Degree - Smolny Beyond Borders

Smolny Associate Degree Online Program

The Smolny Associate Degree is a two-year online program that represents the first stage of higher education. Upon successful completion, graduates are awarded the Associate of Arts degree from Bard College.

Admission 2026

Applications for this program are accepted via online form (see link below).

For reference, the admission requirements are as follows:
– Up to 2-minutes motivation video
– A sample of your academic writing in English, written independently and without the use of automated translation or AI tools (waived if you’ve completed an English-language SBB course with grade B+ or higher)
– High school Diploma / transcript
– CV/resume
– Proof of English proficiency (B2 level; standard tests (including Duolingo test scores) are accepted. For minimum and recommended scores, please refer to the FAQ section.
– Contact information for two references who can attest to your academic preparedness (waived if you’ve completed a SBB course with grade B+ or higher)

Shortlisted applicants are invited for an interview.

Please note: We can not accept students who are currently located in the Russian Federation, Republic of Belarus, or North America.

Questions? Write to us at [email protected].

Who can apply

The program is intended for Russian-speaking displaced students from the Eurasian region affected by the war in Ukraine or by authoritarian regimes in the former CIS states. It offers an opportunity for students who are not yet able to attend an international university — due to financial, logistical, or other challenges — to begin or continue their undergraduate education.

Liberal Arts Approach

The educational program builds on Bard College’s expertise in the liberal arts—an approach to learning that centers on the individual, primarily through small group seminars designed to foster thoughtful, critical discourse in an inclusive environment. The program aims to prepare students to be engaged citizens and to promote rigorous, open inquiry, intellectual ambition, and creativity.

Why Choose the Smolny Associate Degree Online Program

This program provides exiled students with a valuable pathway toward higher education abroad. Graduates of the program may continue their studies at Bard Network institutions (starting from the third year and pending admission to these institutions) or transfer their credits to other universities. However, SBB bears no responsibility for admission or financial aid decisions made by institutions within the Bard College network.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Before financial aid, tuition expenses total $5,000 per year.

Thanks to generous financial support, students can receive tuition discounts of up to 90%. In special circumstances, additional financial assistance — including full tuition coverage — is available.

We encourage all interested and eligible students to apply, regardless of their financial status.

Program Curriculum

Over the course of two years, students will develop their learning skills through core liberal arts courses, including Language and Thinking, two semesters of the First-Year Seminar, and Citizen Science, and explore different disciplines in Arts; Languages and Literature; Science, Mathematics, and Computing; and Social Studies. The Program also includes an intensive English-language course. Students will have the opportunity to study in virtual, seminar-style classrooms alongside students from across Bard’s global network, learning with and from each other.

To graduate, students must complete a total of 64 academic credits. The standard course load is 16 credits per semester. In addition to the required courses, each student must complete at least one four-credit course in each of the four disciplines and one advanced-level course. Students may transfer up to 12 credits, but all transfer requests are considered only after successful completion of the first semester.

Required Courses

Language and Thinking

August 10 - August 26, 2026 | Lynn Clausen &...

First-Year Seminar I

Fall 2026 | Victor Apryshchenko & Denis Skopin

English Composition

Fall 2026 | Lynn Clausen & Natalia Fedorova

Citizen Science

Spring 2027 | Evgeniya Polyakova & Michael Allakhverdov

First-Year Seminar II

Spring 2027 | Ilya Kalinin & Pavel Kononenko

Electives

All full-semester elective courses (4 US / 8 ECTS credits) in the program fulfill one of four distribution requirements: Arts; Languages and Literature; Science, Mathematics, and Computing; Social Studies. Students must complete at least one course in each of these four distribution areas. In their second year, students are also required to take at least one advanced (300-level) elective course carrying four credits.

These courses are not only electives within the Associate Degree Program curriculum, but are also available as standalone courses. Applicants who are not enrolled in the full degree program are welcome to apply for individual elective courses and participate on a non-degree basis. However, students in the associate degree program have priority enrollment in elective courses.

The list of elective/standalone courses for the Fall semester will be updated and published soon. The current list is provided to give prospective students an idea of the range of courses typically offered. Beginning in the second semester, students in the Smolny Beyond Borders Associate Degree Program may also select elective courses from the GHEA21 online offerings.