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Campus Life - Letters from Dartmouth College

Dartmouth D-Plan

By Yoko Kubo


ユニークなダートマスの大学暦

アメリカの大学のほとんどは2学期制を採っていますが、ダートマス大学は、秋、冬、春、夏の4学期制です。だから、本来なら長期の休みになるはずの夏にも、授業があります。4学期制の最大の利点はその柔軟性。春学期をフランスで過ごし、先日アメリカに戻った久保さんも、夏学期に向けて準備をしています。

夏学期にキャンパス内にいる学生の大部分は2年生。そのため、普段の学期より静かになる
About a week ago, I flew from France to the United States after having spent 10 weeks studying in Paris. As I write this, I'm in Dartmouth for the interim period waiting for summer term to start. Yes, summer term, not summer school. Due to Dartmouth's unique academic calendar system, known as the D-Plan, I am going to be spending my summer taking classes on campus like any other normal term instead of vacationing like most college students.

While the academic year in most American universities is divided into two semesters, the Dartmouth calendar is year-round and consists of four 10-week terms: fall, winter, summer and spring. Students usually need 12 terms to graduate, and typically take three courses per term.

The main advantage of the D-Plan is its flexibility. Students are allowed to construct their own plan, normally at the end of their first year, and decide what terms to take off, when to go study abroad, when to do internships, and so on. A form is filled out and filed at the office of the registrar that records the student's intended plan.

Another benefit is the freedom in choosing classes, since new course selections can be made several times a year instead of just twice a year, as in the semester system. This allows students to take a number of classes from a variety of departments, and gives them the opportunity to dabble in areas that are not in their main field of study.

The only requirement of the D-Plan is that students be in residence for the fall, winter, and spring terms for their freshman and senior years, as well as for the summer of their sophomore year. This upcoming term is therefore the summer where I am required to be on campus.

I personally think that the D-Plan is great. For instance, through the D-Plan students can take a leave term in the winter to schedule in an internship or a research program, or choose to go study in a foreign country, whereas in another college you can only pursue such activities during the vacations. My D-Plan included a term to France for this past spring, and I am "on" for three terms in Dartmouth before I take two consecutive "off" terms next spring and summer, hopefully to pursue some sort of long-term internship or study program.

Inevitably, there are a few drawbacks. For one, the D-Plan can cause havoc with your social life, with adverse effects on friendships and relationships. A schedule conflict with a friend may mean that you may not see each other for a long period of time. When I returned from Paris this summer, I hadn't seen one of my friends for over a year.

Another large but relatively inconspicuous problem is the immense amount of moving that all the schedule changes call for, as another student occupies your old room while you are off campus. If you don't think out your D-Plan well, you may end up having to move from one place to another every term, which is very inconvenient and expensive.

I am looking forward to sophomore summer, a term that's said to be fun and relaxing as the weather is nice (no snow!) and the fact that most students are away means that we get the entire campus to ourselves. Being back on a nearly deserted campus is a huge change from the busy city life in Paris that I've become accustomed to. It's definitely a relief not to have to carry a dictionary around everywhere I go anymore, to be able to expect huge American-sized portions in restaurants, and to take a nap on the lawn without the fear of being mugged. However, I know that, as I get back into the old Dartmouth routine, I will start to yearn for the Parisian lifestyle once again!



Shukan ST: July 18, 2003

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