<p>I’ve always heard Darty has one of the top econ programs in the country, just behind those of yale and chicago. But this doesn’t seem to show up in the rankings. Is this an illusion?? </p>
<p>This story made me feel a little buyers remorse for signing that ED contract:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>From what I have seen and heard, the Economics department at D is OK, but not outstanding. It nowhere near the calibre of departments at MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale or Chicago. It probably is not even as strong as Williams’, though it is on par with many of the other top LACs. </p>
<p>The departments that are distinguished at Dartmouth include Classics, Modern Languages, Mathematics, Computer Sciences, Chemistry and Philosophy.</p>
<p>That’s kinda discouraging…
i applied ED to dartmouth too
and i want to do econ …</p>
<p>is History at Dartmouth good?</p>
<p>BalletGirl, I’m not really sure where you’re getting your information but there are plenty more “distinguished” departments than those on your list. I’d also disagree with some of your ratings as the math department is one of the weaker ones among the Ivies and peer schools.
Dartmouth has a great Economics program for a department that doesn’t have graduate students. I think Econ students benefit a lot from being taught by professors in all their classes as opposed to being taught by TA’s at many of those other schools you listed. Those rankings are obviously stacked against econ departments without a grad school because there’s less courses, resources, instructors, etc. The problem that the article in the D was referring to is a need for professors. Econ and gov are the two most popular majors at Dartmouth so there’s always going to be a need for new professors. If the department was bad, then a quarter of each class wouldn’t be studying econ and there’s always the connection with Tuck Business School.
von_herrs-The history department is also really, really great. It’s also a popular major but there’s less of a faculty shortage because with history, each professor teaches in their own area of specialty.</p>
<p>Utopia19,</p>
<p>I didn’t say those were the only distinguished departments at Dartmouth. I said they were among them. </p>
<p>Because Economics is a popular major at Dartmouth it doesn’t mean it has a strong department, it just means it’s a popular major. It’s a popular major everywhere. That doesn’t mean there are strong programs everywhere.</p>
<p>The OP was asking about Dartmouth’s Econ program in relation to a number of recognized ones and I think my response was fair and balanced. If one was indeed interested in becoming a professional economist, one would be perhaps better served attending MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, etc. I think that’s a no-brainer.</p>
<p>Chill out!</p>
<p>The econ department at dartmouth is very strong. The professors are all highly accomplished individuals in their respective fields. By-and-large, classes are small and well-taught. I am an econ major here, and am fully satisfied. If anyone has any specific questions about it, I encourage you to ask me, and I will try to help.</p>
<p>Are there opportunities to take classes in more theoretical Economical branches, such as Game Theory?</p>
<p>[Courses</a> for Dartmouth Economics Department](<a href=“Home | Department of Economics”>Home | Department of Economics)</p>
<p>bulldogbull,
i heard that the econ classes at D are not small at all! (like 60 ppl a class?)
is that true??
What 's the best thing about the econ program? (apart from the ‘courses taught by professors’ thing…)</p>
<p>More importantly, what’s the WORST thing about the econ program? (i am just trying to know more about the program that i am planning to apply to =] )</p>
<p>There are no courses given in the winter that has 60 students.</p>
<p>there are4 sections of econ 1 which is capped at 45 students per class.<br>
1 course in Natural Resrce&Ecological Econ, which is capped at 40 students
a number of classes that are capped at 35</p>
<p><a href=“http://oracle-www.dartmouth.edu/dart/groucho/timetable.course_quicksearch[/url]”>http://oracle-www.dartmouth.edu/dart/groucho/timetable.course_quicksearch</a></p>
<p>If link does not take you there do the following:</p>
<p>registrar
timetable of class meetings
general education requirement
quicksearch by subject code
term
search</p>
<p>I never understand why students are concerned with program ranks. I was talking about this the other day with a Yale alum. At the end of the day the overall prestige of the school (Dartmouth is amazing here) plus the undergrad opportunities get you into grad school and they get you the best jobs. If you want to be a career economist Dartmouth will get you into the top 3 grad school you need to attend, if you want to get a great job Dartmouth will do that too. In both cases better than any school outside of HYPM and maybe Stanford.</p>
<p>Dartmouth easily is among the top 7 schools when it comes to grad placement and job recruiting (elite banks and consulting firms).</p>
<p>Dartmouth easily is among the top 7 schools when it comes to grad placement and job recruiting (elite banks and consulting firms).</p>
<p>Really? I would go as far as to say Dartmouth is among the top 5 for recruiting just behind Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Warthon.</p>
<p>To be clear, no doubt Dartmouth is tops in getting its graduates into high status, high income professions like investment banking and management consulting. This has more to do with traditional patterns of recruiting laid down long ago and the rather extensive network of D alumni than it has to do with the absolute quality of its economics department, which is good but no where near that of more fulsome universities </p>
