Bennington Early College Program
The Bennington Early College Program is a new suite of offerings for high school, gap year, and college students, extending the College’s student-directed, interdisciplinary, and experiential approach to education to remote learners anywhere in the world. These one-credit courses, led by Bennington’s distinguished faculty, are designed for students who want to get a head start on their college experience, or for students already in college elsewhere who want to sample coursework available at Bennington.
Spring 2022 Courses will include:
- Exploring Otherness and Friendship: HBO's My Brilliant Friend
- The Neuroscience of Toxins, Psychedelics, and Other Illicit Substances
- Social Inquiry in an Age of Upheaval
Courses will be one-month intensives for one credit each. Courses may be taken individually or as a series, for students who desire a more in-depth experience. Courses will be offered in three tracks:
Writing and Literature
Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, creative criticism, and literary studies taught by award-winning faculty in Bennington’s graduate and undergraduate writing and literature programs—programs which have produced notable alumni including Donna Tartt, Bret Easton Ellis, Kiran Desai, Jonathan Lethem, Michael Pollan, Safiya Sinclair, Anaïs Duplan, Anne Waldman, Mary Ruefle, and more.
Social and Environmental Justice
Examine the most pressing issues of our time, including racial and social justice, climate change, and economic inequality. Courses are taught by Bennington’s teacher-practitioner faculty who are scholars, activists, politicians, social scientists, and scientists. Today, Bennington College students and faculty are at the forefront of movements focused on plastics reduction, PFOA mitigation, and climate justice.
Politics, Power, and Society
Learn how we create, engage, and change our political systems with courses in political science, anthropology, socio-linguistics, and more. Bennington students, faculty, and alumni are changemakers at a global scale. They have served in the United Nations, been key players in civil rights legislation, advocated for global public health, and more.
Contact Us
Deadlines
Please register no later than one week before the first day of the class you'd like to take. See below for dates.
Pricing
- Courses are priced at $600 per course, and fees are reimbursed for students who choose to come to Bennington. Vermont high school juniors and seniors may use a dual enrollment voucher in lieu of payment.
- If a Bennington Early College Program student later applies to attend Bennington as an undergraduate, they will be reimbursed $300. The balance will be reimbursed if the student enrolls at Bennington.
