LEARNING
AT BARD
The Curriculum
The
undergraduate curriculum creates a flexible system of courses that gives
coherence, breadth, and depth to the four years of study and helps students
become knowledgeable across academic boundaries and able to think critically
within a discipline or mode of thought. The pillars of the Bard education are
the structure of the first year, including First-Year Seminar; the program- and
concentration-based approach to study; Moderation; the concept of distribution
by modes of thought; and the Senior Project. Students move from the Lower
College (first and second years), which focuses on general education and
introduces the content and methodology of the academic and artistic areas in
which students may specialize, to the Upper College (third and fourth years),
which involves advanced study of particular subjects and more independent work.
Structure
of the First Year
All
first-year students participate in a common curriculum—the Language and
Thinking Program, First-Year Seminar, Citizen Science—and take elective
courses.
The Language and Thinking Program is an
intensive introduction to the liberal arts and sciences with a particular focus
on writing. It is attended by all incoming Bard students during the last three
weeks of August. Students read extensively, work on a variety of writing and
other projects, and meet throughout the day in small groups and in one-on-one
conferences with faculty. The work aims to cultivate habits of thoughtful
reading and discussion, clear articulation, accurate self-critique,
and productive collaboration. Satisfactory completion of the program is
required. Students failing to meet this requirement will be asked to take one
year’s academic leave.
First-Year Seminar: “What Is Freedom? Dialogues Ancient and
Modern” To raise the question “What is freedom?” could hardly be more
necessary today. Why have so many people in so many times and places identified
freedom as a self-evident value, yet excluded many around them from its
benefits? How have different civilizations defined freedom
at different times? What does freedom mean in a democracy, an empire, a
totalitarian regime? How do we understand the difference between “freedom to”
and “freedom from,” between rights and responsibilities? These are just some of
the questions addressed in the First-Year Seminar. In the fall semester, we
ask: “What is political freedom?” Texts include works by thinkers from Socrates
to Gandhi and Hannah Arendt. In the spring, we consider “What is personal
freedom?” in the company of authors including Aristotle, James Joyce, and
Malcolm X. By studying these texts, discussing their ideas in small seminars,
and writing critical papers on them, students establish a foundation for their
learning experience at the College and acquire a shared basis for conversation
with fellow students, faculty members, and the world beyond.
Citizen Science, a
two-and-a-half-week program that takes place during the January intersession,
seeks to promote scientific literacy and introduce
first-year students to methods of evaluating scientific evidence. Students are
challenged to engage with the complexities of scientific inquiry and its
complicated relationship to society. Teaching occurs in three distinct
classroom modules: laboratory experimentation, computer-based strategies, and
problem-based learning. For the past six years, the program has focused on the
critical
theme of infectious disease and the impact that infectious disease
outbreaks and subsequent management can have on global society. Satisfactory
completion of the program is required for graduation from the College.
Under the
First-Year Advising system, all
students are assigned a faculty academic
adviser, with whom they meet at strategic points during each semester. The
advising system is intended to help students begin the process of selecting a
program in which to major, meet the requirements of that program, prepare for
professional study or other activities outside of or after college, and satisfy
other interests. Each student is also
assigned to one of the first-year deans in
the Center for Student Life and Advising.
The first-year dean supports students in their academic pursuits and
helps students navigate personal, social, community, and campus life. Through the Faculty in Residence Program, all first-year students are assigned to one
of four “houses”. These communities of students are led by a house professor whose role is to
nurture intellectual and social connections within and across communities.
First-Year Electives allow
students to explore fields in which they know they are interested and to
experiment with unfamiliar areas of study. Students select three elective
courses in each semester of the first year (the fourth course is the First-Year
Seminar).
Program
and Concentration Approach to Study
Liberal
arts education offers students both breadth and depth of learning. Although
many individual courses at Bard offer both breadth and depth, the primary
sources of breadth are First-Year Seminar and the distribution requirements,
while the primary source of depth is the requirement that each student major in
at least one “stand-alone” program, possibly in conjunction with a
“non-stand-alone” concentration.
