Undergraduate students can earn a bachelor of arts degree in one of approximately 35 stand-alone programs in the following academic divisions. They may moderate into a concentration, or cluster of related courses, in conjunction with moderation into a program.
A liberal arts education offers students both breadth and depth of learning. At Bard, the primary sources of breadth are the First-Year Seminar and the distribution requirements. The primary source of depth is the requirement that each student major in a stand-alone academic program, possibly in conjunction with a non-stand-alone field of study, or concentration, or with another program in a joint major.
Programs and ConcentrationsA program is a sequenced course of study designed by faculty (and sometimes by students in conjunction with faculty) to focus on a particular area of knowledge or a particular approach to an area. A concentration is a cluster of related courses on a clearly defined topic.
A program is a sequenced course of study designed by faculty (and sometimes by students in conjunction with faculty) to focus on a particular area of knowledge or a particular approach to an area. A concentration is a cluster of related courses on a clearly defined topic.
A student may moderate into a concentration, but only in tandem with his or her moderation into a program. The course of study in an academic program begins at the introductory level and moves in progressive stages toward the development of the ability to think and/or create, innovatively and reflectively, by means of the formal structures that the discipline provides.
With a curriculum based on programs rather than more traditionally defined departments, the faculty are encouraged to rethink boundaries between divisions and disciplines and to examine the content of their courses in terms of how the courses interact with one another.
With a curriculum based on programs rather than more traditionally defined departments, the faculty are encouraged to rethink boundaries between divisions and disciplines and to examine the content of their courses in terms of how the courses interact with one another.
This more flexible framework allows students to create interdisciplinary plans of study. Many programs and concentrations, such as Asian Studies and Human Rights, are interdisciplinary in nature and can take advantage of the faculty and offerings of the entire College. For example, the Asian Studies Program may draw from courses in history, literature, art history, and economics.
The requirements for Moderation and graduation differ from program to program and are summarized in the College catalogue. All students must declare a major in a program in order to moderate from the Lower College to the Upper College and become a candidate for the bachelor of arts degree.
The requirements for Moderation and graduation differ from program to program and are summarized in the College catalogue. All students must declare a major in a program in order to moderate from the Lower College to the Upper College and become a candidate for the bachelor of arts degree.
A student who decides to pursue a double major—say, physics and philosophy—must satisfy the requirements of both programs and complete two Senior Projects. A student who pursues a joint major moderates into two programs, ideally in a joint Moderation, and completes course requirements for both programs and a single, unified Senior Project. A student who pursues study in a concentration must also moderate into a program, fulfill all course requirements, and produce a Senior Project that combines the interdisciplinary theories and methods of the concentration with the disciplinary theories and methods of the program.
The requirements for moderation and graduation differ between programs and are summarized in each program description in the College catalogue or on the program’s webpage. Students studying in an interdivisional program generally moderate into both the divisional program, which serves as the home discipline for their concentration, and into the interdivisional program. A student who decides to pursue a double major must satisfy the requirements of both programs.