Dartmouth College

#108 / #36
Global Influence / U.S. Influence
#11
Most Desirable School
Private university in Hanover, New Hampshire

Dartmouth College Featured Rankings

About Dartmouth College

By James Barham, PhD

Despite the word “college” in its name, Dartmouth is a full-scale, PhD-granting, private, research university. Indeed, it is an official member of the Ivy League, and is the fourteenth-oldest university in the US, founded only five years after Brown and 15 years after Columbia.

Located in the small town of Hanover in the far western part of central New Hampshire, the Dartmouth campus abuts the Connecticut River, which forms the entire border between New Hampshire and Vermont.

The university was founded by Eleazar Wheelock, a Congregationalist minister who was involved in missionary work with the Native American population. Already in 1754, Wheelock had founded a school in Connecticut—known as Moor’s Indian Charity School—whose purpose was to educate Native American boys as Congregationalist missionaries for future work among their own tribes.

Wishing to expand this school, Wheelock began a fund-raising drive to which the British statesman, William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, was a major contributor (along with the American-born educator, Dr. John Phillips, who would go on to found Phillips Exeter Academy).

In spite of the success of his fund-raising endeavor, Wheelock found that it was difficult to recruit enough Native American children to justify a large additional investment in the school. For this reason, he revised his plans and decided to use the money for a new college for the white population. Because of difficulties in securing a charter from the Colony of Connecticut, he also decided to build his new school in the neighboring state of New Hampshire, instead.

Ironically, although Wheelock named the new college “Dartmouth” in honor of the 2nd Earl to recognize his generosity, the latter was in fact quite opposed to the diversion of his money from its original purpose of benefiting the native population.

Consistent with its history as the brainchild of various individuals interested in furthering the education of non-white populations, Dartmouth began admitting black students almost immediately (in 1775), although not in large numbers. By the advent of the Civil War, some 20 African Americans had graduated from the university.

On the other hand, Dartmouth long remained an all-male school; women were only permitted to attend the university in 1972.

A large number of distinguished Americans have been connected with Dartmouth. For example, in the nineteenth century, we may mention three leading statesmen:

  • Thaddeus Stevens, US Representative from Pennsylvania, prominent abolitionist, and fierce advocate for African Americans during Reconstruction
  • Daniel Webster, US Senator for New Hampshire, prominent critic of President Andrew Jackson, and Secretary of State under President Millard Fillmore
  • Salmon P. Chase, Governor and US Senator for Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln, and sixth Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court

In addition, the well-known entrepreneur, George Bissell, who helped develop the early US oil industry in western Pennsylvania during the 1860s, was a Dartmouth graduate.

Distinguished twentieth-century individuals connected to Dartmouth include:

  • Edward Everett Just, an African American biologist who revolutionized our understanding of the cell surface
  • Edward Lorenz, a mathematician, meteorologist, and chaos theory pioneer
  • Celebrated poet, Robert Frost
  • Novelist, Louise Erdrich
  • Noted historian and law professor, Annette Gordon-Reed
  • Architect, Michael Arad
  • Children’s author, Theodor Geisel (“Dr. Seuss”)
  • Children’s television host, Fred Rogers (“Mr. Rogers”)
  • Robert Holbrook Smith (“Dr. Bob”), co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous
  • Author and filmmaker, Dinesh D’Souza
  • Television hosts, Laura Ingraham & Mel Robbins
  • Television journalist, Jake Tapper
  • Actors, Meryl Streep, Michael Moriarty & Josh Pence

Among the many Dartmouth-linked public servants who have served during the twentieth century, we may mention:

  • Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York and Vice President of the US under President Gerald Ford
  • Henry Paulson, banker and Secretary of the Treasury under George W. Bush
  • Timothy Geithner, banker and Secretary of the Treasury under Barack Obama
  • Robert Reich, economist, author, commentator, and Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton
  • Kirsten Gillibrand, sitting US Senator for New York

Finally, three individuals affiliated with Dartmouth have won the Nobel Prize:

  • Owen Chamberlain — physics
  • K. Barry Sharpless — chemistry
  • George Snell — physiology or medicine

According to Wikipedia, Dartmouth College is a private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native Americans in Christian theology and the English way of life, the university primarily trained Congregationalist ministers during its early history before it gradually secularized, emerging at the turn of the 20th century from relative obscurity into national prominence.

Dartmouth College's Online Degrees

Dartmouth College Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information

Annual ApplicationsAcceptanceGraduation RateMedian SAT ScoreMedian ACT Score
28,3566%94%150033

How Much Does Dartmouth College Cost To Attend?

Tuition (in-state)
$60,870
Price by Family Income
IncomeAverage Net Cost
0 - 30K$6,034
30K - 48K$8,718
48K - 75K$12,172
75K - 110K$16,661
110K+$52,251

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

How Much Do Dartmouth College Graduates Make?

If you graduate from Dartmouth College, then you can expect to earn an average of $110,200 per year. You also have a 91% chance of being employed after 10 years.

Dartmouth College's Demographics

Demographic data is for full-time, on-campus students.

Student BodyUnder-GradsGraduates
6,0454,3091,736

Where is Dartmouth College?

Dartmouth College is located at 207 Parkhurst Hall, Hanover NH 03755-3529

How Safe is Dartmouth College?

Hanover has a violent crime rate of less than .01% and a property crime rate of less than .01%.

What Is Dartmouth College Known For?

Dartmouth College is known for it's academic work in the following disciplines:

Dartmouth College's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered

Who Are Dartmouth College's Most Influential Alumni?

Dartmouth College's most influential alumni faculty include professors and professionals in the fields of Business, Computer Science, and Education. Here are some of Dartmouth College's most famous alumni:

Joseph Campbell
Joseph Campbell
An American mythologist, writer and lecturer .
Robert Frost
Robert Frost
An American poet. Robert Frost is 4x recipient of Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
An American children's author and cartoonist .
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
A 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State .
Stuart Kauffman
Stuart Kauffman
An American biophysicist.
Robert Reich
Robert Reich
An American political economist.
C. Everett Koop
An American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator.
Jaegwon Kim
An American philosopher .
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
An American film and theatre critic .
Michael Gazzaniga
An American neuroscientist.
Robert Christgau
An American music journalist.
Edward Norton Lorenz
Edward Norton Lorenz
An American mathematician and meteorologist .

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