The European College of Liberal Arts (ECLA) is a private, non-profit institution of higher education in Berlin, Germany. It was founded as a non-profit association in 1999 under the leadership of Stephan Gutzeit. The founding dean was Erika Anita Kiss. Since 2003, Peter Hajnal and Thomas Norgaard have been responsible for the curriculum. The first programme to be introduced was the six-week International Summer University, which is still offered annually alongside two one-year programmes: the Academy Year and the Project Year. ECLA's four-year Bachelor of Arts Programme in Value Studies was launched in October 2009. Unlike most institutions of higher education, ECLA is a college without departments and its present curriculum is dedicated to the integrated study of values. The college is, according to Martha Nussbaum, one of the rare educational institutions in Europe that makes the liberal arts idea into reality. Students and faculty come from all over the world and the language of instruction is English. In October 2009 a new 4-year programme was introduced at the European College of Liberal Arts leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree.