Bard College Berlin Achieves Institutional Accreditation through the Wissenschaftsrat

Berlin, Germany – The Professors and University Leadership of Bard College Berlin are pleased to announce that the college has achieved institutional accreditation in Germany through the Wissenschaftsrat. Accreditation is granted as usual for five years. The decision represents the culmination of a process of integration into the German university landscape that began with the granting of state recognition by the Berlin Ministry of Education, Science and Research in 2011. Bard College Berlin achieved accreditation for each of its degree programs, with a BA in Humanities accredited in 2013, and in Social Sciences in 2015. In the United States, Bard College Berlin is accredited through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

The report published by the Wissenschaftsrat observes that the college “places the individual, social and artistic formation of its students at the center of its educational aims” and that it achieves this goal ”through the curricular structure of its programs of study and in regard to the organization of teaching and the attention given to students.” Also noted are the importance of the link between research and teaching, the achievements in research, and the stable growth prospects of the institution.

Enumerating the grounds for its positive decision, the Wissenschaftsrat concluded that Bard College Berlin “has successfully managed to establish itself as a liberal arts college that transcends the opposition represented by universities on the one hand and institutes of higher education with an applied focus on the other. It is the only independent college of this type in Germany, and contributes to the diversity of the German university landscape. Especially worthy of emphasis is the comprehensiveness of educational scope at the college, as well as the extensive support services it offers to its mostly international students.”

Bard College Berlin is an American-German not-for-profit liberal arts college that offers interdisciplinary undergraduate education in the humanities and social sciences in Berlin. It was founded in 1999, and became part of the Bard international network when it merged with Bard College New York in 2011. Students at the college form a highly diverse and international student body of 210 young people representing 54 countries and six continents. English is the language of instruction. Students have access to tutors, support staff, program mentors, and internship placements with local and international organizations. Contacts with a larger international community of student activists, joint workshops and conferences, and study abroad opportunities are available at Bard College New York, and its BA liberal arts programs at network universities in Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, and Russia; through the ERASMUS program and the Higher Education Support Network; and at several other leading universities.

This event was last updated on 07-31-2018

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