<p>I agree with slipper that one doesn’t go to Dartmouth because of the strength of any one academic department. You go because of the quality of the overall education and the unique undergraduate experience it offers.</p>
<p>To be also clear, below are schools with highly-ranked graduate programs in economics. While there is no guarantee that this quality translates over into the undergraduate experience, it is a reasonable proxy.</p>
<ol>
<li>Harvard University 4.9</li>
<li>Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4.9</li>
<li>Stanford University 4.9</li>
<li>Princeton University 4.8</li>
<li>University of California–Berkeley 4.8</li>
<li>University of Chicago 4.8</li>
<li>Yale University 4.7</li>
<li>Northwestern University 4.5</li>
<li>University of Pennsylvania 4.3</li>
<li>University of Minnesota–Twin Cities 4.1</li>
<li>University of Wisconsin–Madison 4.1</li>
<li>University of California–Los Angeles 4.0</li>
<li>University of Michigan–Ann Arbor 4.0</li>
<li>California Institute of Technology 3.9</li>
<li>Columbia University 3.9</li>
<li>University of California–San Diego 3.9</li>
<li>University of Rochester 3.9</li>
<li>Cornell University 3.8</li>
<li>Carnegie Mellon University 3.7</li>
<li>Duke University 3.7</li>
</ol>
<p>So for all you I-bank and consulting wanna-bees out there, don’t despair Dartmouth will get you there.</p>
<p>To put it more prosaically, your future in investment banking and consulting will more likely be determined through your association with Keggy-the-Kegger and your fraterity record in beer pong than it will be through your research internship with a future Nobelist in the Dartmouth economics department. ;)</p>
<p>That ranking is very interesting… but realize that Dartmouth doesn’t have a graduate program in economics!!! So it really doesn’t answer much about the OP’s question about the strength of Dartmouth economics.</p>
<p>^pampelmouse,</p>
<p>DUH??? Let’s then just say it’s among the best of the LACs. To specifically answer the OPs question would be say, uncategorically, that D’s economic program is not among the best in the country. </p>
<p>The reason Dartmouth has so many investment bankers is this:</p>
<p>Dartmouth is the party animal of the Ivy League</p>
<p>I-Bankers are the party animals of industry</p>
<p>Therefore, Dartmouth grads are a natural match to be I-bankers</p>
<p>And the D economics department is good enough in the service of prepping these future wild men (women) as not to be an embarassment. </p>
<p>Fair statement??</p>
<p>Our current alums. include the Secretary of the Treasury (Hank Paulson) and the CEO of General Electric (Jeff Immelt). These are the chieftains of the American economy. If you want more on this read this article:
[Belinsky’s</a> Blog: Dartmouth on Bloomberg News](<a href=“http://belinsky.blogspot.com/2006/08/dartmouth-on-bloomberg-news.html]Belinsky’s”>Dartmouth on Bloomberg News | Michael Belinsky)</p>
<p>I’m not sure if you’re interested in the finance side of things or researching the dismal science, but Dartmouth is extremely well represented in both and would have even more if more students who came to Dartmouth chose these fields as career paths. In short, you can’t compare a place like Dartmouth to a place like Wharton.</p>
<p>BalletGirl,</p>
<p>You are wrong in your logic. Dartmouth excels at the business world and with recruiting overall because elite firms recognize that actual learning and the ability to critically think is more important than departmental ranks (i.e. undergrad attention is much more valuable than cramming for finals to beat a curve in a 300 person class at a research university.) </p>
<p>Why would McKinsey or Goldman care that you went to a top 5 graduate ranking program when this has nothing to do with the quality of the education or student. These places are looking for smart students (hence they will only recruit from highly selective schools) who had good teachers and actually learned something (undergrad focused schools do well here). The fact that so many Dartmouth alumni are successful at elite firms only helps recruiting.</p>
<p>The education you will receive from Dartmouth in an undergraduate department will significantly exceed the education at a highly ranked graduate department. This is why Dartmouth students so do well at graduate placement as well.</p>
<p>Dartmouth = better education, better jobs, better grad placement, and more fun. In my experience its one of the few places that really does well at everything that matters.</p>
<p>Slipper,</p>
<p>You have misread me and my facetiousness. You, in fact, make my point. I believe all that you say about critical thinking and the like. They are right-on in terms of what the so-called “elite” firms are looking for in its candidates. And Dartmouth has a very strong record with them. </p>
<p>It is also the case, in answer to the OP’s question, “I’ve always heard Dartmouth had one of the top economic programs in the country, just behind those of Yale and Chicago. Is this an illusion??” that it is safe to say that Dartmouth’s economics department is not in the same league as MIT, Harvard, Chicago, Yale, etc. </p>
<p>We are making two different points. It is possible to hold them both in the mind at the same time.</p>
<p>Finally, do not ever underestimate the role tradition plays, including in recruiting patterns, and the importance of the “social” aspect of the Dartmouth experience in the production of business elites. Dartmouth’s history as a “work hard, party hard”, traditionally male-oriented school is important in undertanding its success in the production of business elites.</p>
<p>Your point on the role of critical thinking is an important one, just don’t oversell it.</p>