Bard College

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A Private College for the Public Good
Bard College seeks to inspire curiosity, a love of learning, idealism, and a commitment to the link between higher education and civic participation.
Meet Javen and learn about the Bard Conservatory, dance, Italian studies, and the Senior Project.

Academics

Academics at Bard focus on giving students a strong scholarly foundation with our core curriculum, then encouraging them to explore individual academic interests. The College seeks to engender in every student a wide curiosity and love of learning. Close contact with scholars who are teachers but also active in their disciplines is a constant, and the level of academic discourse in the classroom is high.

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Civic Engagement

Civic Engagement

“At Bard, we show up. We build, paint, dig, teach, play, sing, sweat. We show up in the middle of the night, work in the rain, crawl under the car, whatever it takes. This does not mean erasing the self. It means struggling with the tension between self and collective interests, and then acting compassionately.” —Paul Marienthal, Dean for Social Action; Director, Trustee Leader Scholar Program

Visit the Center for Civic Engagement

Watch: Lola, a joint major in film and studio arts, explores Avery, where film classes are taught at Bard.

Campus Life

The focus of student life at Bard College, both inside and outside the classroom, is on campus. From its historic Hudson Valley setting to its state-of-the-art science and arts facilities, the College offers an idyllic environment where students can enjoy a rich social life interwoven with their cultural and intellectual pursuits.

Learn More about Campus Life

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We embrace plurality, respect divergent viewpoints, and are committed to understanding the rich spectrum of experiences that comprise our community. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at Bard seeks to materialize our commitment to plurality, dialogue, and rigorous study. We strive to create a learning environment that upholds the College’s mission to meaningfully include the voices, works, and ideas of communities and cultures historically marginalized in liberal arts and sciences education.

DEI Initiatives

Arts at Bard
Photo by Chris Kayden

Arts at Bard

Bard College offers the best of both worlds: a traditional liberal arts college with exceptional programs in the fine and performing arts. In small classes taught by notable faculty, students work closely with top professionals in their fields. All students, whatever their major, are encouraged to take advantage of the same high-level arts instruction and engagement; the discipline of cultivating one’s artistic abilities has wide-ranging collateral benefits.

Get to Know the Division of the Arts

Bard News and Events

Featured News

Carl Chandler, Bard Clemente Course student. Still from "A Reckoning in Boston." Courtesy PBS
PBS Documentary Based on Bard College Clemente Course Students to Air on Martin Luther King Day
“I could hit a reset on everything that was painful and traumatic to me and really go out and get the life that I deserved but never had.” So says Kafi Dixon in A Reckoning in Boston, a new PBS documentary that will premiere on Martin Luther King Day, January 17. The film follows Dixon and Carl Chandler, a fellow student in Bard’s Clemente Course in the Humanities—a free, college-accredited program for low-income adults—as they are immersed in the study of Baldwin, Monet, Plato, and many others, all while working to combat racial inequality and gentrification in their city.  More >
Shou Zhang.
Bard Physics Professor Shuo Zhang Presents Research on Supermassive Black Hole at 2022 American Astronomical Society Press Conference
Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Shuo Zhang has been invited by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) to present her most recent research on how surrounding molecular gas clouds offer insight into the activity history of Sgr A*, the now inactive supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. More >

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Upcoming Events

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