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).

An avid contributor to the art world, Dr. Stephen K. Scher has lectured and published extensively on medieval and Renaissance art. He taught in the Brown University art department from 1961 to 1974, and was president and chief executive officer of Scher Chemicals, Inc. until his retirement in 2004. He has organized exhibitions at The Frick Collection, the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), and the National Galleries of Scotland. Dr. Scher also assembled a significant collection of commemorative portrait medals, the bulk of which was donated to The Frick in 2017. He currently serves as a member of visiting committees at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Frick Collection and associate trustee of the Yale Library. For his service, Dr. Scher received the Yale Medal (2015) and the British Art Medal Society’s President’s Medal (2018).