Programs
and concentrations are organized within a framework of four academic divisions: Division of the Arts; Division of Languages
and Literature; Division of Science, Mathematics and Computing; and Division of
Social Studies. Some programs, and all
concentrations, are interdivisional, meaning that they are established
interdisciplinary courses of study that draw from several different programs
across the four divisions. Students majoring in an interdivisional program
moderate and pursue the major in one of the four divisions.
Programs
Concentrations
Pathways to
Graduation
·
The Bard Master of Arts in Teaching 4+1 program offers Bard undergraduates a path to an M.A. in teaching and NY state
grades 7-12 teacher certification in biology, history, literature or
mathematics within 5 years of their entering college.
·
Engineering - Bard has several
combined engineering programs with both Dartmouth College and Columbia
University.
See detailed pages
at the end of this booklet for more information.
Undergraduate students must moderate into at least one of the following stand-alone academic programs.
Division
of the Arts
Division
of Languages and Literature
Division
of Science, Mathematics and Computing
Division
of Social Studies
Interdivisional
Programs
Multidisciplinary
Studies Program
The Multidisciplinary Studies Program allows
a student to select an area of study or develop an individual approach to an
area and then design their own program that integrates material from different
programs and divisions in order to pursue that study. Multidisciplinary Studies Programs must have
the support of faculty advisers and be approved by the Faculty Executive
Committee.
Interdivisional
Concentrations
A concentration is an optional course of
study consisting of a cluster of related courses on a clearly defined
topic. Concentrations may only be
pursued in conjunction with a primary program of study.
Moderation
Moderation
is the process by which all students must transition from the Lower College to
the Upper College and establish their major in a program. Moderation is a crucial point in the
individual student's career at Bard in which, with the help of a board of three
faculty members, the student assesses his or her record and plans a future
course of study.
Purpose
of the Moderation
Time
of Moderation
The
Moderation ordinarily takes place in the second semester of the sophomore
year. Transfer students entering with
the equivalent of two full years of credit should, if possible, moderate during
the first semester of residence, but in no case later than the second. In order to postpone Moderation one semester,
a student must obtain the written approval of his or her adviser. Postponing Moderation a second semester
requires approval of the Faculty Executive Committee. For double majors, the second Moderation may
occur in the second semester of the sophomore year or in either semester of the
junior year. Students must be moderated
before they can start a Senior Project.
Procedure
All
students must prepare two short papers for Moderation, the
first assessing their curriculum, performance, and experience in the first two years,
and the second identifying their goals and proposed study plan for the final
two years. All students also submit a
sample of work they have done in the program—for example, a long paper written
for a course.
Students
consult with their adviser to determine the process for scheduling the
Moderation board and to find out about any special papers or other material
that needs to be submitted along with the two short papers. Students must prepare 4 copies of the
required papers and materials to be submitted to the registrar's office and the
three board members by the Moderation deadline.
Moderation
Board Decisions
Senior
Project
All
students at Bard are required to complete a Senior Project. The Senior Project is an original,
individual, focused project growing out of the student's cumulative academic
experiences. One course each semester of
the student's final year is devoted to completing the Senior Project. In order to begin Senior Project, a student
must have completed 96 credits, and must be moderated in the program. The Senior Project must be completed in two
consecutive semesters.
Preparation
for the Senior Project begins in the junior year. Students consult with advisers, and pursue
course work, tutorials, and seminars directed toward selecting a topic,
choosing a form of the project, and becoming competent in the analytical and
research methods required by the topic and form. Students in some programs design a Major
Conference during their junior year, which may take the form of a seminar,
tutorial, studio work, or field of laboratory work. By the end of the junior year, students
should finalize the selection of the Senior Project adviser and two other
faculty members who will serve on the Senior Project review board.
At
the end of the senior year, four copies of the project must be submitted to the
Office of the Dean of the College by 5 pm on the due date. The student is then responsible for
distributing three of the copies to the board members. The fourth copy of the Project is filed in
the Library's archives. Arts division
students who are doing an installation or performance should submit a 1-page
Senior Project abstract on the due date.
