National Summer Course and Training Launches with 15+ Partner Organizations to Educate the Next Generation of Students in Voting Rights & Democracy

Bard College invites college and advanced high school students from across the nation to apply for a synchronous online summer course, Student Voting, Civil Rights, and the Practice of Democracy, for three transferable undergraduate credits and an opportunity to receive a certificate on “Voting Rights & Democracy Training.”

Bard College’s Center for Civic Engagement announces the expansion of its youth voting rights work. Responding to this critical moment in American democracy, the online, synchronous course is designed for college and advanced high school students from across the nation and examines voting rights using the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 and outlaws age discrimination, as a prism through which to examine the history of disenfranchisement and the fight for voting rights in the United States today.

Student Voting, Civil Rights, and the Practice of Democracy draws from an ongoing collaborative course and new book, Youth Voting Rights: Civil Rights, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, and the Fight for American Democracy on College Campuses, that features four youth voting rights legal case studies from Bard College, Tuskegee University, North Carolina A&T State University, and Prairie View A&M University, written and taught by faculty from those institutions. These case studies explore for the first time how college communities promoted, defended, and expanded the right to vote.

The course is designed by historians, political scientists, and an election law professor and practitioner, and will be complemented this summer with trainings and workshops in civic education ranging from proficiency in voting laws to campaign-building and skills training in facilitation and civic dialogue. It is strictly non-partisan. Partner organizations will support the course’s goal to educate and train a new generation of students in voting rights.

The course features national democracy practitioners as invited speakers. Confirmed speakers include U.S. Senator Andy Kim; Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson; and David Goodman of The Andrew Goodman Foundation, a youth democracy organization named in honor of his brother, a 1963 Freedom Summer slain civil rights worker.

The online summer course will run from June 22 through July 28, 2026.  Students participating in the transferable three-credit course will be charged $150. This steeply discounted tuition is subsidized through the generous support of partner organizations and donors. Special assistance on a limited basis is available for those students who cannot afford the tuition fee. 

Deadline: Applications considered on a rolling basis.
Preferred review by May 1. Deadline May 27th.
 
Apply: https://cce.bard.edu/get-involved/election/summer-voting-rights-course

“This course speaks to the current moment by grounding students in the history of voting rights, with a particular focus on the role of colleges and university constituencies in promoting and defending the right to vote. Civic engagement is the antidote to authoritarianism, and we look forward to teaching motivated students who work with our partner organizations across the country and the globe.”  Jonathan Becker, Professor of Political Studies and Director of Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College and Co-Editor, Youth Voting Rights (De Gruyter, 2026).

“I am thrilled to partner with Bard College to innovate and launch this first-of-its-kind academic course on evolution of the right to vote, coupled with critical skills training to put learning into practice. This summer, as we mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, and the 55th of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, we will equip new voters from across the country with the knowledge and tools to fulfill the Amendment’s promise.” Prof. Yael Bromberg, Esq., constitutional rights litigator, legal scholar of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, and election law professor. Co-Editor, Youth Voting Rights (De Gruyter, 2026).

“The impact of this course for my students has been immense.  Universities often do a great job of expanding students’ worldview, but we should also be more adept at helping them understand their potential to be change makers in their immediate environment.” Prof. Melanye Price, Endowed Professor of Political Science at Prairie View A&M University and Director of the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice.

"We are currently living within a moment where the interrogation and study of the democratic ideals that our nation professes is absolutely essential to the longevity of the American experiment. This class not only provides that discourse, it also posits concrete examples of the power of the youth vote and the various attempts to both amplify and suppress it throughout our nation's history." Prof. Jelani Favors, Vice President, Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute of UNCF, and author of Shelter in a Time of Storm: How Black Colleges Fostered Generations of Leadership and Activism.

Bard College's summer course, Student Voting, Civil Rights, and the Practice of Democracy, is the exact type of affordable, accessible, and impactful opportunity that meets students' needs and the investment this democratic moment demands. Campus Compact is proud to partner with Bard College on this initiative to further our collective goals of educational attainment and deepening student impact." Will Brummett, Campus Compact Director, Student Engagement and Natalie Furlett of Campus Compact, Campus Compact Vice President, Member and Student Engagement

"This course is an essential primer for any college student interested in understanding the history and current state of voting rights in the U.S. The course will also equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to advance voting rights in our democracy.” Jen Domegal-Goldman, Executive Director, ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.

"The story of student voting rights in the United States is undertold and underexamined compared to students' significant and growing role in shaping our elections and our democracy. This course will help student leaders better understand and learn from the hard-won and ongoing battles to ensure our youngest adults have a say in the direction of our country, using lessons grounded in history that feel increasingly relevant today." Clarissa Unger, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Students Learn Students Vote Coalition.

“Students and young people are consistently at the forefront of civil rights work and progress in America. This course offers today’s students the perfect opportunity to not only learn about the history of student voting and democracy, but apply these lessons to real-life work throughout their community.” Jahnavi Rao, President and Founder, New Voters.

Partner Organizations include: ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, Alt Liberal Arts, The Andrew Goodman Foundation, Bard CCE, Bard Early College, Bromberg Law LLC, Brothers@Bard, Campus Compact, Citizen University, The Civics Center, Close Up Foundation, Democracy House, Democracy Matters, Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership, Generation Vote, The Nation, New Voters, Partners for Campus-Community Engagement, Students Learn Students Vote,  and UNCF.

Hashtags: #YouthVoting #VotingRights #26thAmendment #StudentVoting #RealizingDemocracy
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Website: https://cce.bard.edu/
Contact for Assistance: [email protected]
About Bard Center for Civic Engagement
The Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College coordinates a broad range of initiatives that connect students to internships, volunteer opportunities, community engagement, and activism. Bard students tap into their own idealism and vision, developing civic skills that are fundamental for active citizenship.

Bard College and its national and global networks supports more than 10,000 students from around the globe. The College and campus partners are uniquely positioned to bring together a diverse range of students from the United States and abroad. The Voting Rights course is one of 18 being offered this summer for students here in the United States along with students in the Global Higher Education Alliance for the XXIst Century, which includes students attending partner campuses or students attending Bard’s Global Degree program who live in exile or in refugee camps.

“This is a unique opportunity for students in the United States to connect with students from around the world who are actively engaged in their own communities. Given the role young people have played in elections this past year in places like Bangladesh, Nepal and now Hungary, among others, and given the upcoming elections in the United States, understanding the challenges and opportunities available in the voting and election space is timely and important.” Erin Cannan, Vice President for Civic Engagement, Bard College.
 

This event was last updated on 04-16-2026

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