It was the first to include the visual and performing arts in a liberal arts education. Bennington is the only college in the country to require an annual internship, Field Work Term, since its founding. For two months every winter students work with an organization or institution of their choosing, anywhere in the world, to apply what they have learned on campus and to bring focus to what they st
udy at Bennington. Rooted in an abiding faith in the talent, imagination, and responsibility of the individual, Bennington invites students to pursue and shape their own intellectual inquiries, and in doing so to discover the profound interconnection of things. Bennington liberates and nurtures the individuality and rigorous creativity of its students, supporting them as they forge their own paths and work toward a world more beautiful, sustainable, democratic, and just. Located in the picturesque southwestern corner of Vermont, Bennington borders New York's capital district and the culture-rich Berkshire region of western Massachusetts. The College is a short drive to its southern neighbors Williams College, The Clark Art Museum, and MASS MoCA and to the shopping, outdoor adventure, and literary offerings just to its north in Manchester, Vermont.