ABOUT AL-QUDS BARD COLLEGE

Al-Quds Bard College is committed to liberal arts education to create possibilities and lead to discoveries on students’ personal, academic, and professional levels. The undergraduate curricula emphasize a harmonious balance between general knowledge and specific specialization. Their designs aim to immerse students in diverse academic activities in natural and social sciences, computing, humanities and practicing arts.

The AQB Master of Arts in Teaching introduces a new model of theories and practices to the Palestinian school system. AQB equips Palestinian teachers with tools which empower them and their students inside and outside classrooms. AQB takes pride in its commitment to civil society and education, where such a role fills a gap that exists in the society.

Al-Quds Bard College is a place to think and act creatively and effectively.

AQB is the result of a comprehensive dual-degree-partnership, founded in 2009 between Al-Quds University in Palestine and Bard College in the United States. AQB is the only dual degree liberal arts college in the Middle East.

Al-Quds University was founded in 1984 in Abu Dis, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem. For many centuries Abu Dis has been the last stop for pilgrims & other travelers before entering into the walled city of Jerusalem. A branch of the ancient Silk Road passed in front of the Al-Quds University campus.

Bard College is a liberal arts educational institution was founded in 1860 on the Hudson River in Annandale, New York. Out of approximately 4,000 universities and colleges in the United States, Bard College is the only one that has a dual degree undergraduate program with a Palestinian university.

AQB offers eight bachelor’s degree programs, Molecular Genetics, Biology, Computer Science, Social Thought, Economy and Policy (STEP), Human Rights and International Law, Urban Studies, Digital Communication, Media and the Arts, and Literature and Society. The college has a dynamic mix of faculty from Palestine, Europe, the United States, and around the world.

Additionally, the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program serves teachers in history, sciences, biology, English, and mathematics. The MAT program came into reality as a response to a significant need for change in Palestinian public and private education. In this regard AQB’s liberal arts approach comes to value individuals by adopting small classroom models, essay-based exams, and departing from the traditional classic education. It is distinguished by its interdisciplinary programs that overlap in harmony and sequence. This uniqueness contributes to the mainstream-education by adding the liberal arts catalyst that encourage students to think out of the box, embed reflective writing, openness, search with curiosity, and be ready for their future.

AQB is constantly bringing more talents and resources into the university in order to provide students with the necessary knowledge, facilities, and technologies to thrive in a globalizing world. AQB graduates have gone on to top–ranking graduate institutions, including Oxford University, Central European University, SOAS of the University of London, Syracuse University, and AQU’s School of Medicine. They have also received highly competitive awards for graduate study, including the HESPAL, the DAAD, and the OSF, and the Chevening. More than that, about 90% of AQB’s 300 BA graduates have found employment in their field and/or gone on to postgraduate study.

Over the past decade, AQB has graduated more than 500 MAT graduates and 400 BA, recipients.