Small courses, international orientation
Bard College Berlin is proud of its American roots.
Although the European College of Liberal Arts (ECLA), founded in 1999, was already well-established as a special Berlin educational institution, it decided to change its name before the 2013/2014 winter semester: “We see the college as an alternative to the big educational institutions in Berlin, and the new name Bard College Berlin highlights our college tradition. It gives our purely English-language liberal-arts program a clearer profile.” There is pride in Rector Thomas Rommel’s explanation, and this comes partly from the college’s American roots.
In 2011 ECLA had merged with the renowned Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York State. Students from about 40 nations are now studying in Berlin in the American liberal arts tradition. English-language tuition is given in small groups in fields such as literature, philosophy and the history of art. Successful graduates receive both a German and an American bachelor’s degree in ‘Humanities, the Arts, and Social Thought’. A bachelor’s degree in ‘Economics, Politics, and Social Thought’ will be added from the 2014/2015 winter semester. Leonard Botstein, President of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, is delighted with the sister college in Berlin: “A successful liberal arts university, attracting students from all over the world, is an immense addition to the cultural and educational landscape of Berlin”.
