Bard College

Founded in 1860, Bard is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences. The campus, a fusion of two historic riverfront estates, is located in the Hudson Valley. The College offers the bachelor of arts degree with concentrations in more than 40 academic programs in four divisions: Arts; Languages and Literature; Science, Mathematics, and Computing; and Social Studies. In addition, the Bard College Conservatory of Music offers a dual-degree program in which students earn both a bachelor’s degree in music and a B.A. in another field in the liberal arts or sciences.

The faculty-to-student ratio is 1:9 and courses are taught by full faculty members. The typical undergraduate class has 18 students. Among the many distinguished faculty at Bard College are five MacArthur Fellows—poets John Ashbery and Ann Lauterbach, novelist and memoirist Norman Manea, painter and multimedia artist Judy Pfaff, and journalist Mark Danner. Other notable faculty members include soprano Dawn Upshaw, novelist Chinua Achebe, historian and novelist Caleb Carr, journalist Ian Buruma, theatrical director JoAnne Akalaitas, composers Joan Tower and George Tsontakis, poet Robert Kelly, and writers Luc Sante and Francine Prose. Over the years, four recipients of the Nobel Prize in Literature have taught at Bard—Saul Bellow, Isaac Bashevis Singer, José Saramago, and Orhan Pamuk. Click here to see a full list of Bard Faculty.

Bard’s campus is a center from which faculty and staff can explore the rich natural and cultural life of the Hudson Valley. Within a half-hour’s drive of the campus are many of the great Hudson Valley mansions and historic sites. The Bard Music Festival is presented on campus each summer over two consecutive weekends in August and over a subsequent weekend in October. Each year, the critically acclaimed festival explores the life and work of a single composer through chamber music, choral and orchestral performances, symposia, panel discussions, and preconcert talks. Since 2003 the festival has been part of Bard SummerScape, which annually presents operas, films, and theatrical productions that complement the festival’s theme.