Colby/Dartmouth Dual Degree Program +
Colby offers a liberal arts and engineering dual-degree program in collaboration with Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. The Dartmouth dual-degree program is a 2/1/1 program that takes five years to complete. Students earn a bachelor of arts degree from Colby in a liberal arts major of their choice and a second, professionally accredited bachelor of engineering degree from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth.
Students who elect the dual-degree program with Dartmouth spend their first two years at Colby pursuing their Colby major and taking a set of math and science courses that will support their engineering coursework. Students apply to the Dartmouth dual-degree program in their sophomore year and, if accepted, spend their junior year at Dartmouth. During their first year at Dartmouth, students take introductory courses in engineering and one or two electives. Students return to Colby for their senior year and graduate from Colby with their original class. Finally, a fifth year is spent at the Thayer School, studying more specialized engineering courses to complete the B.E. degree.
The Dartmouth curriculum is largely identical for all students in their first year at the Thayer School and covers the fundamental concepts of analysis, modeling, and design. Students have the opportunity to focus on a particular field of engineering in their final year. Supported areas of focus include: biomedical, biotechnology, chemical, computer, electrical, environmental, materials science, mechanical, and engineering management.
Colby/Columbia Dual Degree Program +
Colby also offers a liberal arts and engineering dual-degree program in collaboration with Columbia University in New York City. The Columbia program is a 4/2 program where students complete a full four-year program at Colby and then transfer to Columbia's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science for two years focused on engineering. Columbia offers 15 different engineering specialties, and students obtain a discipline-specific B.S. engineering degree.
Students who elect the dual-degree program with Columbia apply to the program in their senior year after completing their Colby major and taking the courses required by their desired engineering specialty. After graduating from Colby, students will transfer to Columbia for their final two years, focusing primarily on their engineering curriculum. Columbia guarantees admission to students who have completed the coursework, have an overall GPA of 3.3, and a minimum grade of a B in all of their engineering preparatory courses.
Students will pursue somewhat different coursework in each engineering specialty at Columbia, and the preparatory coursework at Colby is slightly different for each engineering major. Available engineering majors within the Fu school include: biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, earth and environmental, electrical, industrial, materials science, mechanical, engineering management systems, engineering mechanics, and operations research.
Engineering and the Liberal Arts +
Colby's dual-degree programs offer students the opportunity to explore topics in depth in the humanities and social sciences outside of their engineering coursework. The more-diverse educational experience provides graduates with a broader understanding of the world and helps inform the kinds of products and materials they design and build as engineers. Issues such as sustainability, accessibility, and lifetime design of products--designing for product termination and disposal as well as manufacture--require balancing technical and nontechnical factors. The ability to write, communicate, and think critically are essential skills in any modern engineering enterprise. Students with a dual-degree are well-positioned to assume leadership and design positions requiring communication and an understanding of a broad range of issues beyond the technical realm.
At Colby the dual-degree programs are popular, and the participants form a community, sharing courses and experiences through their time at Colby and their engineering institution. Students completing a dual-degree program have many exciting opportunities for their future.
Preparatory Coursework +
The following courses are required for both the Dartmouth and Columbia dual-degree programs. Students applying for the Dartmouth program must complete all of them within their first four semesters.
Mathematics: three courses, including MA 262 Vector Calculus.
- MA 253 Linear Algebra and MA 311 Ordinary Differential Equations are also recommended.
Physics: two courses, usually PH 141 (or 143 Honors) Foundations of Mechanics and PH 145 Foundations of Electromagnetism and Optics.
Chemistry: CH 141 (or 145 Honors) General Chemistry.
Computer Science: CS 151 Computational Thinking.
Some Columbia engineering majors require additional coursework while at Colby. Interested students should refer to the Columbia website and consult with the Colby Engineering Advisor.
Students coming to Colby with AP or other coursework that may substitute for one or more of the above requirements must ensure that it appears on their Colby transcript with a credit notation in order to satisfy engineering accreditation requirements. For example, students who are able to place out of their first semester of calculus, but who do not receive credit notation on their transcript, must still take three semesters of mathematics at Colby.
Summary Comparison +
| Dartmouth |
Columbia |
- Five-year program in a 2/1/1/1 format
- Junior year abroad is at Dartmouth
- Competitive admission
- Bachelor of engineering degree
- Specialization in last year
- Choice of nine areas of focus
- Located in Hanover, N.H.
|
- Six-year program in a 4/2 format
- No restrictions on junior year abroad
- Guaranteed admission if requirements met
- Bachelor of science in an engineering discipline
- Specialization in both years
- Choice of at least 12 engineering majors
- Located in New York City
|
Financial Aid +
Students participating in the Dartmouth dual-degree program treat their junior year as a year abroad. Therefore Colby provides the same financial aid to students in their junior year at Dartmouth as they would receive in residence at Colby. For the fifth year, Dartmouth provides a limited financial assistance package; full financial coverage is not guaranteed.
As students have graduated from Colby before matriculating at Columbia, financial aid for Columbia is negotiated with and provided by Columbia University.
Engineering Advising and Related Links
Associate Professor Bruce Maxwell, chair of the Department of Computer Science, is the current advisor for the dual-degree engineering program. Interested students should consult with him to develop an academic plan prior to registration for the first semester. More information is also available at:
Dartmouth Thayer School: http://thayer.dartmouth.edu/undergraduate/dual
Columbia Fu School: http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/engineering/combined
Contact: Bruce A. Maxwell bmaxwell@colby.edu
http://cs.colby.edu
