Information for Incoming Graduate Students
Welcome to Dartmouth and the Computer Science Department!
Congratulations, again, on being accepted into such a great graduate program. We are delighted you are here. Dartmouth is in a small town in rural New Hampshire. This makes some things much better (people actually get to know you and care about you, you make friends, and you get a chance to work closely with some of the top researchers/faculty/students in the world). The location is gorgeous and you will get a chance to explore the area and have some wonderful outdoor (and indoor) adventures.
It also has some challenges. Things aren’t open at all hours, Uber is hard to find, and it can feel isolating at first. This document is meant to help you get acclimated and oriented.
Since you will be arriving at different times and days, we made this document to help and we will give you a list of current graduate students in in your program who have offered to help you get settled in. There are three graduate programs in the Computer Science Department:
- the PhD program,
- the MSDA program (MS in Computer Science with a Concentration in Digital Arts), and the
- MSCS program (MS in Computer Science).
The Upper Valley
.png)
The Upper Valley is a term that refers to the region along the Connecticut River, including parts of New Hampshire (NH) and Vermont (VT). Dartmouth is part of the Upper Valley region, Dartmouth is in Hanover, NH.
Lebanon, NH is just south of Hanover. There is Lebanon and West Lebanon. West Lebanon is the area along the river where the stores (Target, Walmart, Hannaford, Home Goods, Price Chopper) tend to be located. Lebanon has a sweet little green area, some food trucks, a few stores and restaurants, an art gallery and an Opera House where you can hear music.
Norwich, VT is right across the Connecticut (CT) river and is home to a very fun store called Dan and Wits. Check it out sometime.
White River Junction, VT is about 15 minutes south of Hanover, on the Vermont side of the river. It is a cute town with lots of restaurants, art, music, theater, a graduate program in cartoon arts, and lots of fun activities. Worth checking out!
✈️ Arriving (airport)
The majority of you will fly to Boston Logan International Airport which is located located approximately 2.5 hours away from campus. The airline company you use to get here does not really matter. However it is important to note the following:
If you are arriving into Boston/Logan Airport
It is easiest to fly into Boston’s Logan International Airport when coming to Dartmouth. From Boston, there is a great bus, called the Dartmouth Coach, that can drop you off right on campus.
If you are arriving in NYC:
If you are arriving into NYC, you can make your way from JFK or Laguardia airports to midtown Manhattan (Uber or Lyft recommended) and then take the Dartmouth Coach to Hanover, NH. You need a reservation for the Dartmouth Coach and it sells out, so plan ahead. The NYC Dartmouth Coach service also drops off on campus in Hanover or at the Lebanon bus station, if that is more convenient.
There is also an Amtrak train that will take you to White River Junction, VT, but you will need to get yourself to Hanover from there (about 15 minute drive) and that may not be easy to do unless you have a friend who can pick you up.
You could also arrive at JFK or Laguardia and take a bus or train to Boston. In NYC, you’d need to make your way to Pennsylvania Station to get the Amtrak train or a bus to Boston. They drop you in Boston’s South Station, where you can take a Dartmouth Coach to Hanover/Lebanon. Schedule is HERE.
Arriving at Boston’s South Station Terminal
If you are taking a train or bus from some other part of the country to Boston, you will be dropped off at South Station. The Dartmouth Coach can take you from South Station (Boston) to Hanover/Lebanon
🚌 Bus to Hanover (Dartmouth College)
In order to get to campus from the airport, you will have to take a bus called the Dartmouth Coach which leaves from the airport and drops you off in Hanover. Below are some important things to note about the Dartmouth Coach:
- On a normal day, it leaves the airport 11 times with the earliest time being 7:40 AM and the latest being 8:50 PM. So if you miss your scheduled bus, you can just take the next 🙂
- The bus usually leaves every hour. Click here to view the updated schedule.
- The last stop is Hanover (campus)
- Do not count on Uber or other ride services in Hanover or Lebanon as they are generally not available!!!!
🎫 Purchasing a bus ticket
Follow these steps to purchase a bus ticket. (These instructions assume you are coming from Boston Logan Airport but it would be similar from South Station or New York City)
- Go to the Dartmouth Coach Website
- For the type of travel select “ONE WAY”
- Select “Boston Logan International Airport” in the “Leaving from” field
- Select “**Hanover, NH/ Dartmouth College**” in the “Choose your destination field” field
- Select a date and number of passenger
- Search for tickets and continue rest of steps until payment
🔗 Important Links
🏡 Arriving in Hanover (at Dartmouth College) & Getting to your apartment
We will send you a list of students who have offered to help you when you arrive in town. The list is per graduate program, but people will help across programs, too. It is recommended that you reach out to let people know well in advance of arrival. Some students have cars and can give you a ride to your apartment.
