- Bard Summer Research Institute
Students in the Bard Summer Research Institute spend 10 weeks in residence over the summer working on individual research projects in either the social or natural sciences. Each student has a faculty mentor for the duration of the program and receives a stipend.
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- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Millbrook, N.Y.
Courses, lectures, and research are opportunities provided by Bard’s partnership with the Cary Institute, a premier research institution in nearby Millbrook, New York, that focuses on applying ecosystem analysis to policy changes.
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- Chinua Achebe Center for African Writers and Artists
Visiting writers, artists, and scholars take part in readings, discussions, and performances at the Achebe Center, which honors the legacy of Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Professor Emeritus of Languages and Literature.
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- Conjunctions
Bard's widely respected and influential literary journal,
Conjunctions, publishes innovative fiction, poetry, translations, essays, and interviews by established and emerging writers from the United States and around the world. Edited by Bard professor and noted novelist Bradford Morrow,
Conjunctions is published semiannually, in the spring and fall.
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- Contemporary Masters
Led by Norman Manea, writer in residence and MacArthur Fellow, this workshop offers the opportunity to discuss writing with some of the world’s greatest authors, such as Nobel laureates José Saramago, Orhan Pamuk, and Mario Vargas Llosa. In addition to debating literary issues, the authors give public presentations.
- Institute of Advanced Theology
The institute’s work focuses on how religions influence history, society, and one another, and are in turn influenced by them. Institute scholars refine the newest critical research methods to pursue a comparative approach to the study of religion.
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- Archaeology Field School
Students in the Archaeology Field School spend a summer month learning excavating techniques and laboratory analysis. Projects have included a dig at a prehistoric campsite on the shores of the Hudson River and another at a site in nearby Hyde Park that was once home to a large community of freed slaves.
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- John Ashbery Poetry Series
The John Ashbery Poetry Series is named for Bard’s distinguished Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Professor Emeritus of Languages and Literature. This series brings leading contemporary poets to campus for readings and discussions in an intimate setting.
- The Bard Center
Established in 1978, The Bard Center develops pacesetting educational and scholarly programs with a recognized nationwide impact. It promotes the study of the liberal arts and sciences as they relate to issues of public planning and decision making in and beyond the Hudson River Valley.
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- Bard College Field Station and Hudsonia
Bard students, faculty, and staff of Hudsonia, a nonprofit institute for environmental research and education, conduct research at the unique Bard College Field Station on the Hudson River. Laboratories, a herbarium, and other facilities are available to undergraduate and graduate students.
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- Bard Fiction Prize
Awarded to a promising young writer each year, the Bard Fiction Prize brings the recipient to Bard for one semester as writer in residence. In addition to meetings with students, the author gives public readings.
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- Bard-Rockefeller Program
New York, N.Y.
In the Bard-Rockefeller Semester in Science, selected Upper College science students spend a semester in New York City working in the lab with Rockefeller faculty; taking specially designed classes at Rockefeller and in the Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program; and working on an original research project.
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- John Cage Trust
Bard College is the proud home of the John Cage Trust, which maintains and nurtures the artistic legacy of the late composer, philosopher, poet, and visual artist John Cage (1912–92). The trust offers access to extensive and expanding research archives, workshops, concerts, and educational symposia.
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- Conductors Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music
The Conductors Institute offers a variety of study combinations that allow students to tailor their own programs. The institute’s mission is threefold: to promote technical clarity and precision in baton movement in a positive working atmosphere, disarm the competitive learning process so that conductors assist and support one another, and encourage American conductors to be advocates of American composers.
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- Distinguished Scientist Scholars Summer Research
Students in the Distinguished Scientist Scholars Program are eligible for a stipend of up to $1,500 for summer research projects following the sophomore and junior years.
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- The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts
The Bard Fisher Center, designed by Frank Gehry, hosts celebrated performing artists and critically acclaimed productions, and serves as a state-of-the-art facility for programs in the Theater, Dance, and Music Programs. The center boasts two performance spaces: the 900-seat, acoustically impeccable Sosnoff Theater, and the flexible black box of Theater Two.
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- Hudson Valley Studies
The Hudson Valley Studies program assists students, faculty, historical agencies, and community members in studying the Hudson Valley. The program makes the vast resources of the region accessible to a variety of scholars. An art history major might choose to study a local artist or a type of artistic work characteristic of the valley, or an economics major the impact of industrial transformations on small towns along the Hudson River.
- Independent Study Projects
Regular Bard academic credit may be awarded for successful completion of an independent study project outside the College’s regular course structure, provided the project has demonstrated academic value. After a proposed project has been approved by a faculty sponsor and the head of the relevant division or program, the student submits it for final approval to the Executive Committee, which consists of the dean of the college, the registrar (serving ex officio), and the chairs of the divisions.
