About Barnard|Next

Barnard|Next: Lifelong Learning at Barnard

In Spring 2024, Barnard College launched Barnard|Next to offer distinctive lifelong learning programs that keep people in conversation with big ideas and with one another. Barnard|Next creates new, intensive ways to engage with pressing intellectual questions while deepening connections across the Barnard network and opening this community to a wider public.

Since 2018, Beyond Barnard has provided lifelong career support for Barnard’s 37,000 living graduates, in line with the College’s mission as a women’s college. Careers are rarely linear, and women often face more interruptions and transitions than men. Ensuring ongoing access to high quality career support is central to Barnard’s commitment to equity and opportunity.

Barnard|Next focuses on the other side of that promise: the curriculum. The liberal arts and sciences education that draws students to Barnard continues to shape them long after they leave campus. By creating structured opportunities to return to Barnard’s coursework and intellectual life, Barnard|Next supports growth, skill building, and connection for people who still see learning as core to who they are. Barnard|Next builds on the College’s historic strengths, its relationship to New York City, its commitment to equity and to exploring gender in all its complexity, and its global reach.

There are multiple ways to participate in Barnard|Next, from one evening conversations to deeper dives that mirror the intensity of a semester on campus.

Overview of Programs

Barnard Authors’ Shelf

Join us for evenings of literature and conversation that highlight the work of Barnard alumnae and faculty, past and present. Barnard Authors’ Shelf focuses on books that are shaping important conversations today and invites participants to engage directly with the authors.

Reading Groups

Reading Groups bring together small cohorts to work through a text over time. Whether you are revisiting a classic or discovering a new voice, these groups are a chance to read closely, share perspectives, and reconnect with Barnard’s community of lifelong learners.

Alumnae Auditing

Barnard alumnae have exclusive access to audit select full semester courses taught by Barnard faculty for matriculated students at the College. Alumnae Auditing opens the undergraduate curriculum again for those who want a more sustained classroom experience.

Online Courses (Anywhere, Always)

Online Courses let you learn with Barnard from wherever you are. From art to writing and beyond, these live Zoom sessions are led by Barnard instructors and are designed to fit into a busy schedule while still offering real interaction and intellectual challenge.

On Campus & Around the City

On Campus & Around the City courses take place in person, either on Barnard’s campus or at curated locations throughout New York City. These offerings are built to make the most of our location, bringing participants into direct contact with the city, the campus, and one another.

Registration

Registration follows three terms: spring, summer, and fall. Current offerings, dates, and eligibility details are posted on each program page.

Questions about participation or specific programs can be addressed to barnardnext@barnard.edu.