Bard College

Bard 's main campus is located along the Hudson River in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Bard College’s setting is less like a typical campus than a vast village spread out across 500 acres of parks and woodland. The secluded school is close to the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains.  It is located approximately 45 minutes away from Poughkeepsie by car and approximately the same distance from New York City by train.

Bard was founded in 1860 as Stephen's College by by John Bard in association with the Episcopalian church.  In 1934, the name was changed to Bard College.
Bard has campuses in New York City, Boston, California, Germany, and Russia.


Bard offers courses of study in four divisions—Arts; Languages and Literature; Science, Mathematics, and Computing; and Social Studies—and interdivisional programs and concentrations. Students may also earn a five-year B.S./B.A. degree in economics and finance. The Bard College Conservatory offers a five year programme in which students pursue a dual degree- a B. in Music and a B.A. in a field other than music.


In affiliation with the Schools of Engineering at Columbia University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Dartmouth College, Bard offers programs of study leading to dual bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering.

Another option for Bard students is the 3+2 program with Duke University’s master’s programs in forestry and environmental management.

The Levy Institute M.S. is an innovative two-year degree program that draws on the research and policy expertise of the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. The program emphasizes theoretical and empirical aspects of policy analysis through specialization in one of four Levy Institute research areas, and students are required to participate in a graduate research assistantship. Undergraduates have an opportunity, through a 3+2 program, to earn both a B.A. and the M.S. in five years.

The student to faculty ratio is 10:1.

The Four year graduation rate is 60%.

Bard is a NCAA Division III school.

Bard was ranked # 45 in the US News National Liberal Arts Colleges.
Bard was ranked #1 in the Princeton Review for Best Classroom Experience; #4 for the Most Liberal students; # 7 for the most accessible Professors; and #9 Professors get High Marks. 

The most popular majors at Bard College include: Visual and Performing Arts; Social Sciences; English Language and Literature/Letters; Biological and Biomedical Sciences; and Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics.

To select their major, Bard students must pass through the "moderation" process, which includes a written explanation of their choice and a discussion with professors who help them think carefully about their interests. Before graduating, all Bardians must complete a senior project based on their major, under a faculty member's supervision.

Bard College is need blind for American citizens and permanent residents.

Bard Entrance Examination offers a new way to apply to Bard. The examination is composed of essay questions in 3 categories - Social Sciences, History and Philosophy; Arts and Literature; and Science and Mathematics. The Bard Entrance Examination is an online essay test open to grade 12 and 13 students.  Completion of the test is equivalent to an application for admission.  Candidates who score B+ or higher will receive an offer of admission.  The dedline for submitting a completed examination is November 1.  To log on to the exam, please go to http://www.bard.edu/bardexam.

Bard's First Year programme -
All first-year students participate in a common curriculum—the Language and Thinking Program, First-Year Seminar, Citizen Science—and take elective courses.
First-year students arrive in August. They spend three weeks reading extensively in several genres, working on different writing projects, and meeting in small, dynamic discussion groups with the aim of learning to read and listen more thoughtfully, articulate ideas more clearly, and review their own work critically. The First-year seminar is a two-semester course that presents seminal intellectual, cultural, and artistic ideas in the context of a historical tradition.
First-year students return to Bard in January for a first-of-its-kind course that focuses on a specific scientific issue—infectious disease, for example—and looks at it from different methodological and conceptual approaches.

The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 87.8 percent.

Bard College Conservatory of Music is ranked #17 by The Best Schools.com

Notable alumni of Bard College include journalist Matt Taibbi; actor Christopher Guest; and the founders of Steely Dan, musicians Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.