Academics
Curriculum
BHSEC equips a broadly diverse group of students for upper-level college work through an innovative 9th and 10th grade program and two years of a liberal arts college curriculum.
BHSEC students enter in the 9th grade and complete an innovative high school program, including all required New York State Regents exams, in two years. Then they continue into our liberal arts college program for the next two years. Students are required to maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.0.
After four years at BHSEC, students graduate with 60 college credits, a New York State Regents high school diploma, and a Bard College Associate in Arts degree in liberal arts and sciences. The A.A. curriculum is designed to enable students to transfer to four-year colleges and universities with up to two years of college credit.
The High School Program
In their first two years at BHSEC, students undertake a course of study designed to provide a solid grounding in mathematics, science, history, English, and a foreign language. They participate in a wide variety of arts classes and complete the state requirements in physical education and health. They are encouraged from the beginning to participate in extracurricular activities and community service.
| Subject | Required Courses | Notes & Comments |
| English | Grade 9: American Literature I & II Grade 10: World Literature I & II | The Americas is a comparative history course that surveys the major movements and events in North and South America from the colonial period to the present. The accompanying American Literature course is organized by genre, and covers historical documents and essays, poetry, classic novels, dramas, and short stories. Global Studies surveys the geography and history of Africa, Asia, and Europe from the earliest civilizations through the 20th century. The accompanying World Literature course includes an introduction to ancient mythic and sacred texts of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, as well as examples of epic and lyric poetry, significant political documents, drama, biography, and fiction from a variety of periods and countries. |
| Social Studies | Grade 9: the Americas I & II Grade 10: Global Studies I & II | |
| Math | Grade 9: Algebra and Geometry I & II Grade 10: algebra and Trigonometry I & II | The math curriculum ensures that all students master the basics of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Students with sufficient preparation may also take an accelerated program, including precalculus or statistics, while in the high school program. |
| Science | Grade 9: Physics Grade 10: Biology or Chemistry | Science consists of a two-year introductory program in conceptual physics and biology or chemistry that prepares students for advanced study in the physical and life sciences. Courses are laboratory intensive and inquiry based, integrating Internet and laboratory resources in addition to a classroom reference library. Upon completion, students may demonstrate their comprehension on New York State Regents exams in biology, chemistry, or physics. |
| Language | Grade 9: Introduction to Language: Spanish I, Latin I, or Chinese I Grade 10: Spanish II & III, Latin II & III, or Chinese II & III | Students gain a strong introduction to foreign language study, electing to pursue Spanish, Latin, or Chinese. The high school language program prepares students to work at an intermediate level and above when they reach college. |
| Arts | Grade 9: Introduction to the Arts Grade 10: Studio Art, theater, Concert Choir, Guitar, Piano, Rock Ensemble, Chamber orchestra, Creative Writing | In 9th grade, students receive a grounding in visual art, music, theater, and dance. The following year, students enroll in at least one art class each semester. These include studio art classes, music options (provided exclusively with the assistance of working musicians, including members of the American Symphony Orchestra), theater selections, and creative writing. |
| Physical Education and Health | Grades 9 and 10: General Physical Education, Health Education | Students must complete four semesters of physical education and one semester of health education. |
| Regents Exams | Prior to entry in the Early College: English; Math A or B; Physics, Biology, or Chemistry; Global History; U.S. History | Students must pass the Regents exam in each of the five required subjects to receive a New York State Regents diploma. |
The College Program
Students’ work in the college program builds on their high school studies. Students must complete 60 college credits from among the following classes to receive the Bard College A.A. degee.
| Subject | Sample Courses (catalogue available) | Notes & Comments |
| English and Literature (Two-year seminar program plus four additional semesters required) | First-Year Seminar I & II; Sophomore Seminar I & II; Memoir and Autobiography; Lyric Poetry; Introduction to Caribbean Literature; College Composition; African American Literature; Literature of Latin America; The Novels of Tolstoy; The Magic of Poetry; Mind, Body, and Spirit in the Novels of Dostoevsky; The Writer’s Notebook; Comparative Literature | The required four-semester seminar sequence is the signature humanities course of the BHSEC college program. The seminars are modeled on Great Books courses at Bard College and Simon’s Rock. Readings include Plato’s The Last Days of Socrates, Dante’s Inferno, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Goethe’s Faust, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Forster’s A Passage to India, Marx’s The Communist Manifesto, Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents, and Kafka’s The Trial, among others. (More details available upon request.) |
| Social Science (four semesters required) | German Idealism; Intro to Microeconomics; Understanding Vietnam; Postwar U.S. History; The American City; Gender and History; Empire: Race, Wealth, and Nation; Contemporary Latin America; Freedom and Human Nature; The Renaissance; Art History I & II; Liberty and the Law; The Social Contract; God and Caesar; Athens in the Golden Age; Introduction to Anthropology; American History: Rich and Poor; Political Ideas; Modern Chinese Literature and Film | A wide variety of social science courses are offered each semester at BHSEC. The courses are taught by faculty members from BHSEC, Bard, and Bard College at Simon’s Rock; and by other distinguished visiting writers and scholars. |
| Math (two semesters required) | Regularly offered courses: College Algebra; Precalculus; Calculus I & II; Finite Mathematics; Linear Algebra; Introduction to Statistics. Additional classes: College Geometry; Applied Differential Equations; Cryptology | The math and science programs are designed to serve not only those students eager to pursue science, medicine, engineering, business, and pure mathematics but also those planning to work in the social sciences, arts, and humanities. BHSEC is committed to providing in-depth college courses in math and science to all students, including those who may not have considered taking such courses had they not attended BHSEC. Students are required to take at least one year of college math. |
| Science (two semesters laboratory science required) | Chemistry I & II; General Biology I & II; Physics with Calculus I & II; Astronomy; Forensic Geology; Environmental Geosciences; Biotechnology; Conceptual Physics; Organismal Biology; DNA Science; Coastal Sediment Research; Genetics; atmospheric science; Organic Chemistry | Students are required to take at least one year of college laboratory science and may enroll in physics with calculus, general chemistry, geology, and general biology. Also offered are a variety of semester-long courses in these and other advanced scientific disciplines, plus seminars and independent research projects. |
| Language | Beginning Chinese; Intermediate Chinese; | Upon completing the high school program, students must take intermediate-level |
| (two | Introduction to Chinese Civilization; | college classes in Chinese, Latin, or Spanish. In the intermediate courses, which are |
| semesters | Beginning Spanish; Intermediate Spanish; | conducted primarily in the target language, students read and translate texts and gain |
| intermediate | Advanced Spanish; Spanish Literature | increased fluency in understanding, speaking, and writing. At the end of the year, |
| courses required) | Tutorial; Hispanic Cinema; Beginning Latin; Intermediate Latin; Intermediate French; Advanced French; Classical Greek | they are ready for advanced literature and language courses conducted entirely in the target language. |
| Arts (three credits required) | Introduction to Photography; Painting; Songwriting; Rock Ensemble; Chamber Music; Musics of The World; Theater Production Workshop; 9/11 Mural Project; Playwriting; Dance Ensemble | Most students enroll in at least one art class each semester. These include studio art classes, music options (provided exclusively with the assistance of working musicians, including members of the American Symphony Orchestra), theater selections, and creative writing. |
| Electives | As long as students fulfill all Early College requirements, they may elect to take additional courses from any of the preceding six categories. | Students must complete 60 college credits over the course of their two years in the college program to receive the Bard College A.A. degree. |