Financial Wellness

Each person’s financial values, needs, and circumstances are unique. When you are struggling to pay for basic needs and find ways to support yourself, it can be difficult to also focus on courses, internships, research, or other dimensions of your life.

Many free and low-cost resources that can support your mental health and wellbeing are listed across this website. For example, if you are interested in free or low-cost outdoors activities, check out the environmental wellness page of this website. If you are interested in free or low-cost arts activities, visit the social wellness page or the emotional wellness page.

The information on this page focuses on resources that help you meet your material needs through free or low-cost pathways, as well as resources that provide direct financial assistance to aid students.

On a warm day outside, a student’s hands are shown. One hand holds a small clay pot containing a live, green succulent. The other hand holds marker, which the student is using to decorate the pot. This is part of a new student activity that symbolizes the replanting of life into the new Dartmouth environment.

Dartmouth Libraries Resources

The Dartmouth Libraries are a treasure trove of resources for academic learning, pleasure reading, and entertainment.

Before spending money on textbooks, consider if you can meet your needs through the Course Reserves system.

Before spending money on products, consider equipment loans, including:

Video, audio, photography, and lighting equipment
Board and video games
Computer programming equipment

Food Security

Having regular access to nutritious food is important for your health and affects your ability to succeed academically. At the same time, maintaining a nutritious diet on a budget can be challenging.

Any student interested in better meeting their dietary needs can schedule a no-cost appointment with a registered dietician at Dartmouth. A dietician can help you better meet your nutritional needs with creativity and efficiency.

Dartmouth students can access a dietician through two pathways:

Students can also find help via the:

Health Service Food Shelf at Kellogg Hall, Room 108, which is available to students 24/7, no questions asked.
Town of Hanover business directory, which is searchable by topic such as “Food Resources in the Upper Valley.”
Town of Lebanon resource lists, which include food pantry, community dinner, and thrift store resources.

Goods for Personal Use and Rental

Collis Center Information Desk Resources. The Collis Center has over 150 resources that students and employees can use or check out. Materials include first aid supplies, board games, recreational equipment, banner-making supplies, and much more. Borrowing is free, but there are late charges.
Free Market Thrift Store. Shop at Dartmouth Sustainability’s thrift store in the basement of North Mass residence hall and get second-hand clothing for free instead of buying new – all while diverting clothing from Dartmouth’s waste stream! You might also find outdoor gear, books, and more!
Outdoor Clothing and Gear Rentals. Free for all students

Internship, Research, and Professional Development Funds

These funds support research activities for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.

Arts Integration Grants. Support for incubating interdisciplinary, arts-centric research projects
Ethics Institute Thomas D. Sayles Research Grant. For students working with a Dartmouth faculty advisor to conduct research on ethics
Irving Institute Student Grants. Internship, research, and professional development grants for students who are advancing the Institute’s mission of accelerating an affordable, reliable, and equitable clean energy transition for the benefit of society.
Neukom Research Prizes. Undergraduate and graduate student prizes to recognize outstanding research in the computational sciences.
Neukom Travel Grants. For students engaged in faculty-advised research focused on the development of novel computational techniques and/or the application of computational methods to problems in the Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities.

Public Library Resources

Whether you’re living in Hanover or another community, your local public library can be a great resource. In Hanover, current Dartmouth students can obtain a public library card at the Howe Library.

With a Howe library card, students can borrow:

Books and access other free media (e.g., via Kanopy streaming)
Equipment like sewing machines, musical instruments, and games
Museum passes for free or discounted admission to local/regional sites

The Howe Library, like many other public libraries, also offers free programming. For example, student-parents and other community members with children can make use of free activities for small children, tweens, and teens.

Regional Resources for Student-Parents

Student-parents experience a unique set of challenges, including financial demands that come with parenthood.

The Dartmouth Health hospital system is a local hospital system that has ties to Dartmouth College, but is not under the direction of Dartmouth College. Many members of the Dartmouth College community rely on the nearby Dartmouth Health system and other healthcare facilities for trusted medical information and other forms of care.

