming high-tech digital solutions. Starting with an algorithms course, the 120-credit bachelor’s spans topics from computer architecture and systems design to digital arts and 3D modeling. The Bachelor of Arts has an optional 4+1 A.B./M.S. track for accelerated graduate study. Computer science majors might also declare the Honors Program, intern with Apple, study in Germany, and join the Computer Gaming Association. Dartmouth maintains a 7:1 student-faculty ratio for close interaction with Ph.D.-level professors trained at Stanford, Rochester, Princeton, MIT, and others.

Related: Top 30 Best Online Schools for a Computer Science Degree

Admitting each Fall, the Master of Science in Computer Science at Dartmouth is a standard, seven-term degree for post-bachelor’s scholars to sharpen their professional expertise in computing with hefty research experience. Offering an optional Digital Arts Concentration, the 13-course curriculum integrates seminars like computer graphics, visual computing, hardware design, and computer animation before the required thesis. Similarly, the Ph.D. in Computer Science trains academic faculty and researchers for exploring unchartered territories in tech to solve computing issues. The five-year, full-time program involves living in Sachem Village, working as graduate assistants, passing qualifying exams, and forming an original dissertation. Dartmouth College has state-of-the-art facilities, including the Machine Learning Group and Robotics Lab, for research.