- Institute for Writing and Thinking
Focused on the critical role that writing plays in both teaching and learning, the Institute for Writing and Thinking (IWT) brings together secondary and college teachers for workshops, conferences, and on-site consulting.
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- January Intersession
The January intersession begins at the end of the winter holiday vacation and extends through the month of January. Students can gain academic or work experience or earn academic credit during this period by pursuing independent study, a work project or internship, or enrolling in a midyear course at another institution.
- The Landscape and Arboretum Program at Bard College
The Landscape and Arboretum Program is charged with promoting plant conservation and preservation of Bard’s 540-acre campus, opening the door to horticultural education, outreach, and research.
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- Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
A nonprofit public policy research organization, the Levy Institute invites prominent economists to attend conferences and serve on its staff. The annual Hyman P. Minsky Conference on the State of the U.S. and World Economies draws international economic experts and media. The institute also offers scholarships and study abroad opportunities.
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- Lifetime Learning Institute
The Lifetime Learning Institute (LLI) at Bard offers noncredit and noncompetitive courses that provide members with opportunities to share their love of learning and to exchange ideas and experiences. Sponsored by Bard College in affiliation with the Elderhostel Institute Network, LLI is entirely self-administered by volunteers. Membership is open to older adults for a modest fee, on a space-available basis.
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- Longy School of Music of Bard College
Cambridge, Mass.
The Longy School of Music became a part of Bard College in April 2012. Longy has historically served undergraduate and graduate students, children, and adults in the Boston area. Longy degree programs offer rigorous yet flexible training that develops not only musicians’ technical and expressive skills but also their identity as articulate advocates for art music. The partnership enables Longy to focus on expanding masters programs for aspiring musician-performers in other parts of the country, and furthers Bard's commitment to exceptional music education for students of all ages. Longy and Bard have also partnered with the Los Angeles Philharmonic to launch
Take a Stand, a national music education initiative.
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- Nonmatriculated Students and Auditors
A nonmatriculated student is enrolled in a course or courses for credit, but is not a degree candidate. Students who wish to take courses without credit may attend classes as auditors; they receive neither credits nor grades. Registration is subject to the instructor’s permission and the availability of space. Application for enrollment is through the Returning to College Program.
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- Prelaw Undergraduate Program
Admission to law school is governed by the student’s college record, including the grade point average and letters of recommendation. The most important factor, however, is the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). No standard prescribed curriculum of undergraduate study specifically prepares students for a law career or is required by law schools, although most consider a broad liberal arts program desirable. For further information, contact the Career Development Office or the prelaw adviser, Roger Berkowitz.
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- Premedical Undergraduate Program
Admission to medical school is governed by several factors: the college record, results of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), recommendations, and an interview. Most important, however, is the grade point average. Students accepted to medical schools in recent years had a nationwide average GPA of 3.5 to 3.6. Early preparation and planning are important in order to do well on the MCAT and to fulfill health professional school requirements. Minimum requirements are introductory chemistry, organic chemistry, and one year each of physics, mathematics, biology, and English. Early in their academic careers, interested students should discuss their plans with the health professions adviser, John Ferguson.
- Returning to College Program
The Returning to College Program is founded on the premise that returning students benefit from participating in the regular undergraduate curriculum, taking their places at the seminar table, the lab bench, and the barre, and learning from and with their younger colleagues. Bard is committed to making the return to college more cost-effective than a traditional undergraduate program and to providing academic and other support to students enrolled through this program. The Returning to College Program is for students who are at least 25 years of age and who have successfully completed some accredited college work.
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- Study at Another Academic Institution
Academic credit may be awarded to a student who successfully completes courses at another college or university in the United States. Students who wish to obtain full credit must submit an application to the registrar before taking such courses.
- Washington Center Internships
Based in the nation’s capital, the Washington Center offers supervised, semester-long internships. Bard students accepted into this program earn academic credit for work at a government department or agency, a lobbying group, or another organization active in the public sector.
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- Woods Hole
Woods Hole, Mass.
Students from select colleges, including Bard, spend a semester in environmental science study at the Ecosystems Center of the world-renowned Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Students receive a semester’s academic credit for the experience, which includes courses in environmental science and science writing, and an independent research project.
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- Bard-YIVO Institute for East European Jewish History and Culture
The Bard-YIVO Institute offers peerless instruction in the Yiddish language and an in-depth exploration of the literature and culture of East European/American Jewry. The core of the program is an intensive, four-credit language course that meets four days a week and is designed to develop proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing, as well as cultural literacy.
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