Admission
Life at Bard
Life at Bard
Bard College, located on the Hudson River 90 miles north of New York City, is a private, coeducational liberal arts college with undergraduate programs enriched by research institutes and graduate programs. Founded in 1860, the College draws its approximately 2,600 undergraduate and graduate students from all regions of the United States. Students from abroad create a diverse and internationally informed environment. Bard's curricular strength is bolstered by innovative scholarship programs in the sciences, literature, and the arts, and a collaboration in science education with The Rockefeller University.
The Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation, a state-of-the-art science facility, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2007. The College expanded its liberal arts offerings in 2005 through The Bard College Conservatory of Music, which welcomed its first cohort of undergraduate students dedicated to a life immersed in the creation and performance of music. Bard's network of unique programs abroad includes partnerships with Smolny College, Russia's first liberal arts college, in St. Petersburg; Central European University, in Budapest; and the International Human Rights Exchange, in Durban, South Africa. Many additional opportunities are provided through Bard's Institute for International Liberal Education.
Bard's approach to education aims to assist students in planning and achieving intellectual growth throughout the academic process. A hallmark of the educational experience at Bard is the intensive interaction between students and faculty through small seminars, tutorials, and independent project work. Bard College's 540-acre campus is conveniently located to take full advantage of the many resources and varied experiences available in the Hudson Valley and New York City.
With its undergraduate liberal arts curriculum, eight graduate programs, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, and Levy Economics Institute, Bard also provides endless opportunities for intellectual stimulation and cultural enrichment. Students enrolled in the Center's Graduate Program have access to all facilities on the Bard College campus.
RECREATION AND CULTURAL LIFE IN THE HUDSON VALLEY
Situated on the eastern shore of the Hudson River, with majestic views of the Catskill Mountains, Bard College is an ideal location from which to explore the abundant natural and cultural offerings of the Hudson Valley.
The Bard campus borders Tivoli Bays, a 1,700-acre tidal marsh that is part of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, a New York State Wildlife Management Area. An estuarine arm of the Atlantic Ocean, the Hudson extends 315 miles north of New York City's harbor, with saltwater mixing with fresh up to 50 miles inland, creating a unique, rich ecology. Students can navigate Tivoli Bays' wetlands by canoe, kayak, or other nonmotorized watercraft. Scenic trails furnish further opportunities for outdoor exploration by boat or on foot in the adjacent near-shore shallows. Area parks and trail systems provide opportunities for cross-country skiing and biking. Rock climbing, downhill skiing, and snowboarding in the Catskill or Berkshire Mountains are within an hour's drive. Fly-fishing is a favorite sport in the area's fast-running streams, such as the Esopus Creek and the Roeliff Jansen Kill.
The Hudson Valley is a rich agricultural area, supplying produce and farm products, including high-quality local wines, to New York City's open-air Greenmarkets and through shares at local farm stands, farmers' markets, and pick-your-own farms. The area is also renowned for its rich contribution to early American history, literature, and art, as well as contemporary culture. Along the Hudson's shoreline are numerous historic estates, such as Montgomery Place, Clermont, the Roosevelt family estate, the Vanderbilt estate, and Frederic Church's Olana, all of which are open to the public. Just across the river is the city of Kingston, New York State's first capital, and the town of Woodstock, known since the early 20th century for its artists' colonies, including Byrdcliffe, and an abundance of art galleries.
The countryside surrounding Bard is dotted with small villages dating to the 17th and 18th centuries—Red Hook, Tivoli, Rhinebeck, Millbrook, Germantown, Staatsburg—that together provide a diversity of experiences, year-round festivals, and shopping. There are numerous local theaters as well as fine restaurants, many of them staffed by chefs who graduated from the nearby Culinary Institute of America.
Bard College hosts concerts throughout the year, offering music for every taste, from American Symphony Orchestra performances to jazz, opera, and folk music, including recitals of Bard's Balinese gamelan music ensemble. The Bard Music Festival, founded in 1990, features a prominent composer in a three-weekend program of lectures, panel discussions, and performances. The Rhinebeck Performing Arts Center, Poughkeepsie's Bardavon Theater, and the Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston are all within a 25-mile radius of the campus. The Kaatsbaan International Dance Center is in the village of Tivoli, adjacent to Bard.
The campus is less than two hours north of New York City and one hour south of Albany by car, with train service providing ready access to the amenities those cities have to offer. Overall, the region is a pleasing blend of sophistication and pastoral charm, enough to satisfy the varied interests of a diverse student group.
Facilities
Libraries
Students can take advantage of the library resources of several facilities. Bard's Charles P. Stevenson Library houses the latest periodicals and books dealing with environmental issues. A full array of professional journals, in particular those related to the field of economics, is available at The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. Other institutes on campus also have library facilities. The New York State interlibrary loan system and online services complement the on-campus holdings. Students can also draw on the library facilities of the Bard College Field Station and those of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook.
Henderson Computer Resources Center
The Henderson Computer Resources Center (HCRC), the central campus computing facility, was established in 1981 and expanded in 2000 with gifts from Ernest F. Henderson III and his family. It houses both Macintosh and Windows-based PCs; specialized multimedia workstations; IBM RS/6000, Sun, and Linux workstations; and X-station equipment, in addition to an extensive software library. HCRC offers training sessions on productivity applications, web page design and publishing, and 2D and 3D graphic, video, audio, and multimedia development. The Henderson Technology Laboratories provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week public facilities and a computer classroom with video conferencing capabilities. The HCRC operates a help desk and provides technical support services. The College's network—linking facilities and providing students and faculty with unlimited access to the Internet, e-mail, and the World Wide Web via high-capacity fiber-optic connections—can be accessed from any of the more than 500 computers located throughout the campus. Wireless networking is available in most areas around the campus, including the HCRC, Stevenson Library, Bertelsmann Campus Center, and Ward Manor Café. Students wanting to use wireless networking will need to equip their computers with a compatible wireless network interface. Bard also offers off-campus students access to its network and the Internet through its home page, www.bard.edu.
Heinz O. and Elizabeth C. Bertelsmann Campus Center
The Bertelsmann Campus Center is an attractive central gathering place for students and faculty. The light-filled facility houses the campus post office and bookstore, a café with indoor and outdoor seating areas, a large multipurpose room, smaller rooms for meetings and social events, film projection space, student club rooms, study and television lounges, and a game room.
Athletic Facilities
The Stevenson Gymnasium is an athletic and recreational complex with a swimming pool, squash courts, a fitness studio, an aerobics studio, and a gymnasium. The complex also includes a weight room with cardiovascular and strength-training equipment, as well as a volleyball court and indoor basketball court. Outdoor tennis courts, soccer fields, and bike paths complement the indoor facilities.
The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College
Opened in 2003, the Fisher Center, designed by renowned architect Frank O. Gehry, has a teaching theater and a large performance hall. The 110,000-square-foot facility is equipped for modern scene changing, sound, and lighting. During the academic year, the Fisher Center serves students in Bard's Theater and Dance Programs. In the summer months it houses SummerScape, a full-scale public program of theater, dance, and music, hosting visiting theater companies and musical ensembles as well as the Bard Music Festival.
