Change Your Path

Find A Program Start My Application

Open House

Join us at our Spring Open House on Thursday, April 25 at the Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks!

Learn More

PA Blueprint for Higher Education Feedback Form

Congratulations to Dr. Patrick M. Jones!

President-Elect

On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, the Board of Trustees of Bucks County Community College announced that Patrick M. Jones, Ph.D., will be the College’s sixth president.

Aim & Attain: Near Completer Grant

Move your education forward.

If you were previously enrolled in a degree or certificate program and were unable to complete it, you may be eligible to get on track for free with the Aim & Attain: Near Completer Grant at Bucks County Community College.



In the News

All recent news


2024 High School Poet of the Year

Neshaminy Senior Named Bucks County High School Poet of the Year

Cecelia Shine, will read from her works Saturday, May 4, 1-3 p.m., at the annual Reading + Celebration in Tyler Hall on Bucks County Community College’s Newtown Campus Hailing from Neshaminy High School, senior Cecelia Shine rose to the top of more than 100 entries to be named the 2024 Bucks County High School Poet of the Year, announced officials at Bucks County Community College. The 37th annual contest is part of the Bucks County Poet Laureate Program administered by the College. With the first-place finish, Shine wins $300 and will be honored at the annual Reading + Celebration on Saturday, May 4, 1-3 p.m., in room 142 of the historic Tyler Hall mansion on the College’s Newtown Campus. The event will feature the contest winners, finalists and judges. Shine’s three poem submissions were entitled “one heart too many,” “The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine” and “it might be just a dream.” This year’s current Bucks County Poet Laureate Tara Tamburello and last year’s Bucks County Poet Laureat Tom Mallouk served as judges and reviewed a strong field of entries from all over the county. In addition to the winner, the judges also named Jack DeBoyace, sophomore from Central Bucks High School East, as first runner-up. Second runner-up was Kade Booker, a senior from Neshaminy High School. The third runner-up was Olivia Cao, a Central Bucks High School South senior. The three runners-up will also read from their works during the celebration. The entire competition, including the awards and refreshments, is sponsored by a generous donor, Gary Kephart, originally of Levittown and currently of Fort Collins, Colorado. Thanks to Kephart’s generosity, and new this year, each runner-up will receive $100. The annual Bucks County High School Poet of the Year contest is another way that Bucks County Community College contributes to the cultural heritage of the region. For more information contact Dr. Ethel Rackin, a Professor of Language and Literature at Bucks and the director of the Wordsmiths Reading Series and Poet Laureate Program at ethel.rackin@bucks.edu. Shine’s winning poems: one heart too many one day the doctors told my mother i had two heartbeats. they said thiswith a downturned wince and a crinkle between their brows,like a sheet of paper which can not be unwrinkled, can notbe made perfect again. when i was born,it was with double the blood flow, double the oxygen, double the fear. when i was born,my two hearts beat a rhythm that echoed through my skull and gave me somethingto march to, a hopeful anthem to keep me moving, to keep my bones from crumblingand cracking under the weight of my organs, the overproduced instruments humming too loudly,beating too quickly, working too well. when i was born,it was with extra love built in; extra love for gifting neighbors, gifting mailmen,gifting worms that wash up when the rain pours down. when i was born,it was with too many feelings, too many obstacles, too many faults.doctors said i was a miracle; my mother said that thats just life.i dont know how my two hearts are functioning, how their pulseis strong enough, suitable enough, for my long limbs, but they are.they are calling to each other and answering back, creating a song thatwakes me up in the morning and puts me back to sleepwhen i need it to. i have two hearts, and theyre surviving and theyre thrivingand theyre dying one secondat a time, but theyre mine,theyre mine.my god, arent they mine? The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine All of a sudden I am an ant in a city of marble and stained glass,cemented in porcelain skin, thin like bible paperin an old friend’s cabinet. Technicolor light showers infrom crystal windows, swaddles me in beacons of riverand sky, paints over me with patterns of rainbow shine.I am becoming unbreakable, like my bones are rooted through tile,like my existence is sanctioned between these tall walls. My weight is somehow pardonedbecause every statue and pillar above, every archand emblem is grand like my heart, is grand like the seaand bluebirds chirping in boiling heat. Candlelight darts alongthe wrinkles of a praying woman on her knees. This place of worshipwas once on fire and then rebuilt, remade, rebeautified, and I realizethere is a cathedral hiding inside all of us, a religion restingright under the skin, and I realize that I am no stranger here.No one ever could be. it might be just a dream now and then when my hurtclouds over and fizzles at the sides,i see another version of meflickering between my outline,proclaiming herself just tow i t h e r away again.and for one meaningless moment,we become the same person, andeach of my steps leaves a footprintof purpose behind, and my tearsfeed flowers by the front door,and my hands don't leave scratcheswhere lovebites should be.and then she is gone, and i’mmissing her, and every footstepis almost as heavy as the last,and i'm trapped within this visionof other me on the opposite endof a black hole, and i'm hopingshe is as happy as i know her to be.maybe one day i'll understand herbeyond fleeting meetings, beyondsuperficial thoughts. maybei'll know her well enough to engravethe shape of her smile to the backof my eyelids, and to see it reflectedon my own forsaken face
Installation view of 58th Annual BCCC Student Art Exhibition

