Summer Scholars in the Meriden Valley

Learn More about Dartmouth Summer Scholars in the Meriden Valley

Dartmouth Summer Scholars is offering new, introductory college-level courses in our most popular academic disciplines – business, medicine, and engineering. For the first time, we are opening our courses to students ages 14+. These foundational courses provide a first step into Dartmouth's pre-college experience, with academic instruction from Dartmouth instructors and residential life at Kimball Union Academy (KUA) in Meriden, New Hampshire.

Join us for a summer of rigorous coursework, connection with peers from around the world, and the best outdoor experiences the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont has to offer!

Ages 14 and up — A first step into Dartmouth Precollege.
No prerequisites — Introductory courses in business, engineering, and medicine are open to high school students without prior experience or coursework in these fields.

1:8 staff ratio — Residential staff live in the dorms alongside students.
Programming designed to foster belonging — Dartmouth’s tight-knit community is brought to life during your two-week experience.
A campus perfect for soaking up summer — KUA is a short drive from Dartmouth’s campus and hosts ponds, trails, and greens ideal for enjoying summer in New Hampshire.

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How does Dartmouth partner with Kimball Union Academy (KUA)?

(Photo By Kimball Union Academy)

Our introductory courses are housed at Kimball Union Academy (KUA), a prestigious boarding school located in Meriden, New Hampshire, which allows Dartmouth to open the Summer Scholars program to 14-year-old students. Dartmouth instructors teach the academic program, which includes at least two full-day field trips to study within the campus facilities at Dartmouth. The residential component of our program on nights and weekends is also designed and implemented by the same Summer Scholars staff who run our advanced courses on campus. KUA provides the campus setting, including classrooms, dining, dorms, transportation, and afternoon and evening activity facilities.

Students in Foundations of Medicine, Introduction to Engineering, and Business Foundations live in air conditioned residence halls at KUA with a 1:8 staff ratio. Throughout each session, they travel to Dartmouth for campus tours, a bespoke admissions information session, outdoor adventures with the Dartmouth Outing Club, and final presentations to a panel of Dartmouth undergraduates. Our medicine classes also include a half-day field trip at Dartmouth’s renowned research hospital and our business classes include a workshop led by the Tuck School of Business.

Sessions and Courses for Summer 2027

Each Dartmouth Summer Scholars session lasts two weeks. Students arrive on Sunday afternoon and depart on Friday morning at the end of the session.

Students arrive from around the world and are greeted by their residential counselors and classmates, then oriented to campus and the extracurricular opportunities ahead.

Session 1: Monday, June 28 to Thursday, July 8

Session 3: Monday, July 12 to Thursday, July 22

Courses are subject to a minimum enrollment of 1 students each, and will be confirmed by March 1, 2027.

Business Foundations (Sessions 1 and 3)

Course Description

The two-week Business Foundations course is designed to provide you with exposure to some areas of what we call “business.” We start by discussing (and practicing) foundational concepts – in areas such as finance, accounting, and spreadsheet modeling. From there, we embark on a public company valuation project while, in parallel, discussing and applying ideas, frameworks, and methodologies from areas such as economics, marketing, strategy, and (more) finance and accounting.Through the valuation project, we will explore how companies think about clients and customers, how they make money and finance themselves, how they think about competition, innovation, and new projects, and how those decisions affect their value. In addition, we will examine some best practices about corporate and personal communication. The project will culminate with a presentation of project findings and analyses. Finally, we will seek to explore how some of the concepts we cover can be applied to our daily lives and decision-making.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this course, participants will:

Have a solid grasp of concepts in areas such as accounting, finance, economics, and
strategy.
Be conversant in the ways businesses evaluate and make decisions about undertaking
new projects – and how to finance them.
Understand the effects of compounding, (financial) leverage, and risk on expected
returns.
Be able to apply financial analysis methodologies on issues of personal finance.
Be able to discuss where business ideas come from, and the differences between
breakthrough and disruptive innovation.
Have experience practicing teamwork and collaboration on a real-life problem.
Feel more confident about creating and delivering persuasive presentations.
Have a view of potential career areas in business.

