IB Pathways
Students enjoy the lawns behind the ECLA of Bard dorms

Berlin · Germany · Research university

Bard College Berlin

Small English-taught liberal arts college in Berlin: about 300 students from 71 countries, classes of about 10, and a German plus a US BA.

Irina.stelea · CC BY-SA 3.0

In English
3 programmes
City
Berlin
Apply via
Common App or BCB's own online form
Next deadline
1 Nov 2026

Deadlines

  1. 1 May 2027

    Final deadline: EU/EEA, UK, US and 11 other named countries (Switzerland not listed)
    Hard deadline
    DetailsSource

  2. 31 May 2027*

    Medicine group closes for gap-year applicants (leaving certificate before mid-January)
    Hard deadline
    Details

    This deadline applies if your school-leaving certificate predates 16 January of the application year, which for an IB candidate means you took a gap year. Straight from the Diploma, this is not your deadline.

    Published as "31.05.2026 - Ende der Bewerbungsphase (Ausschlussfrist) fuer Alt-Abiturient*innen", qualified "mit einem HZB-Zeugnis vor 16.01.2026". If you take a gap year and apply with your 2027 diploma for 2028 entry, you become an Altabiturient and the deadline moves forward by six weeks. An Ausschlussfrist cannot be extended, and hochschulstart says so explicitly - not even where the applicant is blameless. hochschulstart.de carries only two tables, Wintersemester 2026/27 and an archive of Sommersemester 2026, and no Wintersemester 2027/28 dates exist anywhere on the site. Judging by this cycle the winter table appears in spring, so recheck from about March 2027.

    Source

  3. 15 July 2027*

    Medicine and neighbours close — for applicants with a 2027 certificate
    Hard deadline
    Details

    The deadline for a student applying straight from the May 2027 session. Roughly a week after results, so the paperwork has to be ready before they arrive.

    Published as "15.07.2026 - Ende der Bewerbungsphase (Ausschlussfrist) fuer Neu-Abiturient*innen", qualified "mit einem HZB-Zeugnis nach 15.01.2026". Your IB results arrive 6 July 2027, so you fall in the Neuabiturient group and this is the deadline that matters. Which group you are in turns on the date printed on the certificate, not on when you apply. hochschulstart.de carries only two tables, Wintersemester 2026/27 and an archive of Sommersemester 2026, and no Wintersemester 2027/28 dates exist anywhere on the site. Judging by this cycle the winter table appears in spring, so recheck from about March 2027.

    Source
All dates for this school (6 more)

  1. 1 November 2026

    Early Action: application and financial aid application due
    DetailsSource

  2. 31 December 2026

    Early Action decisions
    DetailsSource

  3. 10 January 2027

    Regular Decision deadline; also registration for the Berlin Immediate Decision day
    DetailsSource

  4. 6 February 2027

    Immediate Decision Plan day in Berlin (apply face to face)
    DetailsSource

  5. 1 June 2027

    Final-deadline decisions (EU/EEA and the listed countries)
    DetailsSource

  6. 6 July 2027*

    IB results released
    Details

    Early July, which is what places an IB candidate in the later medicine group rather than the earlier one.

    Source

* Last year’s date, not yet confirmed.

Every date in Germany

What you could study here

EU/EEA tuition: €27,500 a year (2026/27, off campus).

What it asks of IB students

The German BA needs an IB that meets Germany's KMK rule (six set subject groups, a 4 in each); BCB publishes it as an IB sheet. English at C1, waived after a year of English-taught school.

Where it says so

Where it says so

Its IB recognition statement

Worth knowing

There is no application fee; you send a motivation statement, a graded essay written for a class and two teacher recommendations, and shortlisted applicants get a 30-minute online interview.

All 3 notes
  • There is no application fee; you send a motivation statement, a graded essay written for a class and two teacher recommendations, and shortlisted applicants get a 30-minute online interview.
  • If your IB does not meet Germany's recognition rule you can still earn the US BA, which BCB grants on the basis of your national school diploma.
  • The 2026/27 comprehensive fee is €38,250 on campus or €27,500 off campus, and BCB says 85% of students receive financial aid.

Sources
  1. Bard College Berlin — Application requirements, first-year BA (interview: "Only applicants who receive an interview invitation will proceed"; B1 German by the end of year two) — checked 2026-09-30
  2. Bard College Berlin — Information sheet on IB Diploma recognition in Germany (updated September 2026) — checked 2026-09-26
  3. Bard College Berlin — Admissions (three BA programmes) — checked 2026-09-26
  4. Bard College Berlin — BA in Economics, Politics, and Social Thought — checked 2026-09-26
  5. Bard College Berlin — BA in Humanities, the Arts, and Social Thought — checked 2026-09-26
  6. Bard College Berlin — BA in Artistic Practice and Society — checked 2026-09-26
  7. Bard College Berlin — Tuition and fees 2026-27 — checked 2026-09-26
  8. Bard College Berlin — Financing your studies — checked 2026-09-26
  9. Bard College Berlin — At a Glance (307 students, 71 nationalities, average class size 10, 85% receive financial aid) — checked 2026-09-30