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 fluctuates between 96 and 97%.

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 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.

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 $15. 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.

Admission Requirements

Students interested in pursuing the BE must be admitted first as a Dartmouth undergraduate or as a Dual-Degree student from our partner institutions.

• High School & Transfer students: Please apply directly to Dartmouth's Office of Undergraduate Admissions for admission to the undergraduate program.
• Dual-Degree Students: Students interested in the Dual-Degree Program should apply directly to Thayer School of Engineering.
• Current Dartmouth students: Current Dartmouth students pursuing a major or modified major in engineering sciences are automatically admitted to the BE program, but must first apply at least two terms prior to their intended enrollment.

Post-Baccalaureate Math/Science Majors

Qualified candidates with a bachelor's degree that is substantially equivalent to the Dartmouth AB in engineering sciences plus two upper-level electives in engineering, mathematics, or the natural sciences are eligible for admission. Students with minor deficiencies may be admitted but will be required to complete additional undergraduate coursework.

Students who need no more than the equivalent of one term to satisfy prerequisites will be considered for admission as regular degree candidates. Students who need more than one full term (three courses) are required to enroll initially as a "special student."

A typical student with an AB or BS in mathematics or science may earn the BE in approximately five academic terms—two as a special student without financial aid and, pending satisfactory progress, three more terms as an aid-eligible BE student.

Special Student
A student who does not meet the requirements for admission to the BE program may initially be admitted as a special student.

Part-Time Student
A local resident who has a BS in engineering or an appropriate math/science program and can meet basic academic requirements may pursue coursework on a part-time basis.

Special and part-time students are ineligible for financial aid from Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth.

Application Deadline

February 15 for Fall term admission or two terms prior to the term you would like to begin.

Please complete the BE Program Plan Submission form, uploading your completed and approved BE Program Plan. Complete the BE Program Plan by opening it in a spreadsheet app, and discuss it with your faculty advisor. Your advisor then must email their approval of your plan to bachelor.of.engineering@dartmouth.edu.

Application Process and Timeline

Current Dartmouth undergraduate students and Dual-Degree Program participants apply through Thayer’s BE application. All other undergraduate applicants must apply through Dartmouth Admissions.

• Feb 15: application due
• March 15: CSS Profile due (if applying for aid and you did not file at the time or before you applied)
• April 15: Accept/Decline response due
• May 26 to 31: Elect Fall ’23 classes
  

Admission Office Contact

Undergraduate Programs Administrator
Jenna Wheeler
jenna.d.wheeler@dartmouth.edu
+1 (603) 646-3677

Admission Office Address

BE Admissions
Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth
15 Thayer Drive
Hanover, NH 03755

engineering.admissions@dartmouth.edu
+1 (603) 646-2606