Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability

The Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability include the Bard Center for Environmental Policy and the Bard MBA in Sustainability. The Bard Center for Environmental Policy (CEP) believes that to solve environmental challenges and achieve sustainability in our institutions and in society, government and business policies must be grounded in the best available science. Bard CEP’s cohort-based program and intensive, campus-based, first-year curriculum require students to synthesize information from a range of disciplines and sources. The emphasis on science-based policy enables students to progress from knowledge of the issues to the formulation of feasible, effective policy responses. Distinctive program features include a modular approach to course work; close student-faculty interaction; professional internships; practical training in geographic information systems (GIS), statistics, leadership, and communication strategies; and research opportunities created to fit student interests. The Bard MBA in Sustainability focuses on the business case for sustainability. We train students to see how firms can integrate economic, environmental, and social objectives, the integrated bottom line, to create successful businesses that build a more sustainable world. Graduates of the Bard MBA Program will transform existing companies, start their own businesses, and pioneer new ways of operating that meet human needs, while protecting and restoring the earth’s natural systems. The Bard MBA is a low-residency program structured around “weekend intensives” with regular online instruction between these residencies. Five of these intensives are held each term: four in the heart of New York City and one in the Hudson Valley. Residencies take place over four days, beginning Friday morning, and ending Monday afternoon.