BARD Holyoke

08/13/2026

We’re ready to welcome ✨Cohort 13 ✨ to Language & Thinking on Monday!

06/12/2026

✨ Final Chance to Apply for the Fall 2026 Semester! ✨

Join our tuition-free community-based college for women! Sign-up below to learn more and to attend our admission session on Monday, June 15 at 1pm.

Bard Microcollege Holyoke is an in-person Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. Classes take place at The Care Center in Holyoke MA. To apply for the Bard Microcollege Holyoke Associate Degree program beginning in August 2026, register for an admissions session at The Care Center. Plan to be there for

06/10/2026

🎓Congratulations to the Bard Microcollege Holyoke
Class of 2026! 🎓

05/23/2026

🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓
Watch our brilliant Bard Microcollege Graduates walk the stage live at commencement!

Congrats to the Bard Microcollege Holyoke Class of 2026
🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓

Bard College will hold its 166th commencement on Saturday, May 23, ...

05/20/2026

📣Admissions Open! 📣
We’re excited to share that admissions are open!

Bard Microcollege Holyoke offers a tuition-free Associate in Arts degree for women. Students take small, seminar-style courses in a rigorous liberal arts curriculum at The Care Center in Holyoke, where they also benefit from support services, including help with daycare, transportation, counseling, and social services. You can find our Frequently Asked Questions here: https://docs.google.com/.../1iwk3xPFeJ.../mobilebasic
If anyone you know is interested in applying, they can sign up for an in-person admissions session at The Care Center in Holyoke, where they will learn more about the college and then have up to 90 minutes to write a response to a prompt.

You can sign up to apply to a Bard admissions session at the Bard Admissions link: https://calendly.com/award-bard/bard-holyoke-admissions-2026 (also posted in comments)

If none of these times work for your schedule, or you have other questions, please reach out to Program Director Ann Ward at [email protected].

📣College at The Care Center: Admissions Open!

We’re excited to share that admissions are open now through the end of May.

Bard Microcollege Holyoke offers a tuition-free Associate in Arts degree for women. Students take small, seminar-style courses in a rigorous liberal arts curriculum at The Care Center in Holyoke, where they also benefit from support services, including help with daycare, transportation, counseling, and social services. You can find our Frequently Asked Questions here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iwk3xPFeJ_rMtSCBlZ2gBKB_df6KZZv4VivvWbKGZsw/mobilebasic

If anyone you know is interested in applying, they can sign up for an in-person admissions session at The Care Center in Holyoke, where they will learn more about the college and then have up to 90 minutes to write a response to a prompt.

You can sign up to apply to a Bard admissions session at the Bard Admissions link: https://calendly.com/award-bard/bard-holyoke-admissions-2026?month=2026-05

If none of these times work for your schedule, please reach out. Please also feel free to email Program Director Ann Ward with any other questions at [email protected].

Please share / repost!

05/20/2026

08/31/2025

During Language & Thinking at Bard Microcollege Holyoke, Program Coordinator Julisa DeLeon '19 organized a panel for alumni to share advice with and answer questions from incoming students. Here is some of what they shared:

“You need a team to win. And you will find it here.“ - Jessica Rivera '25

“Stay curious. Don’t let these opportunities they give you pass you by. Check out every flyer on the wall, meet every guest that comes to talk.” - Brenda Hill '19

"You worked for this. Use it to your benefit.” - Joanita Young '23

“Your story to tell should be that YOU make it. That YOU don’t give up.” - Tessa Colon '20

“Do the best you can." - Mary Pion '19

We extend gratitude to all of the students and alumni involved for creating such a strong Bard community in Holyoke!

Bard Microcollege Holyoke is a unique, community-based opportunuty for women of the Pioneer Valley to enroll full-time at Bard College at no cost to them. Bard Microcollege Holyoke, which launched in 2016 as a pilot for future Bard Microcolleges, was developed in partnership between the Bard Prison Initiative and The Care Center (). Learn more at microcollege.bard.edu

08/31/2025

Congratulations to our very own Brenda!!

Congratulations to Brenda Hill, a member of The Care Center community, on her appointment to the Clemente Alumni Council! Representing graduates from The Clemente Course in the Humanities programs across the country, the Council will help shape alumni engagement, support outreach efforts, and provide vital perspective on Clemente’s evolving work.

Brenda Hill is a poet/songwriter from Springfield, MA. She is a graduate of the Inaugural 2015-2016 Clemente class at Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services in Springfield. She was also the former Site Coordinator for the Springfield Clemente site at Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services. She serves as a Writing Consultant /Teachers Assistant at BARD Holyoke at The Care Center, where she graduated in 2019.

There’s still time to apply to join the Bard Clemente Course in the Humanities Holyoke at The Care Center! Class starts in October and runs through mid-May. It is a college seminar that gives women of all ages the opportunity to explore history, literature, philosophy and writing in a supportive, intimate environment while earning six credits from Bard College. Learn more and apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf87v-jSNKv4J5Z1HyqZPQG4h2V-t8tjwGpKQ-W0L_Tcky5Zg/viewform

For more information, email Pam at [email protected].

08/15/2025

Welcome, Cohort 12! ✨

Week one of Language & Thinking is complete! Students have been busy writing, learning, and reading work by Octavia Butler, Hannah Arendt, Claudia Rankine, Layli Long Soldier and more.

After all their hard work, Bard Holyoke and The Care Center celebrated with our annual ice cream truck visit!

05/28/2025

We have opened up one FINAL admissions session for Thursday, May 29! This is the last chance to apply for the fall 2025 semester.

Schedule your session here: https://appt.link/bard-microcollege-holyoke-admissions-2025-2026/writing-sessions