Permission
to submit a Project later than the due date must be secured from the Faculty
Executive Committee not later than one week prior to the due date, and must
include the written support of the adviser and an explanation of the reasons
for the request. Late submission of the
Project without permission will result in a lowering of the grade.
Students
receiving the grade of F and desiring to graduate from Bard will have to
undertake an entirely new project. The
due date for the submission of the new project will be no later than two years
after the original due date of the first Project.
Academic Requirements and
Regulations
Bachelor
of Arts Degree Requirements
1.
Completion, by entering first-year students, of the August
Language and Thinking Program
Students
failing to complete the program will be placed on leave and invited to repeat
the program the following August.
2.
Completion, by entering first-year students, of the two-semester First-Year Seminar
A student
who enters in the second semester of the first year must complete that semester
of the course. A student who transfers into the College as a sophomore or
junior is exempt from the course.
3.
Completion, by entering first-year students, of the January Citizen Science Program
A student
who transfers into the College after the second semester of the first year is
exempt from the program.
4.
Promotion to the Upper College through Moderation
5.
Completion of the
requirements of the program into which they moderate
6.
Completion of the courses necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements
7.
Semester
hours of academic credit: 128
(160 for
students in 5-year, dual-degree programs; 156 for Conservatory students who
enrolled before the fall of 2011)
·
At least 64 credits must be earned at the Annandale-on-Hudson campus of Bard
College
·
At least 40 credits must be outside the major division (FYSEM
counts for 8 of the 40 credits)
8.
Enrollment as full-time students for not less than two years at the Annandale-on-Hudson campus of Bard
College or at a program directly run by Bard College
9.
Completion of an acceptable Senior
Project
Distribution
Requirements
The distribution requirements at
Bard are a formal statement of the College’s desire to achieve an equilibrium between breadth and depth, between
communication across disciplinary boundaries and rigor within a mode of
thought. In order to introduce the student to a variety of intellectual and
artistic experiences and to foster encounters with faculty members trained in a
broad range of disciplines, each student is required to take one course in each
of the 10 categories listed below. The distribution requirements for graduation were
renamed and redefined by the faculty in 2016.
D+J
- Difference and Justice
(formerly
Rethinking Difference, DIFF) Courses
fulfilling this distribution requirement have a primary focus on the study of
difference in the context of larger social dynamics such as globalization, nationalism,
and social justice. They will address differences that may include but are not
limited to ability/disability, age, body size, citizenship status, class,
color, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, geography, nationality, political
affiliation, religion, race, sexual orientation, or socio-economic background,
and will engage critically with issues of difference, diversity, inequality,
and inclusivity.
AA - Analysis of Art (formerly AART) The
analysis of arts distribution requirement teaches students to interpret both
the form and content of creative works, including visual and performing arts.
The requirement further aims to help students understand how works of visual
art, music, film, theater, and dance shape, or are shaped by, social, political,
and historical circumstances and contexts.
FL - Foreign Languages and
Literatures (formerly Foreign Language,
Literature & Culture, FLLC) The
study of another language involves not just the process of internalizing new
linguistic forms but also attention to the various cultural manifestations of
that language. The goal of this requirement is to gain a critical appreciation
of non-Anglophone languages and to question the assumption of an underlying
uniformity across cultures and literary traditions. To satisfy this
requirement, students may take any course in a foreign language, a course in a
foreign literature, or a course in the theory and practice of translation.
HA - Historical Analysis (formerly History, HIST) A course focused on analysis of change over time in society,
or the distinctiveness of a past era, using written or physical evidence. The
course should alert students to the differences and similarities of
contemporary experience from past modes of life, as well as suggest that
present categories of experience are themselves shaped historically and can be
analyzed by imaginatively investigating past institutions, texts, and
worldviews.
