How do Duke and Dartmouth compare for undergraduate environmental studies?

For your stated mix of environmental policy, conservation, and climate science, Duke offers the broader and more directly connected undergraduate platform. Its Environmental Sciences and Policy program sits within the Nicholas School of the Environment, giving undergraduates access to a large environmental faculty and coursework that links natural science, policy, economics, energy, and conservation. Duke also adds distinctive hands-on settings through Duke Forest, the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, and climate-focused research and project programs.

Dartmouth’s Environmental Studies program is smaller and more liberal-arts-centered. It is particularly attractive for students who want to combine environmental work with government, economics, anthropology, geography, or the humanities, rather than enter a larger professional environmental school structure. Dartmouth also has meaningful field-based resources, including the Dartmouth Organic Farm, the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge area, and a strong culture of outdoor engagement connected to its New Hampshire setting.

The academic rhythm differs substantially. Dartmouth’s D-Plan gives students more flexibility to take an off-term for an internship, fieldwork, or a research assistantship, though that flexibility requires more deliberate planning because students are not all on campus every term.

For conservation specifically, Duke’s marine, forest, biodiversity, and policy resources create many routes to work across ecosystems and applied environmental management. Dartmouth can be especially compelling if you value close faculty access, a tight undergraduate community, and learning that is deeply tied to place and the outdoors.