Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Write outdoors and assemble a multigenre portfolio in this two-week Dartmouth academy for high school students.
Rated 4.3 out of 5 for overall experience by students surveyed across the broader program in 2026.
Course Description
Dartmouth’s outdoor spaces become both subject and classroom as students explore how place can shape voice, imagination, and memory. Guided walks, meditation, close observation, and daily writing exercises turn encounters with the natural world into material for original work.
Students experiment with poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Readings and lessons in imagery, metaphor, voice, sensory detail, point of view, and narrative structure give them tools for developing drafts. Writing sessions in places such as Pine Park, Occum Pond, BEMA, and the Robert Frost site provide changing settings and perspectives.
Collaborative workshops add the discipline of revision. Students share work, give constructive feedback, decide what to change, and assemble a small portfolio of revised pieces. A closing reading gives them the chance to present selected work to the class.
The outdoor setting is used as a source of specific observation, not simply a backdrop. Students return to their notes and drafts throughout the academy, noticing how a change in form, detail, or point of view can reshape the same experience.
This two-week full-day academy is part of Dartmouth Precollege Summer Scholars. Students spend the full program focused on one intensive academy. The academy is available to residential students and will take place both on Dartmouth's main campus as well as the legendary mountain retreat, Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, where outdoor experiences become part of the learning and development. Beyond class, students connect focused academic work with campus life, growing independence, and clearer direction about what students may want to study or pursue next. The program is developed and academically led by Dartmouth.
What Will You Do?
• Write from guided observation in Dartmouth’s outdoor spaces
• Experiment with poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction
• Practice imagery, metaphor, voice, sensory detail, point of view, and narrative structure
• Visit places such as Pine Park, Occum Pond, BEMA, and the Robert Frost site
• Share drafts and give constructive feedback in writing workshops
• Revise selected work with peer and instructor feedback
• Assemble a portfolio and present selected work in a closing reading
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Create original poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction grounded in observation and place
• Use workshop feedback and revision to strengthen voice, structure, imagery, and detail
• Assemble a small portfolio of revised work and present a selection in a closing reading
Students leave with a multigenre portfolio, greater confidence as writers, and clearer direction about creative writing, English, journalism, or environmental humanities.
Why Creative Writing Skills Matter
Creative writing develops close observation, deliberate language, and the ability to shape an experience for a reader. Writing outdoors makes those habits concrete because students must notice sound, texture, movement, scale, and the relationship between people and place.
Workshop and revision add another skill: learning to hear feedback without giving up ownership of the work. Students decide which changes serve the piece and explain their choices. These practices support writing in every discipline while building confidence, empathy, and a more flexible creative process.
Who Should Attend?
This academy is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and enjoy writing, reading, observing the natural world, or experimenting with different forms of expression. It welcomes students who already write often as well as those who want a structured reason to begin.
Participants should be ready to spend time outdoors in varied weather, write regularly, share drafts, give respectful feedback, and revise. Curiosity about place and a willingness to try poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction will help students make the most of the course.
Recommended by 9 out of 10 Students
Based on students surveyed in the Dartmouth Precollege Summer Scholars program (2026)
Why Dartmouth?
Dartmouth Precollege Summer Scholars gives high school students a concentrated introduction to college-level learning in Hanover, New Hampshire. The program is developed and academically led by Dartmouth. Students explore current ideas through discussion, projects, and sustained work that helps them test an academic interest in depth.
Residential students live in Dartmouth residence halls, eat at 53 Commons, and can join workshops and counselor-supported evening and weekend activities. Time in Hanover and the Upper Valley adds a distinctive New England setting, while the broader experience helps students build independence and clarify what they may want to study next.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive