In an affirmation of the Dartmouth Dialogues initiative to have conversations across difference on campus, a new survey has found that 93% of Dartmouth students say engaging with challenging perspectives is essential to their education.
And 85% are confident that they can engage respectfully with differing viewpoints, according to the survey of 845 Dartmouth undergraduates.
, associate professor of government and director of the , who designed and led in September, says the results were even more positive than he had anticipated.
The “extraordinary consensus” around the value of viewpoint diversity, Westwood writes in the survey report, “shows that Dartmouth students don’t just tolerate different viewpoints; they actively seek and celebrate intellectual diversity as fundamental to their academic journey.”
As a government professor, Westwood is used to working with students who love to talk about politics, and love to debate, but he wasn’t sure how far that level of commitment to discussion across lines of difference extended across campus.
“We found that a vast majority of our students demonstrate a remarkable commitment to rigorous critical thinking, even when engaging with those with whom they strongly disagree,” Westwood observes. “It’s truly exceptional and it gives me a lot of hope for America’s future.”
The short survey assessed how confident students are in their ability to use constructive dialogue skills, and their beliefs about viewpoint diversity.
Of the respondents, 86% think that viewpoint diversity makes the Dartmouth community stronger, and 94% say disagreeing respectfully with a fellow student is a healthy and productive part of the college experience.
The broad agreement across all class years reinforces “that these values are deeply embedded in Dartmouth’s culture from day one,” Westwood writes in the report.
Those skills of talking across difference are a fundamental part of Dartmouth Dialogues, the initiative launched by President Sian Leah Beilock in January 2024 dedicated to facilitating conversations and skills that bridge political and personal divides.
And, acting on a report by a faculty-led committee, President Beilock last year announced that in order to provide space for diverse viewpoints to be raised and fully considered, Dartmouth would exercise in issuing institutional statements.
The survey also looked at how Dartmouth’s dialogue initiatives influenced enrollment decisions for the Class of 2029. Sixty-six percent of the first-year respondents in the survey said Dartmouth’s commitment to fostering dialogue across differences was a factor in their decision to enroll, and 46% said its policy of institutional restraint played a part.
“A significant number of Americans refuse to remain in echo chambers—they crave rigorous intellectual engagement,” Westwood notes. “Institutions—like Dartmouth under the leadership of President Beilock—that have built a reputation for open dialogue and viewpoint diversity hold extraordinary appeal.”
Student responses in the survey buttress that point.
“At Dartmouth, we are placed into very collaborative environments where ideas are constantly clashing,” one student wrote. “Early on at Dartmouth, you are learning to defend your own ideas while trying to understand opposing ideas.”
“We are recruiting students who represent what universities exist to cultivate: minds that engage rigorously with challenging intellectual questions,” Westwood notes.
The survey included one open-ended question: From your perspective, how effectively does the Dartmouth academic experience prepare students to engage with ideas they may find challenging or disagreeable?
A resounding 75% of responses were positive, with students highlighting key drivers of meaningful dialogue—small class sizes, faculty encouragement and support, a diverse student body, and institutional culture.
They also pointed to specific programs, such as and events sponsored by the , , and Dartmouth Dialogues itself.
Dartmouth Dialogues “is setting a norm of conduct and behavior, and that is permeating our undergraduate population,” says Westwood, who sees that as a hopeful sign.
The survey will be repeated in June to measure how the Dartmouth experience is affecting the Class of 2029.
