Barnard Pre-College Programs is committed to providing the young women who join our programs with a community to grow and learn intentionally and safely. Our programs are academically rigorous, enriching, and exploratory.

Credit

Residential

Commuter

Accepts International Students

Financial Aid

Students enroll in one 3-credit course taught by a member of Barnard's world renowned faculty. Courses are held on campus, run for 7 weeks, and are fast paced and rigorous. Outside of the classroom students are part of our Barnard community and will explore New York City, participate in college readiness workshops and career exploration panels.
Our Pre-Baccalaureate offerings will give students the opportunity to participate in undergraduate level courses on Barnard and Columbia's campus. Professors lecture in person but may choose to upload class recordings simultaneously.
All Pre-Baccalaureate students will be matched with a Peer Academic Leader to foster collaboration and community engagement among enrolled students. Peer Academic Leaders are meant to ease the transition to a college environment for our students. Weekly workshops will be held by our Student Success Coordinator to discuss college readiness tips and tactics for completing your course of study successfully, topics to include but not limited to time management, studying skills, self advocacy, financial literacy, etc.
Upon successful completion of your course you will receive a letter grade and official transcript from Barnard College, Columbia University.

Summer 2023 Pre-Baccalaureate Course Offerings
Students can choose from one of our 8 courses by indicating their first and second choice course in their application.

From Forensics to Art Conservation – The Jazz of Chemistry

The contribution of chemistry to everyday life is immense. The applications of chemistry in medicine, petrochemicals, cosmetics, and food are readily apparent. However, chemistry is a key part of many other fascinating fields, some of which may be less obvious. Examples of areas in which chemistry plays a key role include forensic science; art restoration and forgery detection; and flavors and fragrances in food, beverages and other consumer products. The goal of this course is to provide insights and spur discussion of several areas and applications of chemistry, and provide hands-on experience in techniques used in these fields sparking the curiosity of Barnard students into this marvelous field.

Queer Genres

In this class, we will focus on queer narratives of the self to explore how authors represent queerness across centuries and genres, and how these queer narratives are informed by various historical, national, cultural and political contexts. Through a comparative, transnational and intersectional approach that takes into account the particularities of each author’s context, we will aim to answer the following questions: How do various cultural, national, linguistic, religious or political contexts affect the way queer identities are defined and represented in literature? How do these authors represent the intersections of queerness with race, class, ethnicity, disability and citizenship? How have queer narratives developed over time and across cultures in conversation with local and global modes of conceptualizing gender and sexuality? How do queer authors utilize the particularities of each genre to create new forms of self-expression?

The Art of the Essay

The Art of the Essay is a writing workshop designed to help you contribute meaningfully in public discourse about the issues that matter most to you. You will write three types of essays in this class, all of which will center personal experience as valuable evidence of larger phenomena or patterns. Your essays will build in complexity, as you introduce more types of sources into conversation about your topics as the semester goes on. You will hone your skills of observing, describing, questioning, analyzing, and persuading. You will be challenged to confront complications and to craft nuanced explorations of your topics. We will also regularly read and discuss the work of contemporary published essayists, identifying key writerly moves that you may adapt as you attempt your own essays. You will have many opportunities throughout the semester to brainstorm ideas, receive feedback from me and your peers, and develop and revise your drafts. At the end of the semester, you will choose a publication to which to submit or pitch one or more of your essays.

New York City in Film

This course will explore the representation of New York City in film. We will examine the way that film portrays social problems and either creates or responds to “social panics.” We will also examine the way in which film actively creates an idea of “New York” through cinematography, directing, acting and other aspects of filmmaking. Some topics to be considered are utopia/dystopia, race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, art, immigration, houselessness, and gentrification. The course follows three main themes: 1. How the filmmaking process (camera movements, lighting, dialogue, acting, etc.) is used as a method to describe space (filmmaking as a geographic method). 2. How various genres of film have been used to portray the social geography of New York City (the geography of film). 3. The relationship between the viewer’s “place” and the places portrayed in the film (communication geography). Finally, we will also consider how our personal sense of place towards New York City has altered throughout the course.

Bad Love

Together, we will read stories of romance gone bad, of affairs that end catastrophically, that damage lovers or leave victims along the way. We will illuminate the consuming fantasy of the romance genre in its quest for “true love,” as well as a range of emotions – rage and revenge, narcissism and self-protection, obsession and oblivion – that surface in its wake. We will also look at shifting interpretations of “bad love,” from Plato, to the Galenic theory of the humors, to the sociology of court-culture, to Freudian and finally contemporary neurobiological explanations of feelings. Students are welcome to propose texts of their own interests to open this course to the widest range of interests. In addition to seminar discussion, there will be weekly individual tutorials with Professor Hamilton as well as interviews with a neurobiologist and a psychologist.

