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africana studies american studies anthropology art history asian studies biology chemistry classical studies cognitive science computer science dance economics economics and finance environmental and urban studies film and electronic arts foreign languages cultures and literatures french studies gender and sexuality studies german studies global and international studies historical studies human rights irish and celtic studies italian studies jewish studies latin american and iberian studies literature mathematics medieval studies middle eastern studies music philosophy photography physics political studies psychology religion russian and eurasian studies science technology and society social policy sociology spanish studies studio arts theater theology victorian studies written arts bard aplacetothink annandale-on-hudson new york

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you are about to embark on an extraordinary journey construct your own educational program with faculty who are at the top of their fields engage in both traditional and interdisciplinary academic endeavors such as our groundbreaking human rights program the first in the nation explore opportunities to take advantage of unique dual-degree programs that combine a liberal arts b.a with degrees in economics and finance environmental policy climate science and policy or music study-abroad programs and career-oriented internships join a collaborative community of passionate students from all over the world whose international perspectives expand every aspect of campus life connect with the world through civic engagement bard s commitment to projects that help change society the parliament of reality is a permanent outdoor installation by danish-icelandic artist olafur eliasson conceived specifically for the bard campus.

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bard has allowed me to take courses i wouldn t have ordinarily taken i have taken history literature and dance classes alongside my mathematics and computer science courses the interdisciplinary focus allows students to become strong writers and analytical thinkers i have worked at our laboratory for algebraic and symbolic computation part of the bard summer research initiative and studied the computational complexity of finite quandles a type of nonassociative algebras arising from knot theory bella manoim 11 millburn new jersey computer science major the gabrielle h reem and herbert j kayden center for science and computation designed by rafael viñoly architects with the lynda and stewart resnick science laboratories and the lászló z bitó 60 auditorium is home to the biology chemistry and computer science programs photo ©peter aaron 68/esto

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stone row built in the late 1800s as men s dormitories retains its function as student residences and contains office space photo ©peter aaron 68/esto

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what brought me to bard in a word was the faculty to work with joan tower george tsontakis and james bagwell was an opportunity i couldn t miss i had long followed and admired their work and then i found out that each of them taught here it s easy for musicians to focus only on music whereas i wanted to have a broader education that would prepare me for a world that requires a more well-rounded base of knowledge and experience david bloom 13 birmingham alabama dual degree in music composition and philosophy through the bard college conservatory of music the richard b fisher center for the performing arts designed by frank gehry with the sosnoff theater theater two stewart and lynda resnick theater studio and felicitas s thorne dance studio is home to the theater and dance programs and is the main venue for summerscape and the bard music festival photo ©peter aaron 68/esto

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students of the bard college conservatory of music orchestra rehearse with bard president leon botstein conducting in the sosnoff theater of the richard b fisher center for the performing arts.

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we have had the wonderful opportunity to create right here a world-class conservatory within a distinguished liberal arts college with a supportive president who makes it possible students in the conservatory orchestra and chamber groups perform on campus and at venues around the world ranging from alice tully hall to the shanghai world expo we are very proud that members of recent classes have been accepted for graduate studies in music performance at the curtis institute of music,the juilliard school,yale school of music new england conservatory and shepherd school of music at rice university robert martin,vice president for academic affairs director,the bard college conservatory of music professor of philosophy and music

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a rugby game on seth goldfine memorial field in front of the stevenson library complex photo ©peter aaron 68/esto

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the love of learning by leon botstein president bard college many young people arrive at college with a single-minded focus on career and preprofessional education parents and students often harbor the illusion that the purpose of college in contrast to that of high school is to prepare oneself for the practical business of life a phrase that is often reduced to the earning of money too many educators overreact to this legitimate utilitarian claim by preaching about learning for its own sake this is a sort of high-minded old-fashioned special pleading that is actually counterproductive learning for its own sake is wonderful desirable and enjoyable but only after an individual has found a way to connect learning and life in a manner that influences everyday life including earning a living consequently the plea for learning for its own sake doesn t come across very persuasively to most parents and students in the contemporary context it implies that learning in the sense of a more sophisticated understanding of literature history and philosophy the kind of thing one ought to obtain in college is indeed an irrelevant luxury without even an obvious civic benefit therefore we would do well to make it clear that such learning in college must absolutely be considered useful a college that resists the demand that it make a difference in the future lives of students in terms of work is making a grave error particularly if that college works in what is called a liberal arts context the key to this problem rests in the definition of utility it turns out that when it comes to education virtue is its own reward learning for its own sake is the best preparation for functioning competitively and creatively therefore any responsible professor of a course of study on the undergraduate level errs by denigrating learning done by students that on the surface seems unconnected to becoming trained to do a particular task studying philosophy for example might be just the thing an undergraduate engineering major needs to become an innovative engineer.the essential training engineers get in problem solving using mathematics and the procedures of basic science not applied science turns out to be critical in the workplace later on so too is an education in complementary disciplines including history and philosophy likewise a solid understanding of psychology and literature not to mention american economic and social history will serve an undergraduate business major better than a course in marketing especially if that student has the acuity and instinct to recognize its value a second barrier to realizing the promise of the college years is a more general skepticism and antiintellectualism inherent in the popular culture surrounding american adolescents being an adult is symbolically understood in many ways in this country it is not primarily understood as a status that implies learning as a central personal habit as a result on most college campuses there is a staggering gulf between the classroom and after-class life there is in short a sort of jekyll-andhyde phenomenon in very good colleges students work diligently and are attentive and ambitious but the moment class is over and the assignments completed an entirely different pattern emerges american colleges are notable for their vulgarity in terms of extracurricular social life there seems to be no connection between what students are learning and the way they go about living the love of learning 13

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