Bard College

• The Bard College community is collaborative and is made up of creative, passionate students, faculty, and staff whose wide ranging perspectives and experiences expand every aspect of campus life
• The Bard Education emphasizes that education and civil society are inextricably linked through civic engagement.
• Bard College is a liberal arts and sciences college located in New York State, 90 miles north of New York City, and situated on the Hudson River near the Catskill Mountains. This campus offers students a large and beautiful 1000-acre property to explore, with campus farms and orchards providing a significant portion of fresh produce to the main dining hall at Bard.
• Bard’s global network expands access to liberal arts and sciences education with campuses  all over the world and provides opportunities for students, faculty and staff to connect across time zones for classes, debates, conferences and build civic engagement projects together across the network.

• Bard Prison Initiative (BPI): Started by Bard students in the late 90s, the Bard Prison Initiative is an AA and BA degree-granting program for incarcerated individuals. Today, BPI enrolls over 300 incarcerated students full-time in programs that culminate in degrees from Bard College and is one of the largest prison education programs in the United States..
• Conservatory: The richness and breadth of musical opportunities on campus make Bard College distinct from other liberal arts colleges. There are multiple ways to study music at Bard. Students can earn a degree in four years through the undergraduate Music Program or two degrees in five years from The Bard College Conservatory of Music, which also offers graduate programs. One doesn’t have to major in music, however, to be actively involved in music at Bard.
• Bard in NYC: Bard offers students the chance to complete an internship for a semester of their Bard career through a program located in Brooklyn, NY. Students live and work in New York City and take classes in the evening in areas of interest related to their internship field. 
• Methods of Application: Bard accepts the Common Application and Coalition with Scoir through Early Decision I, Early Action, Early Decision II, and Regular Decision methods, but it also has two special ways of applying. Those are the Immediate Decision Plan (IDP) and The Bard Entrance Exam (BEE). To learn more about these special application methods, click here.
• Bard College is currently offering in-person and live virtual campus tours, registration for which can be found here. For those families who want to visit in-person but cannot visit during our regularly scheduled in-person campus tours, Bard is also offering self-guided walking and self-guided driving tours on campus. Call or email Bard’s Office of Admission to learn more about ways to visit at 845 758 7472 or admission@bard.edu.

Bard’s faculty approach the liberal arts and sciences with the belief that exploration across different fields develops the important skills of critical thinking and empathy, which are highly applicable in one’s professional and personal life.

• Graduation requirements such as Language and Thinking and First Year Seminar encourage students to consider a plethora of views both in the materials they explore in these classes and through conversation with classmates and faculty. Moderation and Senior Project involve considerable research work and a faculty board presentation or performance depending on a student’s major, which provide further opportunities for students to challenge themselves academically and personalize their curriculum.
• The Student/Faculty ratio is 10:1

For the most current listings, please check the college website.

Academic Programs

The Arts
Architecture
Art History and Visual Culture
Dance
Film and Electronic Arts
Music
Photography
Studio Arts
Theater and Performance

Languages and Literature
Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures
Literature
Written Arts

Science, Mathematics, and Computing
Biology
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Computer Science
Mathematics
Physics
Psychology

Social Studies
Anthropology
Economics
Economics and Finance
Historical Studies
Interdisciplinary Study of Religions
Philosophy
Politics
Sociology

Interdivisional Programs and Concentrations
American and Indigenous Studies
Asian Studies
Classical Studies
Environmental Studies
French Studies
German Studies
Global and International Studies
Human Rights
Italian Studies
Middle Eastern Studies
Russian and Eurasian Studies
Spanish Studies

Bard Conservatory of Music

• Most Bard students live on campus all four years. Free shuttles provide access to New York City but most students spend their time engaging in campus activities in the evenings and on weekends. 
• Every student is a member of the Bard College Student Association, a democratic forum that raises issues and takes or recommends action by the College; provides student representation on administrative and faculty committees; and administers funds for student-run organizations. g 
• Over 100 student-run clubs include the Surrealist Training Circus, the Bard Immigration Coalition, Queer People of Color, International Student Organization and WXBC (Bard’s very own radio station).
• 75% of students are involved in programs or projects in civic engagement, community service or student club or activity.
• Support for students is available through many different offices including the Career Development Office, the chaplaincy, counseling and health services, the Dean of Students Office, the Learning Commons, and more.

