Trustees Establish School of Graduate and Advanced Studies

The Board of Trustees voted Wednesday, Jan. 27, to establish the School of Graduate and Advanced Studies at Dartmouth, creating the College’s first new school in more than 100 years.

“The School of Graduate and Advanced Studies demonstrates Dartmouth’s commitment to research at the highest level. It will enhance the impact of our current research enterprise, help attract the most talented students and faculty, and promote collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts while maintaining Dartmouth’s high expectations for quality and excellence,” President Phil Hanlon ’77 told the trustees at their meeting Wednesday in New York.

The new graduate school will consolidate resources currently supporting approximately 800 students in 16 PhD programs and 12 masters programs, as well as 250 postdoctoral students, under the dean of the administratively independent school; the dean will report directly to the provost. The school, expected to open July 1, 2016, will also expand professional development resources for graduate students and postdocs.

The graduate school will grant Dartmouth PhDs, MS, and MA degrees, but faculty involved in those programs will retain their academic affiliations with Arts and Sciences, Geisel School of Medicine, Thayer School of Engineering, or the Tuck School of Business. The new school will also provide a hub for efforts to gain support for graduate studies from new funding sources.

The graduate programs will maintain connections with the departments or schools where they are currently based. The College has no plans to undertake construction for the School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, though administrators are exploring options for establishing a designated community space for graduate students.