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).

All MA degree candidates at Bard Graduate Center complete an internship that provides practical experience in an institutional or commercial setting in the United States or abroad. They often fulfill this requirement during the summer between the first and second years of study, after the Bard Travel Program. Below, five students share their experiences working in London, Paris, and Peru this summer.

Daisy Adams—Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology

This summer, I had the opportunity to intern in the Western Art Department of the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford, England. My primary project entailed cataloging European ornamental prints from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Read more.

Gaia Lettere—The Louvre

When I asked Frédéric Dassas—the eighteenth-century decorative arts curator that I worked with during my internship at the Louvre this summer—what he loved most about his job, he quickly answered: the variety of it. During the entirety of my internship, I was lucky enough to get a meaningful taste of the multifaceted character of curatorial work. Read more.

Meghan Lynch—Victoria and Albert Museum

Following Bard Graduate Center’s Term Abroad in early May, I had the exciting chance to remain in the United Kingdom and complete my graduate internship at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. While the V&A possesses one of the world’s greatest collections of decorative arts, design, and performance, it is also notable for being the first museum to establish a dedicated department of research. Read more.

Avery Schroeder—Waddesdon Manor

For seven weeks this summer I had the incredible privilege of being the Bard Graduate Center curatorial intern at Waddesdon Manor in England. It was an outstanding experience and one where I learned more than I could have ever imagined going into the summer. Read more.

Shuning Wang—MOCHE, Inc., Huanchaco, Peru

From June 25 to July 25, I joined the Conservation Internship Program organized by MOCHE, Inc. Based in Huanchaco, Peru, it emphasized conservation of archaeological textiles in combination with excavation fieldwork, archaeological site and museum visits, and safe storage management. Read more.

Carson Wos—Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace is world renowned as one of the largest intact Tudor buildings in the United Kingdom. It only seems fitting that my experience assisting in research as a curatorial intern for two months this summer revolved roughly around three future exhibitions focusing on different aspects of the Tudor court and the life of Henry VIII. Read more.