How to Apply to Economics at Dartmouth: No Admission by Major, Declare by Sophomore Year, ECON 1, Statistics and Calculus as Prerequisites, for Domestic and International (Including Chinese) Applicants and Transfer Students

Economics at Dartmouth College is taught by the Department of Economics (the pages we read do not name the school or faculty it belongs to; admission is to the College as a whole). Dartmouth does not admit by major: all first-year applicants apply to the College through the Common App, and Dartmouth says students don’t need to declare a major until sophomore year. This guide follows Dartmouth’s websites and is organised for U.S. domestic applicants, international applicants, applicants from China and transfer students. Business and Computer Science have their own guides on this site and are mentioned here only where they touch economics.

1. Economics degrees and programs at Dartmouth

• The Economics major (standard): nine courses beyond the prerequisites, with a GPA of no less than 2.0 in those nine. The department lists: ECON 20 (Econometrics), ECON 21 (Microeconomics) and ECON 22 (Macroeconomics); a three-course “culminating experience” sequence — a senior seminar and its two prerequisites — from ECON 62 (macroeconomics), 64 (development), 66 (finance), 67 (labor), 68 (public economics), 69 (international economics) or the honors 80-81-82 sequence; and three additional ECON major courses, at least two numbered 23 to 69. The seminar has students read the literature and write a major paper of their own, typically empirical.
• Prerequisites: ECON 1 and ECON 10 with an average grade no lower than C, and MATH 3. See Section 3.
• Modified Major: ten courses — the minor plus four major-level courses in another department or program. The department says that in most cases students are best served by a standard economics major, and that interest in two departments is usually a reason for an economics major plus an outside minor. A written proposal is required, submitted to the vice chair at least two terms before graduation. The department gives sample plans with psychology, computer science and mathematics; a four-course math plan appears as “Economics Modified with Mathematics.” It also notes that the Psychology Department has stopped approving modified majors beginning with the class of 2026, so those appear only as “Economics Modified.”
• Minor: the department’s undergraduate overview lists an economics minor; its rules are not covered here, so see the department site.
• STEM designation: the department says the Economics major has CIP code 45.0603 and the STEM designation, which allows international students to apply for a two-year STEM extension of F-1 OPT beyond the standard 12 months.
• Honors: Honors and High Honors in Economics. Eligibility: a GPA of at least 3.3 in courses counting toward the major (excluding ECON 1, ECON 10 and MATH 3) and an overall GPA of at least 3.0; High Honors also requires ten major courses beyond the prerequisites. Pathways include exceptional research papers in a 60- or 80-level course, the ECON 80-81-82 sequence (average B+ and A- or better in ECON 20, 21 and 22), or an honors thesis (usually ECON 87.01 in the spring, by application; not all applications are accepted). Modified majors are not eligible for High Honors.
• Research and exchanges: the Dartmouth Economic Research Scholars (DERS) program offers extra mentoring and enrichment to students with strong research potential and paid research assistantships (students are expected to apply for funding). The department takes part in three exchanges — Bocconi University in Milan, University College London and Keble College, Oxford — and has no foreign study program (FSP) of its own.

2. Admission and choosing the major

• No economics major on the application: all first-year applicants apply through the Common App and choose a major after entry. The admissions office says students don’t need to declare until sophomore year.
• When to declare: the department gives two statements: the first-year FAQ says you can declare starting in your fifth term at Dartmouth, and the declaration notes say students typically declare during sophomore year. You declare online to get priority when registering for economics courses; declared majors have the highest priority for many upper-level classes, and the plan can change afterwards.
• Entry requirements: complete ECON 1 and ECON 10 with an average no lower than C, plus MATH 3. If the average falls short, with the vice chair’s permission you may substitute your ECON 21 and ECON 20 grades for ECON 1 and ECON 10. The pages we read state no other GPA threshold or enrollment cap.
• Getting into courses: the department says classes are often oversubscribed; places in ECON 1 are reserved for first-years each fall, most courses run several times a year, and waitlists are typically resolved by the end of the first full week of classes.
• Switching in: the pages describe no separate internal-transfer procedure; see the declaration rules above.

3. Prerequisites and courses

• At application: the admissions and department pages we read do not list required high school courses for economics; ask Dartmouth’s admissions office.
• ECON 1, The Price System: an in-depth introduction to microeconomics, the foundation for the rest. ECON 10, Introduction to Statistical Methods: the department says it is designed to prepare students for economics classes and introduces the statistical software used in the curriculum. MATH 3, Introduction to Calculus: students placed into MATH 1 can satisfy this prerequisite with ECON 3 in the winter term, which covers similar content with economic applications. MATH 3 is not offered in the spring.
• Replacing ECON 10: the department says another statistics course may be substituted with the vice chair’s permission but advises against it, since the College currently grants credit for only one statistics course; a MATH 10 exemption can satisfy the ECON 10 requirement, though the department does not recommend this either.
• AP, IB and placement: students with prior economics can take the placement exam (available in the New Student Orientation Canvas course; it confers no credit and is not something to study for). The FAQ says you can skip ECON 1 with a 5 on AP Microeconomics, a 6 or higher on IB Higher Level Economics, or an A on British A-Level Economics, though all students are encouraged to take the placement test. How these results convert to credit on entry is not described on the pages we read; check with the Registrar.
• Course sequences: ECON 20, 21 and 22 are the three core courses (econometrics, micro, macro). Each culminating seminar has prerequisites — for example ECON 62 needs ECON 32 and 29; ECON 64 needs ECON 24 and either 27 or 39; ECON 66 needs ECON 26 and 36; ECON 67 needs ECON 27 and one of 24, 28 or 37; ECON 68 needs ECON 28 and 38; ECON 69 needs ECON 29 and 39.

