Medieval and Renaissance studies. The endowed lecture series bring in a regular sequence of speakers on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century France and on the history of glass. Every May the BGC participates, as the founding organizer, in the Consortium for American Material Culture, along with Yale University, Boston University, the University of Delaware, the University of Wisconsin—Madison, the Smithsonian Institution, and our local partners at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New-York Historical Society. The hands-on examination of objects is an essential feature of study at Bard Graduate Center. Incorporated into the first-year Survey of the Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture course are “Materials Days,” events that focus on the making of things, so that students can experience materiality from the maker’s perspective. Exhibitions Bard Graduate Center Gallery present exhibitions and a broad range of exhibition-related programs including exhibition lectures, curatorial conversations, gallery talks, films, and exhibition catalogues devoted to enhancing knowledge and awareness of the material world. Notable alumni Notable graduates of the Bard Graduate Centre include: Grace Jeffers, design educator - Master's degree in history of decorative arts (1996) Sarah Archer, curator and writer - Master's degree in Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture (2006) Daniella Ohad Smith, design historian and writer - PhD References External links Bard Graduate Center official site Yale University Press exhibition catalogs from the Bard Graduate Center Universities and colleges in New York City Private universities and colleges in New York (state) University art museums and galleries in New York (state) Bard College Educational institutions established in 1993 Art museums and galleries in Manhattan Decorative arts museums in the United States Upper West Side Universities and colleges in Manhattan 1993 establishments in New York City