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Bard College Catalogue 2024–25
Bard Graduate Center
Bard Graduate Center (BGC) offers programs leading to MA and PhD degrees in decorative arts, design history, and material culture. BGC also offers a 3+2 BA/MA option and an annual summer school for undergraduates. Founded in 1993 and located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, BGC is a graduate research institute dedicated to the study of the cultural history of the material world. The curriculum offers an interdisciplinary, object-based understanding of global history. Areas of special strength include New York and American material culture; modern design history; history and theory of museums; early modern Europe; global Middle Ages; archaeology, anthropology, and material culture; and cultures of conservation. BGC sponsors lectures, seminar series, and symposia, offers visiting fellowships, and publishes West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture as well as a monograph series, Cultural Histories of the Material World. The Bard Graduate Center Gallery organizes exhibitions, presents public programs, and publishes award-winning catalogues. The campus comprises a state-of-the-art academic programs building, the gallery, and a residence hall; each building has been designed and renovated by Ennead Architects. BGC is a member of the Association of Research Institutes in Art History (ARIAH).