LA - Literary Analysis in English (formerly Literature in English, ELIT) What distinguishes poetry, fiction, or drama from other
kinds of discourse? Foregrounding the practice of close reading to investigate
the relationship between form and content, these courses invite students to
explore not only the “what” or “why” of literary representation, but also the
“how.” The goal of the requirement is to engage critically the multiple ways in
which language shapes thought and makes meaning by considering the cultural,
historical, and formal dimensions of literary texts.
LS - Laboratory Science (formerly Science, SCI) In courses satisfying the Laboratory Science requirement,
students will actively participate in data collection and analysis using
technology and methodology appropriate to the particular field of study.
Students will develop analytical, modeling, and quantitative skills in the
process of comparing theory and data. Laboratory Science students will develop
an understanding of statistical and other uncertainties in the process of
constructing and interpreting scientific evidence.
MBV - Meaning, Being, and Value (formerly Humanities, HUM) This distribution area addresses how humans conceptualize the
nature of knowledge and belief, construct systems of value, and interpret the
nature of what is real. Such courses may also focus on questions pertaining to
the human moral condition, human society and culture, and humanity’s place in
the cosmos, or on the ways in which civilizations have dealt with those
questions. All MBV courses will pay special attention to analysis and
interpretation of texts and practices, as well as seek to cultivate skills of
argument development and the open-minded consideration of counter-argument.
MC - Mathematics and Computing (formerly MATC) Courses satisfying the Mathematics and Computation requirement
challenge students to model and reason about the world logically and
quantitatively, explicitly grappling with ambiguity and precision. Students
will learn and practice discipline-specific techniques and, in doing so,
represent and communicate ideas through mathematical arguments, computer
programs, or data analysis.
PA - Practicing Arts (formerly
PART) The
practicing arts distribution requirement emphasizes making or performing as an
educational process. Courses develop students’ creative and imaginative
faculties by focusing upon a set of artistic skills or working methods. Fields
of study include dance, theater, music performance and composition, film
production, creative writing, and the visual arts. Students will learn through
experiential practices in order to cultivate the self as a primary agent of
expression, cultural reflection, and creativity.
SA - Social Analysis (formerly Social Science, SSCI) Courses in this area approach the study of people and society at a
variety of levels of analysis, ranging from the individual to large social
institutions and structures. Consideration is given to how people relate to and
are shaped by social structures, divisions, and groups, such as politics,
economics, family, and culture, as well as their past experiences and immediate
situations. The goal of this
distribution requirement is to understand one’s own or others’ place within a
wider social world, and thus these courses are central to discussions about
citizenship, ethics, and the possibilities and limits of social change.
Evaluation
and Grading System
Every student receives a criteria sheet in every course which
contains midterm and final grades and comments by the instructor about the
student’s performance.
Grading System The academic divisions regularly use
a letter grading system, although in some instances a pass/fail option may be
requested. Students must submit a request before the end of the drop/add period
to take a course pass/fail. Professors may accommodate requests at their own
discretion. An honors grade (H) in the Arts Division is the equivalent of an A.
Unless the instructor of a course specifies otherwise,
letter grades (and their grade-point equivalents) are defined as follows. (The
grades A+, D+, and D- are not used at Bard.)
A, A– (4.0,
3.7) Excellent work
B+, B, B– (3.3,
3.0, 2.7) Work that is more than satisfactory
C+, C (2.3,
2.0) Competent work
C–, D (1.7,
1.0) Performance that is poor, but deserving of credit
F Failure
to reach the standard required in the course for credit
Incomplete
(I) Status All work for a course must be
submitted no later than the date of the last class of the semester, except in
extenuating medical or personal circumstances beyond a student’s control. In
such situations, and only in such situations, a designation of Incomplete (I)
may be granted by the professor at the end of the semester to allow a student
extra time to complete the work of the course. It is recommended that an
incomplete status
not be maintained for more than one semester, but a professor may specify any
date for the completion of the work. In the absence of specification, the
registrar will assume that the deadline is the end of the semester after the
one in which the course was taken. At the end of the time assigned, the I will be changed to a grade of F unless another default
grade has been specified. Requests for grade changes at later
dates may
always be submitted to the Faculty Executive Committee.
