DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM BETWEEN ST. MARY’S COLLEGE OF MARYLAND AND BARD GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN SUSTAINABILITY.
A student in this program will attend St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) for a total of three (3) years total acquiring a minimum of 96 credit hours while completing LEAD and ENST major requirements, and attend a total of two (2) years at Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability. After completing the requirements at Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability, the dual degree student will be awarded a bachelor of arts degree in Environmental Studies by SMCM and a Master’s of Science degree in either Climate Science and Policy or Environmental Policy from Bard.
The dual degree is designed around a unique 2:1:1:1 exchange model, which means it is structured as if students take a year abroad (but in this case, a year A-Bard), plus one final year at Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability after their senior year at SMCM, for a total of 5 years for dual degree.
SMCM students will attend SMCM for the first two (2) years of the dual degree program; reside at Bard for year three (3); and complete their fourth (4th) and final year at SMCM before returning to Bard for their fifth (5th) and final year of the dual degree program.
- Requirements for dual degree students while at SMCM:
- Completion of a minimum of 96 credit hours (course must be passed with a grade of C or above).
- Completion of the required SMCM course pre-requisites for the Dual Degree Study Program (see section 3 below) and all ENST major requirements. These courses count toward the total of 96 credits of 1.a above.
- A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or above, both overall and in SMCM course pre-requisites for the Dual Degree Study Program (see section 3 below).
- Obtain a recommendation letter from the designated dual degree program advisor at SMCM.
- Completion of satisfactory progress towards completion for an ENST major as approved by the department chair.
- Courses completed in Year Three of the dual degree (Year One at Bard) (see section 3 below) will transfer back to SMCM to satisfy lower and upper level ENST Breadth and Depth elective requirements, as outlined by MOU (Course Equivalency Database HERE).
In addition, students may optionally transfer in BARD 507 (Statistics & Econometrics) to satisfy the ENST Toolkit requirement. Completion of the full dual degree program at Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability will satisfy the following requirements for the ENST major, meaning that the courses below do not have to be taken while at SMCM:
- Application Requirement
- ENST 390 (Applied Sustainability Practicum); ENST 391 (Field Study in Sustainable Agriculture); Four (4) credits approved ENST Independent Study, Directed Research, or Internship, Approved Study Abroad, or Field Studies course.
- Capstone Requirement
- ENST 493 and 494 (SMP in ENST); ENST Capstone Seminar plus 4 credit hours of any upper level ENST course not used to satisfy any other ENST requirement; 8 credit hours of SMP in another program; or Capstone Experience in another major with additional upper-level ENST course (not used to satisfy any other ENST requirement) as needed to reach 8 credit hours.
Should students who embark on the dual degree program decide they wish to graduate with just the bachelor’s degree in Year 4, then all ENST major requirements would remain in effect, with Year Three courses transferring back to SMCM to fulfill ENST Depth and Breadth Electives as established by MOU/Articulation Agreement..
If necessary, students in the dual degree program will get an automatic waiver of the SMCM requirement that 30 of the last 36 credits for their degree be completed at St. Mary’s.
2. Requirements for dual degree students while at Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability
- Admission to Bard Programs in Sustainability, which is guaranteed if the student has met the requirements in section 1.a through 1.d, above.
- For the St. Mary’s degree: Completion of at least 128 credit hours, including credits earned both at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and at Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability.
- For the St. Mary’s degree: Completion of at least 44 upper division credits, including credits earned both at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and at Bard Programs in Sustainability.
- For the Bard Programs in Sustainability degree: Completion of approximately 60 credit hours while at Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability, to be determined individually by student and Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability advisor.
- Included with tuition is prerequisite bridge coursework the summer before Year Three of dual degree program (Year One at Bard).
- The pre-requisite courses are held weekly on summer evenings, beginning in Mid July for either two or three weeks. Courses include:
- Quantitative Analysis (12 hr remote)
- J.E.D.I. Training (6 hrs remote / 6 hrs in person)
3. Required SMCM courses in dual degree program (which count towards the required 96 hours in 1.a:
- General requirements for admission to the Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability:
- LEAD 101 or LEAD 301
- LEAD Professional Pathways requirements
- Substantial progress toward completion of LEAD Exploration or LEAD Inquiry
- ENST 100: Environment and Society
- ENST 250: Introduction to Environmental Science w/ Lab
- 3 credit hours of college level Biology with lab or 3 credit hours of college level Chemistry with lab
- While both lab science courses above are required for ENST degree, the prerequisite for entrance into dual degree program is two lab sciences, so other lab science courses at SMCM could be used to meet this Bard pre-requisite.
- An ECON course cross-listed with ENST
- At least one additional course in each of the three ENST tracks
Other course required for dual degree (but not as prerequisites) include:
- ENST Toolkit Requirement (from list)
- ENST Application Requirement (unless excepted, as in 1.e.ii, above). ● ENST 390 (Applied Sustainability Practicum); ENST 391 (Field Study in Sustainable Agriculture); Four (4) credits approved
- ENST Independent Study, Directed Research, or Internship, Approved Study Abroad, or Field Studies course.
- ENST Depth Requirement
- (16 ENST or ENST cross-listed credits, all within a single ENST track; eight (8) credits of which must be at 300-400 level; OR Successful completion of an additional Major, 8 credits of which must be ENST or ENST cross-listed credits within ENST depth track.
- ENST Breadth Requirement
- Eight (8) Credits of ENST or ENST Cross-Listed Courses consisting of four (4) credits from each of the two tracks not used to fulfill the depth requirement.
- ENST Seminar Requirement
- ENST Capstone Requirement (unless excepted, as in 1.e.ii, above).
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