About
Upcoming Exhibitions
BGC Gallery will resume its exhibition programming this September with the return of Sèvres Extraordinaire! Sculpture from 1740 until Today, originally slated for fall 2024.
Bard Graduate Center is an advanced graduate research institute in New York City dedicated to the cultural histories of the material world. Our MA and PhD degree programs, Gallery exhibitions, research initiatives, scholarly publications and public programs explore new ways of thinking about decorative arts, design history, and material culture.

Publications
Shop Our Store!
Exhibition catalogues, books, journals, accessories, and more!





About

Bard Graduate Center is devoted to the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through research, advanced degrees, exhibitions, publications, and events.


Bard Graduate Center advances the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through its object-centered approach to teaching, research, exhibitions, publications, and events.

At BGC, we study the human past and present through their material expressions. We focus on objects and other material forms—from those valued for their aesthetic elements to the ordinary things used in everyday life.

Our accomplished interdisciplinary faculty inspires and prepares students in our MA and PhD programs for successful careers in academia, museums, and the private sector. We bring equal intellectual rigor to our acclaimed exhibitions, award-winning catalogues and scholarly publications, and innovative public programs, and we view all of these integrated elements as vital to our curriculum.

BGC’s campus comprises a state-of-the-art academic programs building at 38 West 86th Street, a gallery at 18 West 86th Street, and a residence hall at 410 West 58th Street. A new collection study center will open at 8 West 86th Street in 2026.

Founded by Dr. Susan Weber in 1993, Bard Graduate Center has become the preeminent institute for academic research and exhibition of decorative arts, design history, and material culture. BGC is an accredited unit of Bard College and a member of the Association of Research Institutes in Art History (ARIAH).


The BGC is excited about the group of students selected to join Academic Programs this August.

The BGC is pleased and excited about the group of students just selected to join Academic Programs this August, 2011.

At the doctoral level, we will have three entering students –Marjorie Folkman, is from Barnard and Columbia, and currently teaches part time at Bard College; Mei-ling Israel, who did undergraduate work at Stanford, and her MA here at the BGC; and Mei Mei, who comes to us via Nanjing University and the University of Chicago, and who currently works at the MMA.

The MA cohort is a very strong one, and includes:

Tenann Bell, CUNY, Art History
Nynne Christoffersen, University of Copenhagen, European Ethnology
Colin Fanning, Syracuse University, Interior Design
Zahava Friedman-Stadler, Touro College, History
Andrew Goodhouse, Macalester College, Anthropology
Christine Griffiths, SUNY Stony Brook, Art History
Hadley Jensen, Colorado College, Religion
Suk Young Kang, Harvard University, Sociology
Anna McDonald, University of Virginia and NYU, English
Sarah Pickman, University of Chicago, Anthropology
Sophie Pitman, Jesus College, Oxford, Modern History and English
Nicole Pulichene, University of Chicago, Art History
Sarah Rogers, New York University, Art History
Yitzchak Schwartz, Yeshiva University, Jewish Studies
Laura Speers, University of Delaware, Art Conservation
Edward Styles, Harvard University, History and Religion
Maxwell Tielman, Pratt Institute, Art History/Theory/Critism
Sharon Twickler, University of Connecticut, History
Katherine Tycz, Holy Cross, Italian
Meredyth Winter, Holy Cross, Art History

Orientation starts on August 22nd, and faculty, staff and fellow students all look forward to welcoming these newest members of our community.