Ph.D. Degree | Part-Time Study
 The first year of study in the master of arts program includes a three-week orientation session held in August. In both fall and spring terms, students register for four courses (12 credits), including the two-semester Survey of the Decorative Arts and Design. During the late spring term, first year students earn credits by completing either the Bard Term Abroad or an internship. Students must have completed 18 credits and be in good standing in order to be eligible for Bard Term Abroad. Students complete the remaining credits of course work during the fall and spring semesters of their second year. In the fall semester, second-year students enroll in a required noncredit Thesis Workshop and in the spring, a required Master’sThesis Seminar, which can be taken for credit. The BGC master’s degree program culminates in a thesis, which is required for graduation. The thesis is supervised by a full-time member of the BGC faculty and is also read by a second person. Full-time students should complete their thesis in the second year (and must complete it by spring of the third year.) M.A. diplomas indicate “a degree in Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture.”
All Master of Arts degree candidates complete an internship that provides practical experience in an institutional or commercial setting. Students often fulfill this requirement during the summer between the first and second years of study. BGC students have been placed at more than 200 cultural and commercial institutions, including the Brooklyn Museum; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Musée du Louvre;Victoria and Albert Museum;Waddesdon Manor; Museum of the City of New York; New-York Historical Society; The Hispanic Society of America; Historic Hudson Valley; New Jersey Historical Society; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art; Merchant’s House Museum; Museum of American Art; Abigail Adams Smith Museum;Wolfsonian–Florida International University; New York City Department of Parks and Recreation; Christie’s; Sotheby’s; Formica Corporation of America; Coty, Inc.; Art in General; Philip Colleck, Ltd.; and Masterson Gurr Johns, Inc.
Study trips are important features of the master’s degree program. Study trips range from examining museological procedures at exemplary institutions or manufacturing processes in contemporary industries, to visiting particular parks, exhibitions, or collections.
Bard Term Abroad
The BGC offers a unique opportunity for all M.A. students at the end of the first year of full-time study: Bard Term Abroad. Students in good standing who have completed at least 18 credits and satisfied the language requirement are eligible to attend a three-week intensive study trip, under the direction of two BGC faculty members. Student opportunity for study and research in a selected city is made possible by a grant from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation. The BGC covers airfare, lodging, entrance fees, and transportation. In past years, students have traveled to England, Scotland, Italy, Germany, France, China, Japan, Holland, Sweden, and Finland for a unique series of visits to museums, private homes, and collections. Students keep a log and do a presentation while abroad; a research paper is due one month after the trip ends. In the spring of 2007, students
spent three weeks in and around Paris. Details of the Bard Term Abroad may change after the publication deadline. Please consult the Academic Programs Office.
Requirements for the Master of Arts Degree
Students receive the master of arts degree in the history of the decorative arts, design, and
culture after successfully completing the following requirements: |
