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Emergency Eurasian Student Refuge Program

Photo by Scott Barrow
Bard College announces a scholarship program to support 40 Eurasian students who are displaced and unable to continue their education due to the Russian regime’s ongoing 2022 invasion of Ukraine and its impact on the region. The program is aimed at individuals from countries neighboring Ukraine who are affected by the war. It is designed primarily to allow students to begin or continue their undergraduate education. Students will be admitted to Bard College’s main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, and its affiliates in New York City, Bard College Berlin, or Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and in select circumstances, other Bard-degree-granting institutions. This initiative is in addition to the Bard Emergency Ukrainian Student Refuge Program for students from Ukraine.
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БЕЛАРУСКАЯ МОВА (PDF)
русский язык (PDF)

About the Program

These scholarships are open to university students from Eurasia who have lost access to higher education due to displacement following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Students from Bard’s former partners in Russia, first and foremost Smolny College, will be able to complete an education that was disrupted when Bard was declared an “undesirable” organization and a threat to Russia’s constitutional order. We recognize that many students are now displaced due to their opposition to the ongoing war and as a result of a broad assault on liberal arts and sciences education that is taking place in Russia today, including against Smolny. Applications will be welcome from students enrolled in Smolny Beyond Borders courses. Priority consideration will be given to individuals who are under demonstrable threat from their government. Limited opportunities for graduate study will be offered to alumni/ae of Smolny College, subject to meeting admission requirements. Additional opportunities may be available at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, which offers dual-degree programs with Bard College.

Select applicants will be considered for the spring 2023 semester, however the principal start of the Bard Emergency Eurasian Student Refuge Program will be the fall 2023 semester. Applications will be accepted through January 3, 2023. Those who begin their application by then will have until January 10, 2023 to complete and submit all required material. Russian nationals must be outside of the Russian Federation at the time of application.

The primary language of instruction is English, and all students must be sufficiently proficient to study in English. A commonly accepted language assessment score (TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo) is required. Students will take courses in English from the regular curriculums of each Bard institution, although select courses are offered in other languages through the Open Society University Network.

The terms of the scholarship will vary, but each will cover a minimum of full tuition. Housing and living stipends will be available on a case-by-case basis according to need. Scholarships will be for a minimum of one year, with the possibility of renewal.

Bard’s History
Photo by Chris Kendall

Bard’s History

The program builds on previous Bard efforts to support refugee scholars and students. In the mid 1930s, the College gave refuge to distinguished writers, artists, intellectuals, and scientists fleeing Nazi Europe. In 1956, the school welcomed more than 300 Hungarian student refugees fleeing the Soviet invasion. In 2004, Bard helped bring more than 50 students from European Humanities University in Belarus, which was closed by the Lukashenko regime, to complete their education at Smolny College. A similar program was set up for 60 Turkmen students who could not continue their education at the American University in Central Asia in 2010. Bard College Berlin has welcomed more than 50 displaced students through its Program on International Education for Social Change, most of them from Syria. Last year, Bard committed to welcoming 100 Afghan students after the Taliban takeover of the country and this summer Bard College Berlin took in 12 refugee students from Ukraine. The Bard Emergency Ukrainian Student Refuge Program will provide scholarships to an additional 60 Ukrainian students.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Who is eligible?
  • How many scholarships will be awarded?
  • Can students apply to begin their college education at Bard?
  • At which Bard campuses do students in the Refuge Program study?
  • At which campus will I study?
  • Are the scholarships for undergraduate or graduate study? 
  • What types of undergraduate academic programs are available through Bard College and its affiliates?
  • What is the length of the scholarship? 
  • What is the amount of the scholarship?
  • Do I need a valid passport for foreign travel? 
  • What academic records will I need to submit to be considered for the scholarship? 
  • What are the English language proficiency requirements? 
  • Will there be opportunities for dependents and family members? 

Contact

For other questions not answered through the application process, please contact [email protected]. We encourage you to use this email address in lieu of reaching out to other Bard College offices by email or phone.