Dead Mothers and Wicked Stepmothers: The Maternal in Folk and Fairy Tales

You know them well: on one side, the scheming, jealous stepmother, obsessed with her fading youth. On the other, her husband’s virginal, naive, and beautiful daughter – whose own mother is usually dead. The conflict between them is so familiar that it feels inevitable. Where, though, did these nearly universal figures come from? Why are they so ingrained in the imaginations of people around the world and across the millennia? In this course, we’ll explore the roots of the maternal in folk and fairy tales. We’ll analyze a variety of stories and films to investigate the “absent mother,” “virginal daughter,” and “wicked stepmother” from different critical perspectives, paying special attention to analytical psychology and feminist psychoanalytic and literary theory, to try to figure out why these figures are so compelling, so ubiquitous, and so hard to shake.

Feminism, Science, and Reproductive Tech

Reproductive technologies can refer to a wide range of techno-medical tools—contraceptives, pharmaceuticals, prenatal/genetic testing, ultrasound imaging, assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs)—all of which powerfully influence reproductive experiences across the spectrum of pregnancy. We’ll analyze the sociocultural dimensions of these often highly controversial reproductive technologies. How does reproductive technology shape how we relate to reproduction—how we imagine, experience, and construct identities around reproductive processes? How do they both perpetuate and disrupt notions of race, gender, class, and ability? What freedoms do these reproductive technologies promise, and for whom? Course material will focus on the intersections between feminist science and technology studies, critical race and ethnic studies, and reproductive health.

Feminist Life Writing

Feminists have famously claimed that "the personal is political." Accordingly, life writing--in various genres--has been an important form for feminists across generations. In this class, we will explore the different ways in which feminists have used these modes to create visions of the self, to challenge the roles and self-images given to them, and to imagine new narratives. In particular, we'll explore questions of genre: so many of these writers have developed hybrid genres or challenged the boundaries of genre in order to write their lives. Looking at examples of life writing including letters, diaries and journals, graphic memoirs, and "traditional" autobiographies, we will examine these forms through the lens of gender, race, sexuality, class, and disability. Readings are subject to change, but may include: Audre Lorde, Zami; Alison Bechdel, Fun Home; Cherrie Moraga, Loving in the War Years; Maggie Nelson, The Argonauts; Maxine Hong Kingston, Woman Warrior; poems by Adrienne Rich; Carmen Maria Machado, In the Dream House; This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color; Janet Mock, Redefining Realness, and selected shorter pieces. Additionally, we will read critical and theoretical works that will urge us to consider our primary texts from various critical approaches: including sexuality studies, critical race studies, disability studies, and transgender studies.

Pre-Baccalaureate Program

Jun 30 - Aug 16

7 weeks

Residential

13724 USD

Session 1B

Jun 30 - Aug 16

7 weeks

Commuter

9434 USD

Tuition and Fees 2024 - TBA
Tuition 2023 (per 3-credit course):
Residential - $13,724
Commuter - $9,434
Student Activities/Tech Fee- $60
Our office requires a $800 deposit towards tuition at the time of registration but families are welcome to pay any amount over $800 at that time. Students and families will be able to access their registration portal 24/7 to pay tuition in as many or as few installments as they want up until the deadline for tuition to be paid in full.
Our registration portal accepts all major credit cards. Please note that if you pay via credit card, you will be charged a 4.5% processing fee by the website.
Families are also able to pay tuition via check. Once your check is received and processed, your balance will update in your registration portal.

Tuition is due in full by May 24, 2024.

Financial Aid

Each year our office is able to provide a limited amount of need-based financial aid to students. Our aid is need based ONLY. Our office does not provide merit based scholarships.
Financial Aid is only available for our Summer Programs.
Our office does not provide financial aid for international students.
To be considered for financial aid, students must submit the required financial aid application and documents along with their Pre-College Program Application. Financial aid applications, like program applications, are reviewed on a rolling basis. Students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible if they wish to apply for financial aid. After a student is accepted to the program, they will receive a follow up email letting them know whether or not we are able to award them aid. Students who receive aid will receive a voucher code to reduce their tuition at the time of registration.