📦 Information to help you settle into your new home
🏠 Housing
Summit on Juniper
Sachem Village
Housing in Town
🏦 Banks
Below is a list of different banks:
| Name | Location | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mascoma Bank | White Riv Jct, VT | Local bank | https://www.mascomabank.com/ |
| Bank of America | Hanover, NH | https://www.bankofamerica.com/ |
🍽️ Restaurants
Here is a list of some of the most popular local restaurants. Click on the restaurant’s name to open its web page
🏪 Grocery & Pharmacies
This is a small, rural area. Food options are not as plentiful as we would like, but the food that is here is farm fresh and delicious. Still, you need to plan ahead because grocery stores are not open late. With limited local bus service, you need to plan ahead, as you may not be within walking distance of a store or restaurant. Arrive with some snacks and food to last you for a day or so.
| Name | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Hanover Food Co-op | 8:30 am–7 pm (Mon-Sat) |
8:30 am–5 pm (Sun) | https://coopfoodstore.coop/hanover-store | | Lebanon Food Co-op | 7 am–9 pm every day | https://coopfoodstore.coop/lebanon-store | | Yiping Asian Market | Mon-Saturday 10 am - 6 pm Sun 12 pm - 6 pm Tuesday's closed | https://sites.google.com/site/yipingsasianmarket/home | | Hannaford Grocery Store | Monday - Saturday 7 AM - 10 PM Sunday 7 AM - 9 PM | https://stores.hannaford.com/nh/west-lebanon/8266 | | Price Chopper Grocery Store | 6 AM - 11 PM every day | https://www.pricechopper.com/stores/nh/westlebanon/ | | Target | Target is a store where you can get supplies for home, clothes, and food. | https://www.target.com/sl/west-lebanon-main-st/3401 | | Shaw’s | M-Su 7am - 9pm | https://local.shaws.com/nh/west-lebanon/10-benning-dr.html |
💊 Pharmacies in the area are sometimes open 24 hours per day and have limited food options available to buy (mostly snacks).
| Pharmacy | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|
| CVS Pharmacy | Hanover, NH. Open 24 hours per day | https://www.cvs.com/store-locator/hanover-nh-pharmacies/79-s-main-st-hanover-nh-03755/storeid=5938 |
| Walgreen’s | Lebanon, NH. Limited Hours | https://www.walgreens.com/locator/walgreens-3+airport+rd-west+lebanon-nh-03784/id=9177 |
🏡 Home Goods Stores
If you need to purchase things for your bedroom, living room, or bathroom, you can go to the following stores:
| Name | Location | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | West Lebanon, NH | Retail chain offering home goods, clothing, electronics & more. | https://www.target.com/sl/west-lebanon-main-st/3401 |
| Home Goods | West Lebanon, NH | Home-decor chain stocking a variety of furnishings, bedding, kitchenware, holiday goods & more. | https://www.homegoods.com/us/store/index.jsp |
| Walmart | West Lebanon, NH | Offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices | https://www.walmart.com/store/2138-west-lebanon-nh |
| Kohl’s | West Lebanon, NH | Chain department store offering a wide selection of clothing, accessories & homewares. | https://www.kohls.com/stores/nh/westlebanon-712.shtml?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=local |
| Listen Center | West Lebanon, NH White River Jct, VT | Used clothing, used household goods, great bargains. White River Junction location sometimes has a larger furniture selection. | https://www.listencs.org/thrift-stores |
🌐 Phone & Internet
There is free wifi in most places in the upper valley. Dartmouth Public is available throughout Hanover. Your Dartmouth login also gets you access to eduroam service.
Phone service is sometimes spotty in the upper valley. The best phone services seem to be Verizon or AT&T. There is a Verizon store in Hanover where you can get your sim card and service set up. It is open 8 AM - 6 PM most days.
🚌 Transportation
Here is some useful information on transportation choices for both traveling within an outside of the Upper Valley (Toggle dropdown).
