Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Build, test, and refine a functional prototype 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
Students experience engineering as a cycle of defining a problem, building a possible solution, testing it, and using evidence to improve the design. Challenges require attention to user needs, feasibility, durability, efficiency, sustainability, safety, and cost rather than a single ideal answer.
Teams spend at least 40% of the academy building and testing. They compare materials through stiffness, impact, friction, and wear tests; create two prototype versions; collect measurements; identify failure modes; and use the evidence to decide what to change.
Entrepreneurship is integrated throughout the process. Students define a value proposition, estimate cost of goods sold, compare alternatives, consider manufacturing and lifecycle impacts, and explain why a design is worth pursuing. A technical dossier, poster, slide deck, live demonstration, and founder-style pitch document the finished work.
Each testing cycle creates a record of engineering judgment. Students compare what they expected with what happened, identify the most important failure or constraint, and use that evidence to decide which change is most likely to improve the next version.
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 and commuter students. 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?
• Frame a real-world problem around a specific user and measurable requirements
• Test materials for stiffness, impact, friction, and wear
• Build, test, and compare two prototype versions
• Record data and analyze failure modes
• Estimate cost, compare alternatives, and define a value proposition
• Create a technical dossier, poster, and pitch deck
• Present the final prototype in a live demonstration and founder-style pitch
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Create and refine a functional prototype through evidence-based build-test-learn cycles
• Use material tests, performance data, and failure analysis to justify design decisions
• Communicate a solution through a technical dossier, poster, live demonstration, and founder-style pitch
Students leave with two prototype versions and several portfolio-ready artifacts, stronger technical problem-solving skills, and clearer direction about engineering, product design, materials, manufacturing, or entrepreneurship.
Why Engineering Design Skills Matter
Engineering design teaches students to treat a first idea as a hypothesis, not a finished answer. Building and testing reveal what works, where a material fails, and how constraints such as cost, safety, sustainability, and user needs change the solution.
Iteration develops persistence and evidence-based judgment. Students must collect useful data, explain why they changed a design, and communicate the trade-offs behind the final prototype. These skills matter across engineering, product design, robotics, manufacturing, materials science, entrepreneurship, and other fields where ideas must perform in the real world.
Who Should Attend?
This academy is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and enjoy building, testing, solving practical problems, or understanding why a design succeeds or fails. It is a strong fit for interests in engineering, materials science, product design, manufacturing, robotics, or entrepreneurship.
No prior engineering or lab experience is required. Participants should be ready to collaborate, handle materials and tools responsibly, run controlled tests, record data, learn from failed prototypes, and explain their revisions. Students must bring a personal laptop, and closed-toe shoes are required in shop spaces.
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