Dartmouth College

What you'll study

The programme emphasises applied work in core areas of computer science combined with project-based experience. Typical topics include advanced software engineering, machine learning and data science, systems and networking, algorithms and optimisation, human–computer interaction, and secure and trustworthy computing. Students complete a mix of taught modules and substantial applied projects or a capstone that integrates design, implementation and evaluation. Electives allow specialisation in areas such as cloud and distributed systems, computational biology, robotics, and visual analytics. Coursework is complemented by seminars, collaborative lab work and opportunities to undertake internships or industry-sponsored projects.

Entry requirements

Applicants are expected to hold a recognised undergraduate degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics or a closely related discipline, with evidence of strong quantitative and programming ability. Typical supporting materials include academic transcripts, letters of recommendation (usually two to three), a personal statement outlining academic and professional goals, and a résumé or CV. Applicants without a formal computing degree may be considered if they can demonstrate substantial relevant experience or completed prerequisite coursework in programming, data structures and calculus. International applicants must demonstrate English language proficiency if their prior education was not in English.

Career prospects

Graduates move into a wide range of technical and product-focused roles in industry, non-profit and government sectors. Common job titles include software engineer, machine learning engineer, data scientist, systems engineer, site reliability engineer and product engineer. The applied focus also prepares graduates for roles in research engineering, technical consulting and start-up environments, and for further study at the doctoral level for those pursuing research careers. Dartmouth’s relationships with industry, alumni mentoring and on-campus recruiting support transitions into technology companies, research labs and interdisciplinary teams across healthcare, finance, manufacturing and public sector organisations.

Why study at Dartmouth College

Dartmouth combines a liberal-arts environment with strong engineering and computing resources, offering close faculty supervision and small cohort sizes that favour personalised learning and team-based projects. The programme benefits from collaboration across the Department of Computer Science and the Thayer School of Engineering, giving students access to applied engineering expertise and interdisciplinary centres. Students gain from Dartmouth’s active alumni network, entrepreneurial support and links with regional and national technology employers. The Hanover campus provides a focused academic setting with opportunities to engage in cross-campus initiatives, industry-sponsored projects and experiential learning that bridge theory and practice.