Mission
Bard's academic program melds two great traditions — general education and progressive education. The former uses a common curriculum to create an academic community grounded in shared texts that introduce a central body of knowledge and develop intellectual dexterity. The latter allows each student to create a personalized curriculum that furthers his or her scholarly goals. The common curriculum has a sequence that moves from an initial focus on writing and recognizing the link between thought and expression, to a two-semester introduction to studying intellectual, philosophical, and cultural traditions from around the world.
History
In 1860 Bard College was founded as St. Stephen's College. John Bard, who founded St. Stephen's in association with the New York City leadership of the Episcopal Church, came from a family of physicians and teachers, the owners of a Hudson River estate known as Annandale. For its first sixty years the College offered young men a strong classical curriculum in preparation for entrance into the seminaries of the Episcopal Church. In 1928 the College opened a radically new chapter in its history when it became an undergraduate school of Columbia University. In 1944, Bard severed its relationship with Columbia and became a coeducational, secular, non-sectarian college of the liberal arts and sciences affiliated with the Episcopal Church.
Degrees and Programs
Bachelor of Arts degrees are offered in four divisions: Arts, Languages and Literature, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Social Studies. Areas of concentration include: African and African Diaspora Studies; American Studies; Anthropology; Art History; Asian Studies; Biology; Chemistry; Classical Studies; Computer Science; Dance; Economics; Environmental Studies; Film and Electronic Arts; Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literature; French Studies; Gender and Sexuality Studies; German Studies; Historical Studies; History and Philosophy of Science; Human Rights; Integrated Arts; Globalization and International Affairs; Irish and Celtic Studies; Italian Studies; Jewish Studies; Latin American and Iberian Studies; Literature; Mathematics; Medieval Studies; Multidisciplinary Studies; Music; Philosophy; Philosophy and the Arts; Photography; Physics; Political Studies; Psychology; Religion; Russian and Eurasian Studies; Sociology; Studies in Race and Ethnicity; Studio Arts; Theater; Victorian Studies; Writing Program in Fiction and Poetry; Individual Interdivisional courses of study. Through 3-2 options students may qualify for a Bard B.A. degree and a degree from a participating school in the areas of Business Administration, Engineering, Environmental Policy, Forestry and Environmental Management, and Public Administration.
Requirements
In addition to grades and test scores, the Admissions Committee considers ambition, motivation, and intellectual zeal; evaluates the standards of the secondary school curriculum; and conscientiously reviews application essays. The committee also takes into account the applicant's extracurricular endeavors and recommendations. Applicants are expected to have completed a full four-year sequence in English, social sciences, and mathematics; study of at least one foreign language for three or, preferably, four years; and three to four years of study in the laboratory sciences. Standardized tests (Sat/Act) are not required. Students may apply to Bard through the regular or Early Action application process or, in certain cases, through the Bard Immediate Decision Plan.
Campus
Housing and Student Services
As a residential college, Bard provides an exquisite campus setting in which students pursue their academic interests and craft a rich social life. Eight-five percent of students live on campus. The park-like campus covers more than 500 acres of fields and forested land bordering the Hudson River. The Catskill Mountains, to the west, can be viewed from many student residences and from the grounds and gardens of Blithewood (home of The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College). The campus has more than 70 buildings, many designed by world-renowned architects, which range in style from 19th-century stone houses to contemporary architectural masterpieces. The more than 40 student residences vary in architectural characteristics, social style, and size. Most of the residence halls are coed, and almost half the rooms are for single occupancy. The food service caters to vegans, vegetarians, and non-vegetarians, and offers limited kosher and halal selections.
The Academic Resources Centerprovides extracurricular learning and tutoring support to all students, including students with learning or psychological disabilities; students who require remedial education (particularly in areas such as writing and mathematics); students who need tutoring; and students who have difficulties with the demands of college level work, such as time management, study skills, and writing research papers . The Career Development Officeassists students in all phases of career development: exploration of career possibilities; development of job search skills (such as networking, résumé writing, and interview preparation); graduate and professional school application; the search for internships, work and study abroad, community service work, and similar opportunities; and the search for employment.
Spiritual Life
The chaplaincy at Bard College is committed to enabling students, staff, and faculty to explore and develop their own spiritual identities. Various academic programs permit us to see how the major religious perspectives contribute to our understanding of who we are as human beings. The chaplaincy provides an opportunity to practice and experiment on the basis of different traditions of religion. The chaplains understand that one of the greatest opportunities of learning is to see one’s self and the world from the diverse perspectives of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. At Bard, the great systems of religion are practiced and studied.
The chaplaincy program has two Episcopal priests, a Catholic priest, an Imam, and a Rabbi. The clergy offer study on a formal and informal basis with members of the college community who are interested in learning more about their own traditions or the faith traditions of others. All chaplains are available for pastoral care.
Sports
The Department of Athletics and Recreation offers a wide range of programs designed to meet the needs of a variety of lifestyles and interests, from traditional interco llegiate competition and intramural sports to recreational activities. Under the auspices of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, the department sponsors intercollegiate programs in soccer, cross-c ountry, volleyball, men's squash, tennis, and basketball. Bard is also a member of the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference, Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference, Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC), Intercollegiate Squash Association, and National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association.
Library and Internet Facility
High speed Internet Access. The resources of the Stevenson Library and the "satellite" libraries in the Levy Economics Institute, Center for Curatorial Studies, and Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture include 280,000 volumes and more than four thousand journals available in print or online. In addition, online databases central to all the disciplines in Bard's curriculum provide access to indexes and abstracts. Users may consult these and online newspapers, texts, encyclopedias, and dictionaries from the library's more than 50 computer stations, any public lab, most dormitory rooms, and off campus anywhere in the world.
Tuition and Housing Costs
Tuition $28,244 per year;
Housing and Board: $8,544 per year
Scholarships
Limited number of scholarship available
International Students
International students and exchange students are welcome.
Exchanges Opportunities
Please contact International Education Office
Distant Learning