Dartmouth Health Children’s maintains a regional resource directory that may be of interest to student-parents.

Through Dartmouth Health Children’s, student-parents (and others with children) can also:

Learn about the no-cost home visitor program offered by Good Beginnings, a different non-profit organization in the Upper Valley
Get information about no-cost child passenger safety inspections
Find no-cost support groups for parents
Obtain no-cost gun locks at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center emergency department, pediatrics department, or primary care department. Please note, however, that guns and other weapons are not permitted on Dartmouth property.

Public libraries can also be a great resources for student-parents and others with children. For example, the Howe Library in Hanover, like many other public libraries, also offers free:

Programming for children, tweens, and teens
Book recommendations by age from the library collection
Library of Things for check-out, including toys, games, and musical instruments

The 4 E Fund for Essentials, Enrichment, Experiences, and Emergencies

In addition to traditional financial aid that enables undergraduates to attend Dartmouth, Dartmouth has a supplemental 4E Fund that is supported by Dartmouth’s endowment. Historically, the 4E Fund has been used to support students from low-income backgrounds to ease the expenses of:

Essential items (e.g., medical co-pays and deductibles, computer repairs)
Enrichment items (e.g., GRE/MCAT/LSAT test prep, graduate applications, professional interviewing clothing)
Experiences (e.g., extracurricular activities)
Emergency costs (e.g., emergency travel)

Applications are reviewed once per week and students can expect a response within two weeks.

Undergraduate Deans Office

The Undergraduate Deans Office (UDO) is here to listen to you, help you navigate challenges, and connect you with resources.

UDO staff know that when you are experiencing financial difficulties, it can be harder to do your best in courses and thrive in other intellectual pursuits. Financial difficulties can also make it harder to meet your basic material needs, get enough sleep, find time for friends, and otherwise enjoy yourself at Dartmouth.

Talking with your undergraduate dean about the financial difficulties you experience will help your dean better understand your situation and work with you to identify possible solutions.

Food and Transportation Assistance through Dartmouth Student Government

The Dartmouth Student Government offers vouchers to the Co-Op Food Store, which can assist students in meeting their food needs when on campus in between terms.

The Dartmouth Student Government also partners with the Office of Financial Aid to make free Dartmouth Coach tickets available to students with the greatest financial need. The Office of Financial Aid notifies eligible students of the chance to receive a free ticket.

Conference Attendance Funds

Internship Funds

Internships can provide excellent on-the-job experience, but not all pay well – or pay at all.

Dartmouth’s wide array of funding resources can help you pursue the internships of greatest interest to you, while also protecting your financial wellness.

By familiarizing yourself with these grants and their application deadlines early on, you can stay on top of application deadlines, reduce stress, and make sure you don’t miss out on opportunities.

In addition to these listed resources, contact your academic major department for additional sources of support.

Center for Professional Development. Funding for experiential learning and unpaid internships.
Center for Social Impact. Funding to pursue community-based service internships with nonprofit agencies throughout the United States and United States territories.
Dartmouth Outing Club Northern Students Internship Grants. A grant to support a hands-on, experiential learning opportunity for students with interests in a wide spectrum of northern forests and lands issues.
Dickey Center International Internships. Funding to support internship experiences outside the United States.
The Leslie Center for the Humanities Student Professional Development Fellowships. Funding for currently enrolled students for internships, conferences, workshops, or other professional development activity related to the humanities.
The Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences Internships. Funding for leave-term eligible internships in the fields of public policy, public affairs, and social entrepreneurship

In addition to the opportunities listed above, faculty or staff administrators in your academic department may know of funding sources that are specific to your area(s) of interest. With the Take a Faculty Member to Breakfast or Lunch program, undergraduate students can even invite a faculty member to a meal to discuss these interests.

Research and Special Projects Funds

Dartmouth encourages all undergraduate students who are interested to get involved in research and other special projects.