- 🚖 Rideshare
| Taxis | Taxis do not frequent the Hanover area roads as they do in major cities. You’ll have the greatest success if you call ahead. |
| --- | --- |
| Uber/Lyft | They have finally come to the Upper Valley but bear in mind there are very few drivers and advanced notice is required for early morning or late evening rides. It is safer to never rely on these for transportation. |- 🚍 Buses and local transportation options
| https://advancetransit.com/ | Advance Transit is a not-for-profit charitable organization providing free transit in Vermont and New Hampshire with the goal of reducing traffic congestion. This local bus is free to ride and operates M-F from approximately 5am-7pm, traveling between area hospitals, shopping centers, schools, and other community agencies. Between late August and mid-June, an evening service is operating to Sachem Village. |
| --- | --- |
| https://www.dartmouth.edu/transportation/green_commute/campus_shuttles.php | The Dartmouth Connector rides seven days a week and until 2:30 am between Hanover, DHMC and the Summit on Juniper. Free, but a Dartmouth ID is needed. |
| https://dartmouthcoach.com/ | Offers service from Hanover to Logan Airport, Boston’s South Station and New York City. Reliable! Free WiFi on board too. There also are stops in Lebanon and New London. |
| https://www.greyhound.com/en-us/bus-station-30668 | There is a Greyhound terminal located in White River Junction approximately ten minutes from Hanover (accessible with the free Advance Transit bus). This terminal offers bus services to Burlington, Boston, Manchester, New York, and Montreal. |- 🚘 Personal Car
- Many graduate students have cars. If you get a car, we recommend you get a second set of snow tires for the winter months.
- 🚆Trains
| https://www.amtrak.com/home.html | There are several ways to use Amtrak to get to the Upper Valley. You may choose to arrive in Boston’s South Station and take the Dartmouth Coach to Hanover or come directly to the train terminal in White River Junction, VT. White River Junction’s terminal is small and offers limited daily service. The https://www.amtrak.com/routes/vermonter-train.html train connects Burlington to Washington, D.C. through White River Junction, and many big cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. |
| --- | --- |🛫 Airports
There are several different airports that are convenient to access the Upper Valley.
| https://www.massport.com/logan-airport/ | MA, (BOS) | This is the largest international airport in the region and is about 2 hours away. https://dartmouthcoach.com/ offers a regular shuttle service from Hanover to Logan Airport. | | --- | --- | --- | | https://www.flymanchester.com/ | NH (MHT) | This smaller airport is about 1 hour and 25 minutes away and offers service throughout North America. It has convenient parking and, depending on the time of day, you may be able to avoid many of the lines and crowds at Logan. Southwest Airlines, Delta, United, and US Airways are just a few of the airlines operating service to and from MHT. | | https://www.btv.aero/ | VT (BTV) | This is another smaller but convenient regional airport about 1 hour and 30 minutes away. Many of the larger airlines use both MHT and BTV for service to New York or other larger airports. Jet Blue, Delta, and United fly out of BTV. | | https://lebanonnh.gov/150/Airport | NH (LEB) | This local airport is very small but is less than 15 minutes from Hanover and has free parking. Offers daily flights to Boston Logan Airport and White Plains Westchester County airport in New York, which offers complimentary shuttle service into New York City from White Plains airport. |
💻 Computer Services @ Dartmouth
| Dartmouth Computer Store & Repair | Website: https://computerstore.dartmouth.edu/ Email: mailto:The.Computer.Store@dartmouth.edu | | --- | --- | | Help with accounts | Email https://www.notion.so/Dartmouth-Digital-History-Initiative-5900114e384c4ba9b4d2570fd45315ac?pvs=21 |
☃️ Winter in the Upper Valley
Most important is to have good warm and waterproof boots, winter coat, warm socks, hats, mittens/gloves.
Winter boot reccomendations: Sorel, Kamik, Ugg Adirondack, Columbia. LL Bean
You can buy boots and winter clothes on Amazon or try on and buy locally (in Lebanon, NH) at Huberts, Eastern Mountain Sports, LL Bean
Skida Hats (VT made, very fun, great for skiing and wearing around)
You can buy used clothes for less money at the Listen Center. This is an excellent option because you can find all kinds of good quality clothing, housegoods, sporting equipment.
If you’re not used to a cold climate, wearing a lot of layers (t-shirt, sweater, thermal underwear, etc.) is critical for dealing with both the cold and with over-heated classrooms.
Skiing, Skating, Sledding
Dartmouth Outing Club Dartmouth Outdoors helps to create opportunities for the Dartmouth students to explore and enjoy the amazing natural landscape of the area. They have organized trips, equipment rentals, cabin rentals, and more.