Barnard College - Overview
A Small Liberal Arts College in the Heart of New York City
Founded in 1889, Barnard College is a small, private liberal arts college for women in New York City. With an undergraduate population of fewer than 2,500 women, Barnard students enjoy individual attention from professors. Small class sizes and a student-to-faculty ratio of 7-to-1 ensure individual attention and support. Additionally, women make up 65 percent of the faculty, nearly twice the national average.
Barnard shares the Morningside Heights neighborhood, known as the Academic Acropolis, with a number of colleges and universities, including its partner, Columbia University. The diverse neighborhoods of Harlem, Hamilton, Washington Heights, and the Upper West Side are nearby. In addition to all the city offers as part of the Barnard experience, students enjoy all of the cultural, artistic, and entertainment options available in one of the world's capital cities.
A Barnard Education
A Barnard education is structured around the "9 Ways of Knowing," the significant areas of study from which all human knowledge has been derived. Throughout her academic career, a Barnard student must fulfill requirements in all 9 areas: ethics and value, social analysis, historical studies, cultures in comparison, laboratory science, quantitative and deductive reasoning, language, literature, and visual and performing arts.
Barnard students begin their liberal arts education with 2 foundation courses, "First-Year English" and "First-Year Seminar," which encourage analytical, research, and communication skills through broad examinations of major themes such as "Reinventing Literary History" and "Reacting to the Past." These courses establish the foundation for college-level writing skills, including language, argument, and composition, essential for Barnard's writing intensive curriculum.
Students must also complete a physical education requirement, demonstrating Barnard's belief that good health is an essential component of a woman's happiness and success.
A Distinguished and Highly Educated Faculty
Ninety percent of the 361 full and part-time members of the Barnard faculty hold a Ph.D. or the highest applicable degrees in their fields of study. Faculty members are regularly quoted in national and international newspapers such as the "New York Times," the "Wall Street Journal," and the "Observer." Faculty publish books across a broad range of topics, including the history of Black dandyism, international architecture, and women in theater. Faculty have been awarded Guggenheim Fellowships, named Carnegie Scholars, and won numerous research grants.
Part of the Columbia University System
Barnard is an independent college in the Columbia University system. Barnard students are free to register for courses at Columbia, one of the premier research universities in the Ivy League; and Columbia students register for Barnard courses in almost equal numbers. Courses in architecture, dance, education, theater, and urban studies are taught at Barnard, while courses in music, computer science, and engineering can be found at Columbia. Academically gifted and highly motivated students may take graduate-level courses at Columbia.
Extracurricular activities at Columbia, including varsity and club sports and the "Spectator," the second-oldest daily student paper in the country, are also open to Barnard students.
Study Abroad
Barnard students are encouraged to explore opportunities to study abroad. The college has over 150 programs with many institutions in over 50 countries, including France, Nicaragua, Tibet, and China. Students who fulfill requirements, including a language requirement, may choose to study abroad for a semester or for a year. Programs include opportunities for home-stay, field research, and direct enrollment.
Internship Possibilities
Two-thirds of Barnard students take advantage of more than 2,500 internship possibilities available. The resources available in the New York area are unparalleled; past students have interned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mount Sinai Medical Center, the Brooklyn Ballet, Polo Ralph Lauren, and with Senator Hillary Clinton.
Some students have interests that take them farther afield; students have completed internships in Moscow, India, and Madagascar. The Office of Career Development works with students to focus their internship goals and find the best possible placement to gain valuable professional experience.
Centennial Scholars
Academically gifted and highly motivated students may be eligible to participate in the Centennial Scholars program, an independent study project intended for incoming first-year students or current freshmen. Centennial Scholars work over several semesters to develop a project that will be presented to the Barnard community. Scholars receive a generous stipend which they may use to off-set the costs of their projects such as research, travel, and books.
Past Centennial projects have included an exploration of community organizing in Buffalo, New York; a photographic exposition of life in Peru; and research on the effects of arts education on children with disabilities.
Music Opportunities at Barnard
Students who would like to take music courses and lessons may do so through the Barnard and Columbia College music departments, with ample opportunities for intermediate or advanced lessons and courses in theory, composition, and history. Barnard College coordinates all voice instruction for undergraduate students at the university, where Columbia takes the lead on instruction for other instruments.
In addition, extremely advanced music students have additional options via the Manhattan School of Music Cross Registration Program and the Juilliard Exchange Program to take professional-level music lessons while earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College. Admission to either lesson program is highly selective and requires a full application and audition separate from the Barnard application.
Housing and Residential Life
Barnard guarantees all incoming first-year students housing for 4 years. First-year students live in multiple-occupancy units while upper-class students live in apartments or suites. More than 90 percent of Barnard students live in 1 of 12 residence halls around the Morningside Heights neighborhood.
Residential life at Barnard is unique for an urban community. Students balance an active and vibrant campus life with all of the excitement of a larger urban setting. For Barnard students, the campuses of both Barnard and Columbia, as well as the neighborhood of Morningside Heights, in addition to New York City, all comprise the campus community.
Dedicated to the Success of Women
Barnard is dedicated to preparing exceptional young women for success.
According to research provided via the Women's College Coalition, there are distinct advantages to attending a women's college. Students at women's colleges are more likely to pursue degrees in economics, physical and life sciences, and mathematics than women at coeducational institutions. Graduates of women's colleges pursue doctorates in math, science, and engineering in greater numbers than do female graduates of coeducational schools, and tend to hold higher positions in their fields and earn larger salaries.
On Barnard's campus, every student service is designed to meet the needs of a single gender community. Primary Health Services, Furman Counseling Center, Advising, and Career Education create their programs to provide the kind of support young women may need as they navigate their academic experiences and life beyond college.