Undergraduate Advising and Research (UGAR) Division is a division of the Dean of Faculty that helps students to engage in research with a faculty mentor through a variety of funded programs.

Below, you will find an additional array of Dartmouth research funds for which you can apply. Be sure to contact your academic major department to learn about additional sources of support that may be specific to your discipline.

Humanities

Dartmouth Library: Historical Accountability Student Research Program. Help tell the stories of Dartmouth that have been ignored or gone untold.
Dickey Center for International Understanding. Gain new international perspectives by living and working abroad. Opportunities for current students and recent graduates.
Hopkins Center for the Arts Funds. Multiple funding opportunities in the arts.
Leslie Center for the Humanities Student Research Fellowships. Fellowships to support students’ independent mentored research projects.
Rockefeller Center for Public Policy Student Senior Honors Thesis Grants. Grants for undergraduates writing senior honors theses in the social sciences.

Sciences

Dartmouth Outdoor Club Andrew W. Mellon Grant. Support for student-initiated research projects that directly relate to an environmental issue or problem.
First-Year Research in Engineering Experience (FYREE). Early experience with research and mentoring for first year students and prospective engineering majors
Institute of Arctic Studies Stefansson Fellowship. An opportunity for students interested in Arctic studies.
Neukom Institute for Computational Science Scholars Program. Funding for faculty-advised research in the development of novel computational techniques, as well as the application of computational methods to problems in the Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts
The Mazuli Engineering Research Fellowship. Funding for a full academic year of research.

For Students from Historically-Underrepresented Backgrounds

E.E. Just Program Fellowships & Internship in STEM. Summer, leave-term, and two-year opportunities.
Women in Science Project (WISP) Research Internship Program. Part-time research internships in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines.

All Graduate and Professional Students

Geisel Students

Community Service Learning (CSL) Program. A structured learning experience that combines community service with mentored preparation and reflection.
Conference Funding. Individual students and groups of students may apply to attend conferences, and groups of students may apply to host conferences.
E.E. Just Graduate Fellowships. Fellowships for graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) from historically underrepresented backgrounds.
Financial Counseling. Staff from the Financial Aid Office is available to counsel students on financial issues.
Ohiyesa Fund at Geisel. This fund supports medical students who want to engage with and learn from Indigenous communities.
Grant Funding through Dartmouth College, Dartmouth Health, and Other External Sources.

Guarini Students

Guarini students can make use of the following resources:

Financial Aid Information, including
- Guarini School Institutional Financial Aid. Information on on financial aid through Dartmouth, including the Guarini School Barrier Removal Fund, as well as tools for seeking other funding
- Guarini School Childcare Subsidy. A childcare subsidy for stipend-supported PhD and Master’s students.
- Guarini School Emergency Loan Funds. Short-term, interest-free loans for emergency needs.
Funding Information, including information about:
- Collective Bargaining Agreement information and contract for graduate students in teaching and research roles
- Graduate Research Fellowship Program from the National Science Foundation (GRF-NSF)
- Fellowships
- Dartmouth Awards and Grants
- Tools for searching for external awards and grants
Other Dartmouth Fellowships
- E.E. Just Graduate Fellowships. Fellowships for graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) from historically underrepresented backgrounds.
- Leslie Center Student Professional Development Fellowships. Funding for currently enrolled students for internships, conferences, workshops, or other professional development activity related to the humanities.
- Neukom Postdoctoral Fellowship. Interdisciplinary positions for recent PhDs whose research interests or practice cuts across traditional disciplinary boundaries and has some computational component, whether it be a framing concept for intellectual exploration or an explicit part of the work that is pursued.
Research Grants and Funding. Thesis and postdoctoral funding opportunities through Dartmouth, as well as tools for seeking other funding.

Thayer Students

Tuck Students

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Financial Wellness

All Students (Undergraduates, Graduates and Professional Students)

Undergraduate Students

Graduate and Professional Students