Bard College Berlin was founded in 1999 as the European College of Liberal Arts (ECLA). In 2011, thanks in large part to a decade of generous support by the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation, the college received accreditation as a German university, with the right to award a German B.A. In 2011, ECLA merged with Bard College, a leading American liberal arts college which has its main campu
s in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Founded in 1860, Bard College is an independent, nonsectarian, residential, coeducational college offering B.A. degrees in nearly 50 academic programs in four divisions. Bard College Berlin is a German non-profit organization (gGmbH) and a state-recognized university. The College is accredited in Germany by the Berlin Senate and in the United States by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).