Graduates of Bard College earn median 4-year earnings of $45,380, placing Bard College in the 2.9 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $33,567 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing Bard College in the 1.9 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Bard College #1424 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern reflects Bard College's distinctive program portfolio. Fine and Studio Arts is the largest program with 138 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $34,667, representing 0.8x the national benchmark for the field. The Social Sciences program graduates 125 students earning $48,751, and the The Biological and The Physical Sciences program graduates 77 students earning $64,518. The concentration in Visual & Performing Arts — which anchors the institution's degree output — shapes both the earnings distribution and the career pathways available to graduates. English Language and Literature/Letters, Other and Music round out the top programs, each contributing to the institution's overall economic profile.
Graduates of Bard College earn median 4-year earnings of $45,380, placing Bard College in the 2.9 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $33,567 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing Bard College in the 1.9 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Bard College #1424 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern reflects Bard College's distinctive program portfolio. Fine and Studio Arts is the largest program with 138 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $34,667, representing 0.8x the national benchmark for the field. The Social Sciences program graduates 125 students earning $48,751, and the The Biological and The Physical Sciences program graduates 77 students earning $64,518. The concentration in Visual & Performing Arts — which anchors the institution's degree output — shapes both the earnings distribution and the career pathways available to graduates. English Language and Literature/Letters, Other and Music round out the top programs, each contributing to the institution's overall economic profile.
Latest FE earnings field: 10-year
Lower quartile, 10-year field
How graduate earnings grow across the currently available FE horizons.
Financial justification for the investment.
Graduates of Bard College earn median 4-year earnings of $45,380, placing Bard College in the 2.9 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $33,567 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing Bard College in the 1.9 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Bard College #1424 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern reflects Bard College's distinctive program portfolio. Fine and Studio Arts is the largest program with 138 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $34,667, representing 0.8x the national benchmark for the field. The Social Sciences program graduates 125 students earning $48,751, and the The Biological and The Physical Sciences program graduates 77 students earning $64,518. The concentration in Visual & Performing Arts — which anchors the institution's degree output — shapes both the earnings distribution and the career pathways available to graduates. English Language and Literature/Letters, Other and Music round out the top programs, each contributing to the institution's overall economic profile.
Program mix and student pathways explain much of the earnings story.
Bard College's program mix is anchored in visual and performing arts, humanities, and social sciences—a signature aligned with the institution's liberal arts identity and creative focus. Fine and Studio Arts is the largest program with 138 graduates, followed by Social Sciences, Biological and Physical Sciences, English Language and Literature/Letters, Other, and Music. The institution's Visual & Performing Arts concentration reflects a distinctive curricular emphasis that shapes both the student experience and post-graduation career pathways. Median earnings four years after enrollment vary across Bard College's programs, with the highest-earning fields anchoring professional and applied disciplines. Biological and Physical Sciences graduates earn median earnings of $64,518 four years after enrollment, while English Language and Literature/Letters, Other graduates earn $50,402 and Social Sciences graduates earn $48,751. These earnings patterns reflect the institution's positioning as a liberal arts college where career outcomes depend substantially on field selection and post-graduate specialization choices. The earnings distribution across Bard College's programs illustrates the trade-offs inherent in a creative and humanities-focused curriculum. Students pursuing Fine and Studio Arts and Social Sciences—the institution's largest cohorts—enter fields where four-year earnings reflect early-career positioning in creative industries, nonprofit work, or graduate-school-dependent pathways. By contrast, students in applied and professional fields see stronger early earnings, though these cohorts are smaller. The supply and demand for college graduates provides context for how Bard College's dominant program families align with labor-market demand and long-term career sustainability.
Upper quartile, 10-year field
Graduates of Bard College earn median 4-year earnings of $45,380, placing Bard College in the 2.9 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $33,567 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing Bard College in the 1.9 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Bard College #1424 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern reflects Bard College's distinctive program portfolio. Fine and Studio Arts is the largest program with 138 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $34,667, representing 0.8x the national benchmark for the field. The Social Sciences program graduates 125 students earning $48,751, and the The Biological and The Physical Sciences program graduates 77 students earning $64,518. The concentration in Visual & Performing Arts — which anchors the institution's degree output — shapes both the earnings distribution and the career pathways available to graduates. English Language and Literature/Letters, Other and Music round out the top programs, each contributing to the institution's overall economic profile.
See which programs drive the strongest earnings and career trajectories
