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Programs and Scholarships

Posse Graduation. Photo by Brennan Cavanaugh
scholarships · mentoring · community
Equity and Inclusion Programs at Bard College support scholars from a variety of backgrounds who seek to attain a rigorous liberal arts education. With the guidance of professional staff and peer mentors, scholars can create a path of personal and academic success at Bard. If you'd like to help support our students in their academic pursuits, please consider making a gift.
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The Posse Arts Program for Students from Puerto Rico
Bard College Posse Scholar Sakinah Bennett ’21. Photo by Shocarra Marcus

The Posse Arts Program for Students from Puerto Rico

The Posse Arts Program recruits, trains, and supports cohorts of students interested in majoring in the creative arts.

Bard College now offers full-tuition Posse Scholarships to students from Puerto Rico in partnership with the Posse Foundation and Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Miranda Family Fund. The first class of Posse Arts Scholars began at Bard in the fall of 2022.

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Bard Equity and Inclusion Programs by the Numbers

Our Impact

Our Impact

  • 50
    Years of HEOP
    at Bard College
  • 133
    Scholars on Campus
     
  • 26%
    of Bard Students
    Receive Pell Grants
  • 10
    Years of Posse
    at Bard College

“Strive to Thrive”

The philosophy of the Equity and Inclusion Programs remains consistent with the College’s desire for diversity to be part of the learning experience of all students from a wide variety of backgrounds. Our office recognizes that students with identities historically underrepresented in higher education seek to attain a rigorous liberal arts education and often need support to realize this aim. Such students bring to the College a wealth of knowledge and insight not necessarily gained in the classroom. Our scholars benefit from the Bard experience, just as Bard benefits from their presence. The Equity and Inclusion Programs work closely with HEOP, BOP, ECO, and Posse Scholars (from Atlanta) on campus. To learn more about Posse, visit possefoundation.org.

Our Programs

Our Programs

The Office of Equity and Inclusion is the administrative home to:

Scholarship Programs

We offer scholarships to high-achieving, low-income scholars from all 50 states. If you think Bard College might be right for you, please call or e-mail us! [email protected]

  • Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP)
    Bard's Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), which began in 1969, is one of the oldest and most successful programs of its kind in New York State. HEOP is sponsored jointly through a grant from the New York State Education Department and Bard College. Many students aspiring to attend college face a reality of few options and fewer opportunities due to a lack of economic and educational resources. HEOP seeks to confront this reality. In this regard, Bard’s BEOP Office is unsurpassed in its financial commitment to its students. (HEOP and its activities are supported, in whole or in part, by the New York State Education Department.)
  • Bard Opportunity Program (BOP) Scholarship
    In 2008, Bard expanded its commitment to access and to equity in higher education through the creation of the Bard Opportunity Program Scholarship (BOP). Bard Opportunity Program Scholars may come from all 50 states and possess a high level of achievement in academics, leadership, and the potential for success in a competitive academic environment. Often BOP scholars exhibit a nontraditional profile, and do not posses the financial means to afford a college such as Bard.
    Learn more about BOP
Student Spotlight: Immanuel Williams

Student Spotlight: Immanuel Williams

Immanuel Williams is a Bard College junior majoring in psychology and studio arts.

One of the reasons Immanuel chose Bard was because of the resources he would receive as a first-generation student. He also saw Bard as a place he could grow academically and as an artist. On campus, Immanuel enjoys hosting the BEOP club events, printmaking, and tutoring children in the local area. Last spring, he started his own people-of-color theater ensemble on campus. Immanuel hopes to be chosen as a Watson Fellow during his senior year at Bard; then plans on earning a master's degree, and eventually opening a group home for underprivileged youth who have an interest in the arts.