Program Objectives

The BE degree program seeks to produce engineers who:

1. Apply interdisciplinary breadth to professional activities;
2. Demonstrate innovation in professional activities;
3. Practice effective teamwork and written and verbal communication;
4. Initiate the process of lifelong learning; and
5. Serve society at large.

Enrollment and Degrees Awarded

The graduation rate is typically between 97–99% each year.

Student Outcomes

BE graduates achieve these objectives through:

1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics;
2. an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors;
3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences;
4. an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts;
5. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives;
6. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions;
7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Capstone Design Sequence

Design is an essential element of engineering. Project management is what makes a good design become a prototype and ultimately a tool that works. Toward the end of their degree, BE students enroll in a two-term capstone design sequence. These projects focus on engineering design, project management, and project completion. Working in teams of 3 or 4, they choose projects that industries have submitted to Thayer School's Cook Engineering Design Center (CEDC).

Engineering Design Methodology

In the design sequence (ENGS 89/90), students select a problem and collaborate with their industry sponsor to solve it. The entire process, which covers two 10-week terms, involves all the elements of the design process from problem definition to the industry application and includes feasibility studies, decision making, economic analysis, prototyping, and often final implementation.

Lectures by experts on entrepreneurship, ethics, and legal issues are part of each course. At several points in each term, students practice their presentation skills before a review board of engineering professionals.

The final product—a hardware prototype or a software program or a manufacturing process—is delivered to the industry partner at the end of the second term.

Biomedical Engineering

Biological Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Computer Engineering

Computer Science

Electrical Engineering

Energy Engineering

Environmental Engineering

Material Science and Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Physics

* Students who elected and passed CHEM 10 or CHEM 11 will receive 1 credit for CHEM 5, and an additional credit for CHEM 10/11 to be counted toward the math and science electives.
** Students who modify the engineering sciences major with science and partner school dual-degree students with science majors may take their gateway courses in the same discipline.
*** Understanding that the BE is a degree that prepares one for the engineering profession, students must choose at least three, but preferably four (or more) courses in which they increase their depth of studies in an engineering field. At least one of these courses must have significant design content. This depth of studies must be intellectually coherent as defined together by the student and their faculty advisor. While some course plans might be self-evident as classically defined (e.g. “mechanical engineering” or “electrical engineering”), others might be more tailored to a student’s chosen professional pathway. Students are therefore asked to provide a brief rationale for why they chose a certain group of courses. The courses need not build on one another but they must build on foundational courses in the engineering curriculum. These concentration courses allow the student to identify with a particular field of engineering on their resume, while still earning their degree in engineering sciences.

Course Transfer Credits

With approval of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Dartmouth students admitted to the BE may transfer up to four courses--two toward AB requirements and two toward BE requirements. Course credit transfers approved by the Dartmouth Registrar in partial satisfaction of AB requirements, with approval of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, may be included in partial fulfillment of BE requirements.

Courses transferred for course equivalency, or for engineering credit with no course equivalency, must be suitable for inclusion in a technical and applied science program and should be evaluated according to the process outlined by the Thayer Registrar for course transfers.

Courses transferred in fulfillment of the math and natural science requirements for the BE will be assessed by the BE program committee, or appropriate math/science instructor at Dartmouth. Prior to approval for transfer, additional supporting material may be required, including course catalog descriptions, textbook information, syllabi, etc.

Detailed information, for enrolled students, about specific courses that satisfy accreditation and BE degree requirements can be found and planned using the BE–Program Plan spreadsheet.

Tuition

$20,229 per term

Tuition covers instruction and use of instructional facilities.

Fees

$8,460–$8,575 per term

Fees include health access/insurance, room, board, student activities/services, books, supplies… etc.

Total Cost

$86,000–$86,450 per academic year

The estimated total cost of a year—including tuition, books, room, board, and incidentals—not including meal plan options.

The Mazilu Engineering Research Fellowship

The Mazilu Engineering Research Fellowship is a competitive fellowship in support of a research experience for engineering sciences students under the direction of a faculty mentor.

Partial Tuition Scholarships

Grants applicable to tuition charges are awarded on the basis of need, as demonstrated by the PROFILE application. Scholarships are renewed each academic year contingent upon continued satisfactory academic progress. BE students who accept financial aid awards from Thayer School are required to serve as teaching assistants if called upon.

Hourly Teaching Assistantships and Other Employment

Teaching assistant positions may be available to well qualified students. A teaching assistant is paid hourly to assist with grading, problem sessions, and/or lab work. Assignments are made on a term-by-term basis. BE students who accept financial aid awards from Thayer School are required to serve as teaching assistants if called upon. Other limited hourly employment is also available to qualified students.

Normally work is limited to no more than 12 hours per week during academic terms and 40 hours per week between terms and during off-terms. The hourly rate of pay is $17. Hourly employment may not exceed a total of 40 hours per week from any and all College sources.

Loans

US BE students are eligible to apply for Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, and, in limited cases, DELC Loans through the Dartmouth Financial Aid Office.

Educational loan applicants must complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Dartmouth's school code is 002573.

Thayer has a loan program available to non-US-citizen BE candidates with high financial need. Contact Candace Potter for more information.