Withdrawal
(W) from Courses After the drop/add deadline, a
student may withdraw from a course with the written consent of the instructor
(using the proper form, available in the Office of the Registrar). Withdrawal
from a course after the withdrawal deadline requires permission from the
Faculty Executive Committee. In all cases of withdrawal, the course appears on
the student’s criteria sheet and grade transcript with the designation of W.
Registration
(R) Credit/Audit Students wishing to explore an
area of interest may audit a course with the instructor’s permission. The audited course is entered on their record
but does not earn credits toward graduation. To receive the registration (R)
credit, a student’s attendance must meet the requirements of the instructor.
Academic
Policies
Pass/Fail/D As of fall 2016, students can request to take a
course that is normally letter graded as pass/fail/D until 5:00 p.m. on the
fifth Wednesday of the term. The petition requires the signature of the
professor. Students must now earn the
equivalent of a C or better in the course to get the grade of P. A grade of P does not factor into the
GPA. If a student earns a D or F in the
course, these grades will be recorded on the transcript and will factor into
the GPA. There is no grade of C- with
pass/fail/D; the grade must be either a P, a D, or an
F.
Drop/Add
and “Late” dropping As of fall 2016, the drop/add period extends from the
first day of class until 5 p.m. on Wednesday of the second week of
classes. Drop/add requires the signature
of the professor and the student’s adviser.
Provided the 12 credit full-time enrollment minimum is observed, courses
may be “late” dropped until 5:00 p.m. on the fifth Wednesday of
the term. Late drop requires the
signature of the professor, the student’s adviser, and a registrar. Late drop is not available to part-time
students.
Credit
limits A normal course load is 16 credits each semester. No student may take more than 18 credits in
their first semester at Bard. After the
first semester, students wishing to take more than 18 credits must complete the
Irregular Program Form (available in the Registrar’s Office) and have a GPA of
3.6 or higher in the preceding semester and
cumulatively. Exceptions must be
approved by the dean of studies.
IB
& AP transfer credits Students who earn a
score of 5 on a high school Advanced Placement exam will be given 4 college transfer
credits. A score of 5 or higher on an International Baccalaureate exam will earn 8 credits
for each higher level course and 4 credits for each standard level course. A maximum of 32 AP and IB credits may be transferred
in. High
school Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses may not be used to satisfy distribution
requirements, and in some programs may not be used to satisfy program
moderation or graduation requirements.
Academic Standing
The Faculty Executive Committee determines the status of students
with academic deficiencies, with attention to the following guidelines:
A warning letter may be
sent to students whose academic work is deficient but does not merit probation.
Academic
Probation
Mandatory
Leave of Absence
Dismissal
Decisions
about a student’s status are made at the discretion of the Faculty Executive
Committee, taking into consideration the student’s entire record and any
recommendations from the student’s instructors and advisers and relevant
members of the administration. Academic dismissal appears on a student’s
transcript.
Plagiarism
and Academic Dishonesty
To
plagiarize is to “steal and pass off as one’s own the ideas, words, or writings
of another.” This dictionary definition is quite straightforward, but it is
possible for students to plagiarize inadvertently if they do not carefully
distinguish between their own ideas or paper topics and those of others. The
Bard faculty regards acts of plagiarism very seriously. Listed below are
guidelines to help students avoid committing plagiarism.
Penalties for Plagiarism / Academic
Dishonesty
Students
who are found to have plagiarized or engaged in academic dishonesty will be
placed on academic probation. Additional penalties are as follows:
The
following penalties may be imposed on a student who writes a paper or part of a
paper for another student (even if this is done during a formal tutoring
session):
Any
student accused of plagiarism, academic dishonesty, or writing for another’s
use may submit a written appeal to the Faculty Executive Committee. Appeals are
ordinarily submitted in the semester in which the charge of plagiarism is made;
they will not be considered if submitted later than the start of the semester
following the one in which the charge of plagiarism is made. The findings of this
body are final.
Students
may not submit the same work, in whole or in part, for more than one course
without first consulting with and receiving consent from all professors
involved.