Microcollege

Who is a college education for?

Building on BPI’s values and success, the Bard Microcollege brings high-quality, full-scholarship, liberal arts education to those communities most often excluded from the university experience. Each Microcollege is created in partnership with a community-based institution. Their strength is the result of alliances between organizations that are conventionally separate from one another but have overlapping missions, common purpose, and shared core values.

Partners provide local know-how and credibility, class and study space, and a community from which to draw a student body. They bring their own unique expertise and resources, and are deeply invested in democratizing access to education. These qualities provide a context in which students can focus on and thrive in college. Bard provides an associate in arts degree program with small seminar courses taught in person by experienced professors, academic advising, and tutoring support. Continuing education and career development are a priority from the outset.

Bard Microcollege students are ambitious, intellectually curious, and willing to drive their own learning process. Often, they had been deterred from college, put their educations on hold, or were frustrated by impersonal learning environments. Students apply for federal Pell Grants and state Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) grants. The remainder of tuition and the cost of books are covered by full scholarships.