Bachelor in Environmental Studies (Bachelor's)

Tuition is Tuition for the 2025-2026 academic year is $61,500..

This programme is designed for students who want to explore environmental issues through interdisciplinary study. It combines insights from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences to address complex environmental challenges. Students create individualized plans with faculty guidance, integrating coursework, research, and real-world experience. The programme emphasizes practical engagement through internships, community projects, and field work.

Focus areas include climate change response, sustainable food systems, environmental policy, conservation management, environmental communication, ecological research.

Students design their own curriculum through a student-led Plan. The programme includes coursework, Field Work Term internships, independent research, and a culminating project. No fixed credit total is specified for the full degree.

Graduates work in applied scientific research, policy development, conservation management, and political advocacy.

Applicants must submit a personal statement, academic transcripts, and letters of recommendation. There are no specific prerequisite courses required. The college evaluates applicants based on their academic record and personal motivation.

On-campus, full-time, typically four years. For international students, tuition is well above the median for US programmes. The institution admits about 48% of applicants.

Bennington organizes learning around student-designed plans and close faculty collaboration. Students build a four-year academic program, connect with a faculty team, and pursue interests across areas of study rather than following a narrowly prescribed path. The College's academic strengths include the visual and performing arts, experimental writing, music, biology, cognitive science, astronomy, conservation biology, and psychology. Faculty work includes research on endocrinology, behavioral ecology, ornithology, and conservation biology, alongside creative work in books, music, composition, sound design, drama, dance, and visual art.

Practical experience has been part of a Bennington education since the beginning through Field Work Term. Students complete four internships, spending six weeks each year working off campus. Recent placements have included a theatre production, a press evaluating poetry submissions, and the New York Supreme Court. This arrangement gives students recurring opportunities to connect academic interests with work beyond campus while building experience before graduation.

The College sits on a 440-acre campus in Bennington, Vermont, with mountain views, houses, classrooms, studios, laboratories, stages, workshops, and access to nature. The Visual and Performing Arts Center houses visual arts, drama, and dance. Students join clubs, organizations, events, dining spaces, the library, and workshops within an inclusive community. International students should note the dedicated International Student Orientation and the option to bring up to 32 credits as a first-year student or 64 as a transfer student.