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.

About
28th Annual Iris Foundation Awards
Honoring Irene Roosevelt Aitken, Dr. Julius Bryant, Dr. Meredith Martin, and Katherine Purcell
Events
Wednesdays @ BGC
Join us this spring for weekly programming!





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).


Bard Graduate Center (BGC) welcomed 20 new MA and PhD students to campus in August.

Entering PhD Students
Samrudha Dixit, BA, DJ Academy of Design; MA, Azim Premji University
David Gassett, BA Columbia University; MA, George Washington University
Alex Stern, BA, Haverford College; MA, Southern Methodist University

Entering MA Students
Karlyn Allenbrand, BA, Savannah College of Art and Design
Eliza Alsop, BA, Connecticut College
Irene Berthezene, MA, ENSCI Les Ateliers, Paris
Katherine Cohen, BA, Wesleyan University
Angela Crenshaw, BA, University of St. Andrews
Anna Crowley, BA, Georgetown University
Allison Donoghue, BA, Connecticut College
William Dunsmore, BA, Simon Fraser University
Maria Jose Espinosa, BA, Universidad De Los Andes
Robert Hewis, BA, University of Cambridge
Dorothy Hudson, BA, Occidental College
Raphael Machiels, BA, Leiden University
Caroline Montague, BA, Barnard College
Rachel Salem-Wiseman, BA, Queens University
Samantha Santana, BA, New York University
Edward Styles, BA, Harvard University
Luli Zou, BA, Beijing Union University; MA, the University of Hong Kong