Full-time doctoral students usually take eight courses (four each semester) in their first year, including the two-semester “Objects in Context: A Survey of Decorative Art, Design History, Material Culture” and “Approaches to the Object.” Incoming students who have previously taken an equivalent course or courses may petition the faculty committee for a waiver; those courses would then be substituted by additional electives. In their second year, students take four elective courses in the fall term and three directed readings in preparation for the qualifying exams in the spring term. At the end of the second year, students must take and pass examinations in three fields. By October of the third year, students submit their dissertation proposal for faculty approval. Full-time students are expected to complete the dissertation by the end of their fifth year, and no later than the end of their seventh year.

Bard Graduate Center’s goal is to support all admitted PhD students with a combination of scholarships and fellowships so they can earn their degree with as little outside cost as possible. All applicants are considered for financial support; it is not necessary to apply separately for fellowships. Funding is currently for five years, which includes a full tuition scholarship and an annual research stipend. Additional fellowship support may be available. There is also travel and research money to assist doctoral students in dissertation research and in conference travel. Dissertation grants in the final years of the program are also available.

Annual teaching opportunities for BGC doctoral candidates include being a Teaching Assistant for the “Objects in Context” course as well as being a Teaching Assistant for a Bard College undergraduate course. There is also an annual competitive doctoral teaching prize where a doctoral candidate may be appointed to teach a graduate seminar at BGC. These positions all carry additional payment, and teaching is not a required condition for receiving doctoral funding.

BGC’s Concentration in Museum Practice, Digital Scholarship, and Public Engagement (MDP) builds on our expanded offerings of innovative training in museum practice (from exhibition research, design, and interpretation, to collection stewardship and care), digital scholarship (digital methods and tools for research and presentation) and public engagement (collaborative and accessible research, public presentation and event planning). Together, these three related realms facilitate and encourage the production of multimodal scholarship that is accessible in diverse forms and can supplement academic books, journal articles, and conference papers. BGC students who choose to focus their coursework, research, and (extra)curricular training in this area can opt to pursue this concentration, which will be signaled on their transcripts alongside the MA or PhD degree in Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture. Designed for students targeting careers across the museum and cultural sectors, it emphasizes making advanced material culture research – BGC’s calling card – more broadly, dynamically, and publicly accessible. The requirements for the concentration are fulfilled through a combination of elective coursework, participation in skills-based workshops, professional opportunities, and the capstone degree projects.