ECLA Bard

Study Options

Through Bard College:

Begin in Berlin
Bard in Berlin Study Abroad

Through ECLA of Bard:

Four-year B.A.
Academy Year, a one-year program in which students take core and elective courses
Project Year, in which students complete an individualized yearlong project

Welcome to ECLA of Bard,
a Liberal Arts University in Berlin

ECLA of Bard is a liberal arts university offering an innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum with a global sensibility. Students come to Berlin from more than 30 countries in order to study with our international faculty. The academic programs offered at ECLA of Bard—B.A. in value studies, Academy Year, Project Year, and the new Bard in Berlin and Begin in Berlin study abroad programs—all incorporate interdisciplinary curricular flexibility. While the requirements and structure of these programs differ, they all share a commitment to academic rigor and excellence through the exploration of values that have been defined as important in human life and culture. Students in the four-year B.A. program concentrate in art and aesthetics, ethics and politics, or literature and rhetoric. Small seminars encourage lively and thoughtful dialogue. The language of instruction is English.

Discover ECLA of Bard. Visit us online at www.ecla.de.

The Curriculum

As part of Bard College, ECLA’s curriculum now includes the Bard in Berlin program for study abroad students and Begin in Berlin for Bard College first-years. Courses in the humanities and social sciences take advantage of ECLA’s location in one of the world’s most artistically scintillating and historically layered cities. Students may intern with an NGO, arts institution, or other organization. Students may also enroll in German language courses.

Study options at ECLA of Bard include:

Through Bard College:

Through ECLA of Bard:

Four-year B.A.
Academy Year, a one-year program in which students take core and elective courses
Project Year, in which students complete an individualized yearlong project

How to Apply

ECLA of Bard and Bard in Berlin are now accepting applications. ECLA has a need-blind admissions policy. Financial aid and scholarships are available.

Prospective ECLA of Bard students: Apply to ECLA of Bard online for the four-year B.A., Academy Year, and Project Year at www.ecla.de.
Enrolled Bard College first-year students: Apply to Begin in Berlin after officially enrolling at Bard. Up to 12 Bard College students have the opportunity to spend all or part of their first year in Berlin.
Current Bard students or students from other U.S. colleges: Apply to Bard in Berlin online.

About ECLA of Bard

Among German universities, ECLA of Bard is unique by virtue of its small size, intimate atmosphere, coherent and imaginative curriculum, and decidedly international composition. Students work with faculty from different backgrounds on moral, political, epistemic, religious, and aesthetic questions, with the understanding that such questions are naturally and deeply connected. Members of the ECLA of Bard community share the facilities of a residential campus and the cultural riches of one of Europe's most dynamic capitals. Interactive teaching, a convivial campus atmosphere, and small, discussion-centered classes create an opportunity for intensive dialogue both inside and outside the classroom.

History

Since its founding in 1999 as the European College of Liberal Arts, ECLA has provided liberal arts education in a diverse, international community, dedicated to sound scholarship, collaboration, and dialogue, with an emphasis on personal growth, set in one of Europe’s most vibrant and rapidly developing capital cities—Berlin. Now as part of Bard College, ECLA of Bard is experiencing its own exciting period of growth and inclusion into Bard’s international community, joining a worldwide network of institutions with campuses in the United States; West Bank; Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; Budapest, Hungary; and St. Petersburg, Russia.