Choose a course in Scientific Exploration, Literature & Performing Arts, or Global Humanities, and spend each three-week session digging deeper into a subject that interests you. Develop your ideas through classroom discussion and hands-on work, while Leadership in Action workshops help you explore how you can contribute as a leader.
Choose One or Both Sessions:
Session I: June 28 – July 16, 2027
Session II: July 19 – August 6, 2027
Investigate how culture, public policy, and inequality shape people’s experiences of health and medicine. Explore the theoretical foundations of health and society through readings and classroom discussion while learning qualitative research methods. Develop a research project that connects classroom questions with people’s everyday lives.
Choose One or Both Sessions:
Session I: June 28 – July 16, 2027
Session II: July 19 – August 6, 2027
Turn an idea into a venture with a purpose. Work with a team to investigate a problem, understand the people affected, and develop a proposed solution. Refine your concept through feedback and prepare a final pitch that makes the case for your venture.
Offered in Session I Only:
Session I: June 28–July 16, 2027
Take an undergraduate course at Barnard and earn college credit upon successful completion. Study alongside college students, with assignments and classroom discussions that challenge you to develop and support your ideas. Experience the pace of college coursework as you explore a subject in greater depth.
Summer 2027 dates and course offerings will be announced.
Preparing for college means taking greater responsibility for your learning and daily life. Alongside your coursework, Barnard Pre-College programming gives you space to consider how you want to lead and what will support your well-being as you take that next step.
Explore how leadership takes shape in everyday decisions and the communities people build. Through workshops, consider how gender and identity can influence whose voices are heard, and develop your own understanding of how you want to contribute.
Required for NextGen Leadership Institute students.
Consider what well-being means for you as you prepare for greater independence in college. This shared program brings students together to reflect on how their choices can support their learning and their experience as members of a campus community.
Required for all Pre-College students.
Get to know Barnard through the everyday rhythm of college life. Continue a classroom conversation over lunch with new friends, then find a library spot where you can settle into your work. As you become familiar with campus, you’ll build connections with other students exploring their own interests and questions.
Our three-week institutes offer residential and commuter options. Live on campus with fellow Pre-College students, or make Barnard part of your daily routine as a commuter. With New York City surrounding campus, your summer offers opportunities to connect what you’re learning with the world beyond the classroom.
Noncredit Institutes
Recognize your completion of the NextGen Leadership Institute, Health and Society Institute, or Athena Summer Innovation Institute with a certificate documenting your summer academic experience at Barnard.
Noncredit Institutes
Receive a cumulative evaluation of your work from your instructor. Athena students receive their evaluation from the Program Director.
Upon completion of the program, your evaluation will be added to your Barnard applicant record.
Pre-Baccalaureate
Earn college credit by successfully completing an undergraduate course at Barnard. You will receive a letter grade and may request an official transcript documenting your college-level academic work.
Start planning your summer at Barnard by reviewing what you’ll need to apply and exploring tuition and financial aid. Join our mailing list to receive program updates and a reminder when the application opens.
Applications Open
December 1, 2026
Financial Aid and Application Fee Waiver Deadline
February 15, 2027
Application Deadline
April 15, 2027