• The Bard intercollegiate athletic program is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III, the Liberty League, the United Volleyball Conference, the College Squash Association, and other national organizations. Varsity sports include Baseball, Women’s Lacrosse, Men’s and women’s Basketball, Cross Country, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball, and Squash.
• Intramural sponsorship ranges from Basketball, Indoor Soccer and kickball. The department also offers club sports such as Men’s and Women’s Rugby, Equestrian, Ultimate Frisbee, and Fencing. Instructional courses range from Yoga to Martial Arts to Aerobics.
• Indoor facilities include a six-lane swimming pool, main gymnasium, a fitness center, spin cycling room, squash courts, locker rooms, instructional class studios, athletic training room, and staff offices. Outdoor venues include Honey Field, a turf baseball facility, the Lorenzo Ferrari Soccer & Lacrosse Complex, Seth Goldfine Memorial Rugby practice field, lighted tennis courts, platform tennis court, and cross country trails.

• Over 90% of Bard students are either employed, in graduate school or pursuing Fulbright, Watson, Goldwater or other continuing education scholarships within six months of graduating from Bard College. BardWorks is a week-long workshop series which connects students to the Bard network while honing job search and professional skills. The workshop helps rising juniors and seniors apply their liberal arts education to the workforce they are about to enter. Drawing on Bard’s vast alumni and parent network, BardWorks pairs participants with a mentor in a field of their interest, helps create and expand a professional network and develops interview, resume, job hunting, and networking skills. Ultimately, it aims to create a community of leaders who will succeed professionally and make a difference in the lives of others.
• Civic engagement is at the core of Bard’s institutional mission, reflecting the fundamental belief that higher-education institutions can and should operate in the public interest. Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) facilitates deep and sustainable relationships with the communities in which Bard has a presence both locally and internationally. Partnerships can take many forms, including internships.
• Bard graduates attend the following graduate schools, among others: Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Curtis Institute of Music, Georgetown, George Washington School of Medicine, Harvard Law, Johns Hopkins, Juilliard, King’s College of London, New York University, UCLA School of Law, University of Copenhagen, and Yale
• Bard graduates are employed across many fields and industries, including Aperture Foundation, Apple, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Citibank, Disney, French Embassy, Foreign Affairs Magazine, Goldman Sachs, Google, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Peace Corps, Pentagon, Saatchi & Saatchi, Sports Illustrated, Teach for America, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Twitter, World Bank

2020-21 Academic Year

• Classes: 1,121
• Tutorials: 123
• Student/Faculty ratio: 9:1
• Class size:
  2-9 students: 37.2%
  10-19 students: 51.8%
  20-29 students: 9.6%
  30-39 students: 1.1%
  More than 36 students: .3%

Faculty

• Total: 274
• Identifies as female: 47%
• Identifies as male: 53%
• Faculty of color: 20%

Incoming Students

• First-year students: 450
• Public high school: 63%
• Independent high school: 25%
• Religious high school: 7%
• Charter high school: 4%
• Homeschool (partial or complete): 1%
• Refugee and Displaced students: 42 (Many of these students join the Bard Community from Afghanistan following the College’s pledge to offer full scholarships to displaced students following the crisis in Afghanistan in August 2021)
• Bard College has been test-optional for over 40 years.
• No application fee to apply to Bard

Geographic Distribution: States: 37 + Puerto Rico and 26 Countries/Territories

• New England: 15%
• Mid-Atlantic: 46% (New York: 31%)
• South/Southeast: 8%
• Southwest: 3%
• Midwest: 7%
• West: 21%
• International/Dual: 17%

Ethnic Diversity*

• African American/Black: 6%
• Asian: 7%
• Hispanic/Latino: 12%
• Multiracial: 8%
• Native American/Alaskan Native: 1%
• Native Hawaiian/or other Pacific Islander: 1%
• Unknown: 8%
• White/Non-Hispanic: 69%
  * Race/ethnicity does not total 100% because students are able to select more than one race/ethnicity

Financial Aid

• Received Bard institutional aid: 73%
• Average institutional aid: $52,859
• Average aid package total: $56,927 (includes loans, work study, and grants)
• The class of 2026 received aid in the following categories: 6% loans, 1% work study, 93% grants.
• Total Bard aid awarded to first-years (2021-22): $17.4 million
• Pell Grant recipients (2022-23): 19%