Marist College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college, located in the US state of New York, within the Hudson River Valley in the town of Poughkeepsie.

Marist's 180-acre main campus overlooks the Hudson River, and is situated along its east banks.

Marist has a branch campus in Florence, Italy and maintains study sites in 26 countries.

The liberal arts (Latin: artes liberales) are those subjects or skills that in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free person (Latin: liberalis, "worthy of a free person") to know in order to take an active part in civic life, something that (for Ancient Greece) included participating in public debate, defending oneself in court, serving on juries, and most importantly, military service.

Grammar, logic, and rhetoric were the core liberal arts, while arithmetic, geometry, the theory of music, and astronomy also played a (somewhat lesser) part in education.

Higher education, post-secondary education, or third level education is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completion of secondary education.

Often delivered at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, conservatories, and institutes of technology, higher education is also available through certain college-level institutions, including vocational schools, trade schools, and other career colleges that award academic degrees or professional certifications.

Tertiary education at non-degree level is sometimes referred to as further education or continuing education as distinct from higher education.

Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct.

The term ethics derives from the Ancient Greek word ἠθικός ethikos, which is derived from the word ἦθος ethos (habit, "custom").

The branch of philosophy axiology comprises the sub-branches of ethics and aesthetics, each concerned with values.

Poughkeepsie, officially the City of Poughkeepsie, is a city in the state of New York, United States, which is the county seat of Dutchess County.

As of the 2010 census it had a population of 32,736.

Poughkeepsie is in the Hudson Valley midway between New York City and Albany, and is part of the New York metropolitan area.

The name derives from a word in the Wappinger language, roughly U-puku-ipi-sing, meaning "the reed-covered lodge by the little-water place," referring to a spring or stream feeding into the Hudson River south of the present downtown area.