Catalogue

Bard Baccalaureate

bac.bard.edu

The Bard Baccalaureate is a full-scholarship pathway for adults to complete bachelor’s degrees from Bard College. The BardBac is open to adults in the Bard/Hudson Valley region whose college degree paths have been interrupted or put on hold for a variety of reasons: the need to work, family obligations, student loan debt, the coronavirus pandemic, structural racism, or other forms of systemic inequity. The program is nonresidential, but BardBac students enroll in at least three courses each semester on the College’s main Annandale campus, studying alongside Bard undergraduates. They can transfer up to 64 credits earned at other institutions toward their degree. Tuition and books are fully covered by scholarships and grants that do not have to be paid back. Students are also eligible for federally subsidized student loans to cover living expenses while they are enrolled. A project of the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), the BardBac launched in 2020 in light of the onset of mass unemployment precipitated by COVID-19. Applicants to the BardBac must be 24 years old or older, must hold a high school diploma or equivalency (GED, HSE, HiSET, TASC), and may not hold any degree higher than the associate degree from any college or university in the United States or abroad. Those whose household finances would qualify them for Pell and TAP grants are given priority. U.S. citizenship is not required; Bard admits and supports undocumented students.