Degree Programs
Supporting Programs
Bard College has a longstanding interest in initiating and supporting programs that encourage teachers and students to think about education in new ways. Following are descriptions of four Bard initiatives that most directly support the MAT Program's goals and approaches to learning and teaching.
Institute for Writing and Thinking
Founded at Bard in 1982, the nationally recognized Institute for Writing and Thinking (IWT) is based on an approach to learning that recognizes the role of language in the development of thinking. Modeled on the successful Workshop in Language and Thinking, which is attended by all of Bard's entering undergraduate students, the IWT offers training for teachers of all grade levels. It also consults with public and private secondary schools. Thousands of teachers have participated in IWT workshops and conferences that focus on how writing, as an educational technology, facilitates individual learning in the classroom and challenges conventional ideas about learning and teaching.
Bard High School Early College
In 2001 Bard College and the New York City Board of Education created Bard High School Early College. This alternative to traditional public high school offers motivated young people an opportunity to embark on serious college work at age 16. Admission is based on a transcript review, teacher recommendation, writing and mathematics assessment, and interview. After four years BHSEC students progress from ninth grade through the first two years of college, graduating with an associate in arts (A.A.) degree. The school, which is located in Manhattan, is open to all New York City residents. It offers a core curriculum in general education, supplemented by electives. After successful completion of the four-year program, students are eligible to transfer as juniors to colleges and universities.
Bard Rockefeller Program
In 2000 Bard College and The Rockefeller University in New York City established a collaborative program in science education. Rockefeller offers Bard students a course on human disease each fall semester and reserves places for them in its Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows program, which allows college students to work in Rockefeller research laboratories. Bard faculty may obtain adjunct status at Rockefeller, which enables them to participate in research projects in the university's laboratories. See www.bard.edu/brss for details.
www.bard.edu/scienceinitiative/rockefeller
Simon's Rock College of Bard
Established in 1966 and a unit of Bard College since 1979, Simon's Rock is the nation's only four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences that is designed to serve younger students. It was founded on the idea that many bright, highly motivated people are ready to undertake serious college work at the age of 15 or 16. Most students enter Simon's Rock after completing the 10th or 11th grade and pursue a program of study leading to the associate of arts (A.A.) degree in two years and the bachelor of arts (B.A.) degree in four.
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