4. Deadlines, materials and fees

• Early Decision (binding): application, financial aid materials and fee are due November 1, decisions come in mid-December and the intent-to-enroll deadline is in late December. Admitted ED applicants must enroll (barring extenuating circumstances such as unforeseen financial hardship); they must withdraw other applications and may not start new ones.
• Regular Decision: the site gives two dates — the timeline says the application is due January 1, while the QuestBridge section says January 2; financial aid materials are due February 1; decisions come in late March or early April and replies are due May 1. Check the exact date with admissions (no year is shown; confirm it is for fall 2027 entry). The Common App opens August 1; Common App only.
• Materials: the Common App, the Dartmouth Writing Supplement, a Secondary School Report with transcript, school profile and counselor evaluation, two teacher evaluations, and the SAT or ACT (testing is required). A Peer Recommendation is recommended and an art portfolio is optional. Alumni interviews are not required; some applicants are invited and the response is due in mid-November (ED) or January–February (RD).
• Writing supplement: labeled Class of 2031 and updated July 22, 2026: prompt 1, up to 100 words on what attracts you to Dartmouth; prompt 2, a choice of two in 250 words or fewer; prompt 3, a choice of six in 250 words or fewer.
• Testing: the SAT or ACT is required (Dartmouth reinstated the requirement beginning with applicants to the Class of 2029). Multiple results are automatically superscored. The pages we read state no minimum score. The last test dates are early November for ED and December for RD. Students at schools outside the U.S. have other options (below).
• Application fee: $85 for first-year applicants, non-refundable; waivers are available in cases of unusual financial hardship and do not disadvantage your candidacy; QuestBridge finalists have the fee waived.

5. U.S. domestic applicants

• Testing: students at U.S. high schools must submit the SAT or ACT, with no preference between them; results from multiple sittings are superscored.
• Cost: Dartmouth lists one price with no in-state or out-of-state split and no separate tuition for economics. The 2026–27 costs: tuition $71,697, fees $2,426, housing $13,032, food $8,746, books and supplies $1,005 and miscellaneous $2,040, totaling $98,946 (which includes $519 of first-year orientation fees). Also listed: the group health plan $5,216 (aid recipients receive at least half of it as additional scholarship), a basic computer package $1,700 (entering students must have a computer that meets Dartmouth’s requirements and may bring their own or buy through the College), and at least $250 for travel.
• Aid: Dartmouth meets 100% of demonstrated need without a required student loan (a family may choose a loan voluntarily). Families with incomes below $125,000 and typical assets can expect no parent contribution; families earning $125,000 to $175,000 with typical assets can expect scholarships covering the full cost of tuition; there is no income cutoff. Students contribute from leave-term earnings, which the page puts at $1,000 to $3,000 a year. The admissions office’s universal need-blind article dates from 2022 and quotes older thresholds ($65,000 for no parent contribution and $125,000 for a full-tuition scholarship), which differ from the financial aid office’s current page; this guide uses the financial aid office’s page.
• Applying for aid: for Early Decision the CSS Profile and IDOC are due November 1 and the FAFSA February 1; for Regular Decision all three are due February 1.
• In-state preference or guaranteed admission: none is described on the pages we read.

6. International applicants

• Admission and aid: Dartmouth says its need-blind policy was expanded to all international citizens beginning with the Class of 2026 and that it meets the full demonstrated need of admitted students. The process is the same as for domestic applicants, through the Common App.
• Testing: students at high schools outside the U.S. can meet the requirement in one of five ways (details in Section 7): SAT or ACT; three AP exams; predicted or final IB Diploma results; predicted or final A-Level results; or final results from an equivalent standardized national exam.
• English tests: required if your first language is not English and your curriculum has not been delivered in English for at least two years: TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo or Cambridge English. There are no minimum scores; Dartmouth says most successful applicants score above 7 on IELTS, above 135 on Duolingo, above 185 on Cambridge English, above 100 on the TOEFL taken before January 21, 2026, and 5 or above on the TOEFL taken on or after that date. TOEFL Home Edition and the IELTS Indicator are accepted; the TOEFL MyBest score and TOEFL Essentials are not. An InitialView interview is not required, but results are encouraged if you have one.
• Aid: awards for international students include a travel allowance. The financial aid office says international students (Canadian students are treated like U.S. students) have no summer earnings expectation before their first year, then a $1,500 student work contribution in later years, and the award includes $2,450 of estimated income from work during academic terms. That page says scholarships and loans are available to international students, while the “how much help” page says no undergraduate aid package includes a required student loan; the two statements differ. The documents international applicants must submit are not described on the pages we read; see the international-student aid page.
• Documents: the admissions international page poses a question about recommendations in languages other than English, but the answer is not shown in the page text we read; check the page.

