1. All students must fulfill the “Difference and
Justice” requirement.
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.
2 Additionally, students are required to take four-credits
in each of the nine categories listed below.
Non-native speakers of English may be exempted from the Foreign Language
and Literature requirement. A course may
be cross-listed in different programs, but can fulfill only one of the nine distribution
areas.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
B.A. DEGREE GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
(1) A minimum of 128
credits, at least 64 of which must be taken at Bard’s Annandale campus. (2) A minimum of 40
credits outside the division of
major. FYSEM counts for 8 of these 40 credits. (3) Completion of two
semesters of First-Year Seminar. Transfer students may be exempt. (4) Completion of the
Language & Thinking and Citizen Science programs. (5) Promotion to the
Upper College by passing moderation. (6) Completion of the
requirements of the program into which the student moderates. (7) Completion of an
acceptable senior project. (8) Distribution
requirements: 4 credits from each of the distribution areas. (Transferred
classes may vary.) |
GRADUATION
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
(B.
Music and B.A.) 1 A minimum of 160
credits, at least 64 of which must be taken at Bard. 2. A minimum
of 40 credits outside the division of B.A. major. 3. Every
student must take two semesters of First-Year Seminar. Transfer students may be exempt. 4. Every
student must be promoted to the Upper College by passing moderation. 5. Every
student must complete an acceptable B.A. senior project in a field other than
music. 6. Distribution
requirements: one course from each of the appropriate distribution areas. 7. Studio
instruction (CNSV 100) in every semester of enrollment for performance majors. Composition tutorial (CNSV 102) in every semester
of enrollment for composition majors. All students will have 1st and 2nd year
juries, and recitals in their 3rd, 4th and 5th years. 8. Orchestra
(CNSV 112) in every semester of enrollment for performance majors; additionally,
Winds, Brass, Percussion and Harp will have Orchestral repertory (CNSV 130). 9. Chamber
music: CNSV 108 for Fall of first-year, and for performance majors, CNSV 110 in
every subsequent semester of enrollment . 10. Conservatory
Core Sequence Courses (CNSV 140, 240, 330, 332) four semesters: Music theory (I
and II), Composition for Performers (III), Conservatory Seminar (IV) 11. Aural
Skills (CNSV 308, 309) two semesters. 12. Music
History (MUS 264-265) two semesters. 13. Conservatory Senior Project (CNSV 403)
includes final recital and possible support such as performance seminar and program-note
tutorial. |
PATHWAYS
TO GRADUATION
Single
major - Students moderate in one program, complete
the course requirements, and complete one Senior Project.
Single major with a concentration - Students moderate in both a program and a concentration,
complete the course requirements for both, and complete one Senior Project that
combines the interdisciplinary theories and methods of both the program and the
concentration.
Double major
- Students moderate in two separate programs, complete the course requirements
for both programs, and complete two Senior Projects.
Joint
major - A joint major allows students to achieve depth in
two related fields of study without requiring two separate Senior Projects
(as with a double major). Students complete
the course requirements for two programs of study and produce one unified, integrated
Senior Project involving ideas from both disciplines. Students moderate into two programs, ideally
in a joint moderation, with members from each program on the moderation board and
on the Senior Project board. This option
requires a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and approval by the Executive Committee.
Multidisciplinary Studies major - The Multidisciplinary Studies Program allows a student to select
an area of study or develop an individual approach to an area and then design a
program that integrates material from different programs and divisions in order
to pursue that study. In order to major in
the Multidisciplinary Studies Program, a student must submit a proposal to the Executive
Committee requesting approval for such a program. The ideal time for the proposal is in the second
semester of the sophomore year, as a substitute for moderation into an existing
program during that semester. For a proposal
to be approved, the student must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or
higher, the proposed list of courses must include in-depth study in two or more
disciplines, and the proposed adviser and moderation board members must have the
expertise to supervise the proposed plan of study.