Bard College - Academics

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

Bard offers a unique, diverse blend of structure and choice when it comes to academic exploration. Courses with an enrollment averaging around a dozen Bardians allow for the intimate discussion and one-on-one student-professor interaction that wouldn’t be feasible in a larger, more impersonal lecture hall setting. Whether students are mulling over philosophy or working closely with a professor on a particular painting or musical piece, they will always receive the attention affordable in a close-knit academic environment. Many classes are fairly writing-intensive, as professors ask students to compose multiple essays related to the semester’s course work. Others focus on performative acuity or artistic risk taking.

By the end of sophomore year, most students are required to ‘moderate’ into a particular division of study (similar to declaring a major). In order to moderate, the student must first complete a certain number of requisite courses related to their major, as well as (but not always) successfully finish some sort of entrance exam or project. For instance, students moderating into the psychology program are asked to write a critical evaluation of a psychological journal essay, while students entering into the dance program are required to choreograph one or more performances. While moderation is usually a stressful time for Bardians, it ultimately helps to prepare them for future course work and the far more rigorous demands of their senior project.

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Students Speak Out

BarER says: Bard College 2014 Arts, Visual and Performing

The professors are incredible.... The professors are incredible. They are the reason to come to Bard. The classes are small, and the professors are very knowledgeable and helpful. The workload is quite large, but it is worth making the effort. I would say the school is most well-known for programs in the arts: photography, film, studio art, and theater. 12345 Academics: April 27, 2009 Report

Anonymous says:

There are winners and losers at... There are winners and losers at Bard. Some professors shouldn’t be teaching, while others are great. I always try to find out about my professor before I take a class. I’ve had a few professors who ruined a class that could have been amazing. But most are adequate. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

I love my classes. My professors... I love my classes. My professors are inspiring. I can get as much out of them as I want. It’s really up to me. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

My Bard professors have been... My Bard professors have been attentive, almost to a fault. Not only are they available outside of class to discuss the curriculum, but each teacher I have had in my many seminar classes has gotten to know me through my work—my strengths and weakness—and they have encouraged and pushed me accordingly. Because most classes are small, professors lecture for a bit and then open up the class for discussion. That’s another way that professors get to know students—through in-depth, personal interaction. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

Bard professors are highly... Bard professors are highly invested in their students’ educations on both an academic and personal level. 12345 Academics Report

Facts

Did You Know?

Bard attracts many well-recognized and world-famous academics. Writers like Chinua Achebe and John Ashbery are just a couple of the established artists teaching at the college today. Bard’s Writer-in-Residence program ensures that there is never a shortage of preeminent authors frequenting campus, giving lectures, and taking time to meet with students.

While the college continues to uphold a strong involvement in the arts, emphasis has been placed on the sciences. In 2000, Bard College and the Rockefeller University in New York City established a collaborative program in the sciences. As result, courses have been developed for the students of each institution, including opportunities in biochemistry and molecular biology. Rockefeller will reserve places for Bard students in its Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows program.

In 2007, Bard opened the state-of-the-art Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation. Among its open labs and “smart classrooms,” the facility contains many specialized research areas, including a zebrafish facility, and a robotics lab.

At Bard, students can take one-on-one tutorials with their professors. This means that students interested in a particular subject—say, anything from impressionist painting to contemporary rap music—can meet with a professor weekly, develop a personal itinerary for course work, and pursue their interests at their own pace.

Every semester around finals, students are invited to partake in Bard’s Midnight Breakfast—a convivial convergence upon Kline Commons during which everyone can unwind, eat late-night pancakes, and embarrass themselves by singing karaoke in front of the entire school.

The Free Press, Bard’s very own bi-monthly newspaper, received Spin magazine’s “Best College Publication” award.

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