BCCC Student Art Exhibition April 26 Through May 7 at Hicks Art Center

 The Arts and Communication Department at Bucks County Community College is pleased to host the 59th Annual Student Art Exhibition; a showcase of work made during spring and fall 2023 and spring 2024 by students in the Arts and Communication Department. Medias include ceramics, dance, digital media, drawing, film, fine woodworking, glass, graphic design, jewelry, music, painting, printmaking, photography, 2D design, 3D design, video, and web design. The exhibition will be on view from March 28 through May 9 in Hicks Art Center. The public is invited to the exhibition reception, open studios, student art and craft sale, and the arts scholarship and award ceremony on Sunday, May 5 from 1 to 4 p.m. The schedule and locations for May 5 are as follows: 59th Annual Student Exhibition Reception1 – 4 p.m., Hicks Art Center2 p.m., Arts Scholarship and Award Ceremony Student Art and Craft Sale1 – 4 p.m., 3-D Courtyard (weather permitting) or 3-D Arts 001 Open Studios1 – 4 p.m., Hicks Art CenterFine Woodworking, Room 130; Jewelry, Room 111; Photography, Rooms 118 & 120; Printmaking, Room 106; Sculpture, Foundry, 3-D Building. Wood Turning Demonstration1 – 2 p.m., Hicks Art Center, Room 130Janine Wang shows her expertise in the art of Wood Turning. Bronze Pour Demonstration3 p.m., 3-D Arts Building, Metal FoundryJon Burns guides a team of artists through the process of casting bronze sculpture. For additional information please visit the Hicks Art Center Gallery online, follow the department’s Instagram account @bcccartscomm or phone 215-968-8432. Hosted by the Bucks County Community College, Arts and Communication Department at Hicks Art Center Gallery. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on the following Saturdays during the exhibition from 12 – 4 p.m.: April 27 and May 4, 2024.
High School Short Fiction Winners

Bucks Announces the Winners of the Annual High School Short Fiction Contest

 The Bucks County Short Fiction Contest for High School students is pleased to announce the winners for the Spring 2024 contest. There were 38 entries this year. Olivia Beno, a junior at Pennsbury High School, and a Yardley resident, was awarded first place for her story, “Death and Dreaming on the Golden Coast.” Alaina Kass, a junior at Neshaminy High School and a resident of Levittown, won second place for “The Sin of a Smile.” Katie Krom, a senior at Neshaminy High School, and also a Levittown resident, captured third place for “Forever, Shattered.” Dr. David Venditto, a faculty member at Bucks County Community College, made the final selections. Venditto said of Beno’s work, “This story had a dreamlike quality to it that mirrored the protagonist’s own mental state, stuck going through memories and imagined future scenarios. The writing is beautiful and heartbreaking, realistically conveying the feelings of loss that accompany an untimely death. It taps into a deeply relatable feeling that lingers long after reading the story.” Of the story by Kass, Venditto said, “The writing itself is engaging, with carefully chosen words that reveal a truly surprising ending. The textured and grounded world of the story isn’t incongruous with the more supernatural conclusion, due to the foreshadowing sprinkled throughout. Furthermore, excellent pacing and development of the protagonist give the twist a visceral impact.” In Krom’s “Forever, Shattered,” Venditto noted, “The basic premise is simple, but thematically intriguing. The story turns what would ostensibly be a typical teenage romance into a fantastical tragedy. In addition, a lot of interesting visuals are conjured from the author’s eloquent writing.” A reception for the winners and their friends and family will be held on the Newtown Campus later this month. Bucks County Community College is the sponsor of the Bucks Short Fiction Contests. The contest receives support from the Department of Language and Literature.

Center for Advanced Technologies

Your Career Begins at Bucks

The brand-new state-of-the-art Center for Advanced Technologies (CAT) has been designed to ignite a spark in Bucks County and the surrounding areas. Located on the Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks in Bristol Township, the Center houses in-demand advanced manufacturing training and workforce programs.