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the admissions pages we read do not mention the Gaokao, and we found no China-specific page. The fifth testing route is “final results from an equivalent standardized national exam”; the examples Dartmouth gives are WASSCE, CAPE, French Baccalaureate, CBSE, ICSE and KCSE, and the list is not limited to them. School-based exams do not count, predicted national results do not count, and applicants whose results arrive after February must choose another route. Whether the Gaokao counts is not stated; ask Dartmouth admissions.
• Common routes: the SAT or ACT; three different AP exams (Dartmouth encourages spreading them across subject areas, with at least one math or science exam and at least one history, social science or English exam); IB Diploma Programme scores on the 1–7 scale (predictions must be submitted by a school official, not self-reported); or A-Levels (at least three recommended).
• Transcripts: your school submits the School Report, transcript, school profile and counselor evaluation. How Chinese-language records should be translated or evaluated is not described on the pages we read.
• English: if your secondary schooling was not in English, submit an English test as in Section 6.

8. Transfer students

• Eligibility: students who have matriculated at a college and completed two years or fewer of college coursework may apply only as transfers; those with a bachelor’s degree are not eligible; college coursework counting toward high school graduation (including an associate’s degree earned while finishing high school) means applying as a first-year. International students already enrolled at a university at home may apply as transfer or first-year students; as first-years, their credits will not transfer.
• Numbers: Dartmouth says it has enrolled between a handful and two dozen new transfer students in recent years.
• Timeline: the transfer application opens in January (the page mentions a 2027 transfer application opening in January 2027) and is due March 1, along with the application fee ($90) and financial aid materials; decisions come in mid-May and the intent-to-enroll deadline is in late May; the last testing date is February. The pages we read do not mention spring entry.
• Materials: the Dartmouth application with essays, the final secondary school report with transcript, a College Report with college transcript (updated in May/June with final grades), two evaluations from college instructors, and testing. Course syllabi are strongly recommended. Interviews are not available to transfer applicants. Testing is required, but if you did not test for first-year admission, your scores are more than five years old or testing would be a hardship, you may request a testing waiver.
• Aid: transfer applicants’ CSS Profile, FAFSA and IDOC are all due March 1.
• Economics credit: the department says that, with the vice chair’s approval, at most two course credits taken elsewhere may count toward the economics major, including prerequisites; the culminating experience course and its two prerequisites must be taken at Dartmouth; ECON 20 taken elsewhere may not be allowed; only courses that require the equivalent of ECON 1 as a prerequisite count toward the major; and credit is accepted only from respected degree-granting institutions. The department suggests seeking transfer credit mainly for courses it does not regularly offer. Admitted transfers submit their year-end transcript and syllabi for review by the Registrar and academic departments.

Checklist

U.S. domestic applicants:

• Submit by November 1 (Early Decision, binding) or January 1/2 (Regular Decision; the site gives both, so confirm with admissions) with the Common App, writing supplement, transcript and two teacher evaluations; the SAT or ACT is required
• Economics is not chosen on the application; you declare by sophomore year, after ECON 1, ECON 10 and MATH 3
• For aid, submit the CSS Profile and other materials by November 1 (ED) or February 1 (RD)

International applicants (including China):

• Same timeline as domestic applicants; high schools outside the U.S. can use the SAT/ACT, three APs, IB, A-Levels or a national exam; ask admissions whether the Gaokao counts as a national exam
• If your first language is not English and your curriculum was not in English for two years, submit TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo or Cambridge
• International applicants are also need-blind, and Dartmouth meets full demonstrated need

Transfer students:

• Apply by March 1 with two college instructor evaluations and course syllabi; the economics culminating experience and its prerequisites must be taken at Dartmouth, and at most two outside credits count toward the major

Sources: Dartmouth College, Economics: undergraduate overview; Economics: the major; Economics: first-year FAQ; Economics: modified major; Economics: transfer credit; Economics: honors; Economics: placement exam; Economics: DERS research program; Apply; Testing policy; English proficiency; Universal need-blind policy; 2026-27 cost of attendance; Majors and minors; Application fee; Writing supplement; International students; Eligibility guidelines; Transfer testing; Transfer enrollment; Financial aid: how much help; Financial aid: international students; Financial aid: transfer applicants. The deadline pages show no year (the writing supplement is labeled Class of 2031 and the transfer page mentions a 2027 transfer application); check Dartmouth’s website to confirm the dates are for fall 2027 entry.