Introduction to Engineering (Sessions 1 and 3)

Course Description

Engineering is a broad and exciting field! This course will explore this expansive and dynamic discipline through lectures, hands-on activities, and interactions with professionals. Students will get to dive into the different disciplines of engineering (e.g. aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, computer/software, electrical, environmental, mechanical, etc.) and be introduced to the engineering design process that is a unifying framework that applies across the field.

The lectures in this course will emphasize active learning while exposing students to different disciplines and potential careers. Several guest speakers and field trips will give students the opportunity to talk with real-world engineers and see their day-to-day work firsthand. In the capstone project, students will work in small groups to identify a real-world problem under a shared theme, and choose an engineering discipline that best fits their proposed solution.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:

Identify and describe the major engineering disciplines and the types of problems each addresses.
Apply the engineering design process, working collaboratively in teams, to solve a real-world problem.
Connect in-class concepts to real world applications through interactions with practicing engineers.

Foundations in Medicine (Sessions 1 and 3)

Course Description

This interactive course is designed to give students exposure to the core subjects that contribute to the foundational knowledge used in medicine and allow them to explore potential career options within the medical field. To expand their knowledge, students will participate in interactive lab demonstrations, hands-on laboratory skill-building exercises, discussion sessions with their peers, career panels with current professionals in the medical field, and visits to Dartmouth’s facilities.

Students will be exposed to topics in chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, sociology, mathematics, and English/Writing to provide a broad basis of understanding for the field of medicine. Throughout the course, they will begin to understand how these topics serve as the building blocks for careers in medicine. Ultimately, students will work with their peers to give a presentation about how these topics are used every day in different jobs in the medical field.

Overall, this course aims to provide students with a foundational knowledge of medicine and equip them with the knowledge to further explore the field of medicine during their collegiate or professional career.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:

Explain the core subjects that make up the foundations of medicine, including chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, sociology, mathematics, and English/writing.
Describe how these core subjects interact and build on one another to form a foundation of knowledge that is used in medicine.
Develop a basic understanding of laboratory skills used throughout foundational medicine courses.
Ask pertinent questions about the field of medicine, including how to choose a major, how research is implicated in medicine, what careers exist in the medical field, and more.
Identify diverse career paths that exist in the field of medicine and reflect on the potential to pursue one of these paths.

Two campuses, one program

(Photo By Summer Discovery)

After years of filling our business, engineering and medicine classes on campus, we partnered with Kimball Union Academy, an elite boarding school 20 minutes from Dartmouth, to open introductory classes in our most popular disciplines for students aged 14 or who have no prior experience in these subjects. We use this beautiful, intimate campus for housing, academics, and extracurricular activities. All classes have at least two full-day field trips to Dartmouth to tour lab facilities, meet with faculty and current undergraduate students, eat in Dartmouth’s dining hall, and attend bespoke admissions tours. One full weekend day is dedicated to exploring Hanover and getting the feel for Dartmouth’s small college town location.

Many of our precollege students return to Dartmouth for multiple years. Students who earn a certificate in Business Foundations, Introduction to Engineering, or Foundations of Medicine become eligible for advanced on-campus courses such as Research and Lab Work in Medicine, Engineering: Design and Prototyping, and Alternatives Investing.

Flow Chart showing pathway from introductory to advanced courses in business, engineering, and medicine

A Typical Day

Who Can Attend?

Curious younger students. Students 14 and up who want to try a field before committing to it.
First-time precollege students. No prerequisites. Courses are built as introductions, unlike the on-campus courses in these fields.
Families who want support. Small cohorts, a 1:8 staff ratio, and KUA-provided transportation to Dartmouth. Families are welcome at an arrival reception and parent orientation.

Stay Connected

(Photo By Summer Discovery)

Application dates and tuition for Dartmouth Summer Scholars in the Meriden Valley match those for the overall Summer Scholars program.

Learn more about the application process | Explore tuition information.

Be first to know about application deadlines and course additions.

Join the interest list | Contact Summer.Scholars@dartmouth.edu.

Dartmouth Precollege Programs. Courses at Kimball Union Academy are part of Dartmouth Summer Scholars. Dates and course offerings are subject to change.

Summer Scholars in the Meriden Valley

Learn More about Dartmouth Summer Scholars in the Meriden Valley

How does Dartmouth partner with Kimball Union Academy (KUA)?

Sessions and Courses for Summer 2027

Two campuses, one program

Program Overview

Stay Connected