A new partnership announced today with Anthropic and Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues a legacy of powerful technological integration at Dartmouth—the birthplace of artificial intelligence—ensuring future leaders are equipped to work collaboratively and purposefully with emerging technologies.

Through the partnership, which includes Anthropic’s Claude for Education model and Amazon Bedrock, students, faculty, and staff will gain access to an AI model that is state-of-the-art, secure, reliable, and tailored specifically for academic environments. Meanwhile, Dartmouth will help its partners define what the role of AI should be in teaching and research across the sciences, humanities, social sciences, and creative disciplines, as well as in co-curricular activities like career design.

“This is more than a collaboration,” says President Sian Leah Beilock. “It’s the next chapter in a story that began at Dartmouth 70 years ago, as we ensure that the institution where the term AI was first introduced to the world will also show the world how to use it wisely in pursuit of knowledge.”

As a leading research university, Dartmouth and its faculty have long been at the forefront of AI, dating back to the 1956 Dartmouth Summer Research Project. The institution also has a rich history of coupling the latest technological innovations with teaching and learning—from the invention of the BASIC programming language and one of the earliest email systems to universal computing access and campuswide wireless networking.

Now, as Dartmouth becomes the first Ivy League university to launch AI at institutional scale, with Anthropic and AWS, its students will help lead thoughtful applications of AI as they continue to develop and practice distinctly human skills like critical thinking, emotional intelligence, ethical discernment, and collaborative leadership. Teaching students to maximize the utility of AI means ensuring they are asking the right questions, can critically analyze its responses, are able to identify possible weaknesses or flaws, and can integrate new information with existing knowledge—all hallmarks of a liberal arts education. 

These commitments align with broader conversations about ensuring that AI serves—rather than replaces—human dignity, responsibility, and genuine learning.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Dartmouth and AWS on this. Dartmouth has always understood that technology is most powerful when it’s paired with human wisdom and critical thinking—and that’s exactly how we built Claude,” says Daniela Amodei, president and co-founder of Anthropic. “Their focus on AI fluency, teaching students to engage deeply with hard problems rather than bypass them, is so aligned with our mission. This is the kind of partnership that makes me genuinely excited about AI’s role in education.”

AI best practices for students

Dartmouth’s emphasis will be on integrating AI tools and using them to advance research and to augment—not replace—student learning. It also requires being clear about when AI should not be used at all. 

Educational thinkers have begun to argue for precisely this kind of two-track approach: preserving spaces where students demonstrate mastery without digital tools while also creating structured opportunities to experiment boldly with AI.

A Faculty Leadership Group on Artificial Intelligence, with representation from a wide range of disciplines, including the arts, humanities, sciences, engineering, business, and medicine, is working to define a principled, evidence-based strategy for where AI can meaningfully accelerate Dartmouth’s mission, and where deliberate restraint is essential to safeguard our values and pedagogy.

“Our AI Leadership Group includes those of us who are leading the innovations that make AI such a powerful tool for research and learning, as well as faculty who believe we must safeguard the value of non-AI classroom experiences,” says Adam Breuer, co-chair of the group and assistant professor of government and computer science. “This allows us to draw on exceptionally deep faculty expertise and broadly diverse faculty perspectives as we design a principled future for AI in research and education.”

Benefits of the partnership will also extend to how students plan for life after graduation. Anthropic will support Dartmouth’s Center for Career Design (DCCD)—whose staff are already utilizing AI to help students consider personalized career pathways—on several ongoing and new initiatives, including:

• facilitating student access to AI-enhanced career coaching using Claude, including using AI services to evaluate job offers; articulate their strengths, interests, goals, and values; and refine resumes and cover letters;
• connecting students with applied learning events through AWS Skills to Jobs, designed in collaboration with employers to build industry-aligned skills;
• collaborating on student-led programs to create a culture of innovation and ethical use on campus and provide career readiness; and
• granting Dartmouth students access to learning and networking opportunities hosted by Anthropic.

Building an understanding of responsible AI use will be key to these initiatives, while also helping develop the next generation of leaders across a multitude of fields. Claude’s suite of customized tools will prioritize understanding over shortcuts, streamline academic tasks, and support thoughtful, strategic innovation in teaching and research.

“As the workplace evolves and technology accelerates change, employers are seeking individuals who pair technical fluency with strong communication and problem-solving skills,” says Joe Catrino, executive director of DCCD. “But beyond expertise, they’re prioritizing individuals who can adapt quickly, collaborate effectively, and thrive in a dynamic, constantly shifting environment.”

Enhancing Dartmouth research

Numerous faculty across Dartmouth’s schools are shaping the future of AI—advancing its foundations, understanding its risks, applying it to major advances across science, social science, and the humanities, or studying AI as a phenomenon in its own right. Their findings already include key results in medical education, energy and the environment, computational social science, cybersecurity, and mental health and well-being.

Geography professor Justin Mankin’s team uses climate models to connect greenhouse gas emissions to extreme weather, while the Polarization Research Lab, co-founded by government professor Sean Westwood, analyzes public opinion data to study political polarization and online misinformation. Engineering professor Peter Chin’s lab is developing a learning algorithm and training framework that aims to predict and defend against future cyber attacks. 

Through the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Dartmouth is a leading partner in the National Science Foundation-funded AI Research Institute on Interaction for AI Assistants, spearheading research on AI-powered devices and wearables to support digital interventions for addiction, behavioral, and mental health disorders. 

And, through its Center for Precision Health and Artificial Intelligence, Dartmouth is also building AI tools to improve diagnostic accuracy and personalize treatments, especially in cancer care.

The program with Anthropic and AWS will provide Dartmouth’s campus with AI-enhanced learning and research tools, integration of AI capabilities within existing campus platforms, and opportunities to engage with cutting-edge AI technologies tied to their fields of study.

Operational benefits

Another focus of the partnership is improving institutional operations. AI-augmented productivity will streamline administrative processes, enhance research capabilities, and provide new tools for data analysis and decision-making across Dartmouth, providing staff and faculty the option to focus on higher-value activities and personal interactions.

Dartmouth will use Amazon Bedrock to build custom AI applications for campus operations and student services, with AWS’s Digital Innovation Team providing direct support using their “working backwards” methodology. Comprehensive training and support will ensure community members can take advantage of the tools that best meet their needs.

“AWS is looking forward to empowering Dartmouth, in partnership with Anthropic, as they continue to approach AI ethically, strategically, and securely to provide transformational student experiences and operational excellence,” says Kim Majerus, vice president of global education and U.S. state and local government at Amazon Web Services.

Underscoring Dartmouth’s commitment to responsible AI innovation, the collaboration also includes comprehensive security measures. All AI implementations will adhere to strict privacy standards and academic integrity policies—in line with Dartmouth’s existing ethical AI guidelines. The agreement is nonexclusive, and Claude will be a powerful addition to other AI models that Dartmouth provides access to, such as ChatGPT and CoPilot.

Provost Santiago Schnell said the partnership with Anthropic and AWS comes at a critical time.

“This partnership will prepare the next generation of leaders and deepen our understanding of both the potential and the limit of artificial intelligence in higher education,” says Schnell. “AI should strengthen, not short-circuit, human judgment and genuine learning.” 

“At Dartmouth, students will continue to practice the demanding skills of analysis, writing, and problem-solving, even as they learn to use AI ambitiously as a partner in their work. AI adoption in higher education must enhance, not displace, the intellectual rigor and academic freedom that define Dartmouth.”