Bachelor of Engineering

Program Educational 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.

* Students with no prior experience with chemistry will be placed in CHEM 5. Students with prior experience with chemistry (as demonstrated through AP, IB, or A-level exams) automatically receive credit for CHEM 5 and have the option of taking CHEM 11 as a chemistry elective towards the requirements for the AB and/ or BE. Students who place into CHEM 11 via placement exam only receive credit for CHEM 5 if they successfully complete CHEM 11. In this case, CHEM 5 could fulfill a prerequisite requirement and CHEM 11 could fulfill an elective requirement.
** 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 (eg. "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 chair of the Department of Engineering Sciences, Dartmouth students admitted to the BE program 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.

Master of Engineering (MEng)

With advance planning, BE students interested in also pursuing the Master of Engineering (MEng) may use up to six applicable graduate courses for both their BE and MEng programs. Those courses must be beyond the requirements for the AB. The courses must not have been taken to fulfill the requirements for the AB. Dartmouth students pursuing the BE and MEng degrees simultaneously must have at least one term of residency solely as an MEng student. Students should discuss their plans to satisfy program requirements for both degrees with their advisor and the MEng program director.

Masters of Engineering Management (MEM)

BE students, including Partner School Dual Degree students, are able to pursue both BE and MEM degrees simultaneously and complete them in a reduced timeframe. Students should consider applying to the MEM program during their senior year. Students may count ENGS 93: Statistical Methods in Engineering, even if it was taken as part of the AB and/or BE requirements, and may count up to two additional graduate-level electives toward the MEM degree. Those courses must be beyond the AB requirements.

Master of Science (MS)

With advance planning and pending a willing Dartmouth faculty sponsor, BE students interested in also pursuing the Master of Science (MS) may be able to earn the degree within one year after finishing the requirements for the BE. Students may use up to six applicable graduate courses for both the BE and MS programs. Those courses must be beyond the requirements for the AB (typically taken in the fifth year) and students must have taken a substantial portion of the undergraduate program at Dartmouth or in one of its official exchange programs. Students should discuss their plans to satisfy both program requirements with the MS program director. At least one term prior to their thesis defense, the BE/MS candidate submits to the registrar a BE program plan approved by both their advisor and the BE program director. Within one term of admission to the MS program, BE/MS candidates must submit an MS program plan to the Registrar.

Biomedical Engineering

Biological Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Computer Engineering

Computer Science

Electrical Engineering

Energy Engineering

Environmental Engineering

Material Science and Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Physics

Full-time students in the BE program are eligible for aid in the form of partial-tuition scholarships, hourly employment as teaching assistants or in other capacities, fellowships, and loans. Special and part-time students are not eligible for financial aid. BE students who accept partial-tuition scholarship awards will be required to serve as a paid hourly teaching assistant if called upon.

Apply for financial aid

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.