MAbound

Hi everyone, Apologies if many topics like this already exist, but I'd appreciate any outside input. In spite of my username, I actually finished my Master's a few years ago. Now I'm exploring the idea of a PhD. A bit of background about me: I received my Master's a couple of years ago and have been working as the curatorial assistant for a medium-sized museum for the last 2 years. This is my first experience working at a museum and I enjoy what I'm currently doing. I've had the opportunity to work closely on several exhibitions and to even publish a few short essays. I am wondering though about my career progression at this stage without a PhD. I know that PhDs are often preferred for assistant/associate curator jobs, particularly if they're at larger museum. But would having experience (say, 5 years or more) be enough to trump that? Or am I going to continually hit this roadblock as I try to move up the ladder? If I went ahead and applied it would be to programs with a material culture/museum studies bent--for example, Bard (where I got my MA) and the IFA (which allows its PhDs to also get a curatorial studies certificate along the way). I have zero interest in teaching or working in academia. I know that PhDs are not something to be taken lightly, so advice regarding their value in this context would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I am applying this fall to Master's programs in Art History and am having some issues with my SOP. I have decided that I would like to study Byzantine art, but only reached this conclusion after I graduated. There is no professor who works in this area at my alma mater anyway so I couldn't have studied it formally if I had wanted to (I took a number of related courses in art history and Russian though). Having never studied it, I only have a general sense of what I want to study--the artistic exchange between Russia and Byzantium in relation to icons (no particular time period or artists//workshops). How specific do schools expect your project to be in this kind of situation? Any insight/advice would be much appreciated.

^ Thank you for the advice! I decided to do this. I am applying mostly to decorative arts MA programs and decided to use the one that was an object based research paper. I figured it would be more appropriate than a paper about a series of 17th century paintings.

Hi everyone, I am looking to apply to Art History master's programs this fall and could really use some help with my personal statement for one of my programs. After some agonizing revisions, I have--what i think to be-- a decent first draft. I'm sure however that it could use a few more tweaks! Would anyone be willing to read it and give me their thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Hi Ukiyo91, I am also looking to apply to MA programs that focus on the decorative arts soon so I can understand how you're feeling. What I am confused about is why you think that there are no programs that allow yours interests to overlap and why you have to choose between them. Bard, Sotheby's, and the like all allow you to study asian decorative arts/design. I have no doubt that even the more "academic" programs (Columbia, Harvard, etc) would not demand that you only study fine art. So unless I am missing something.... I can also relate to your dilemma about school vs. the real world. I graduated last year and decided that I would take 2 years off (I'll be starting in Fall '12) to get a taste of life outside of the classroom. I have been working full time for the past year at an art market information company and so far, I have learned a ton. I have no regrets about doing this. Based on my own experience, I believe that getting some work experience before you go back to school can do nothing but benefit you. It will probably make you a more attractive candidate when applying (they are looking for serious, committed students after all) and when you go to apply for jobs afterwards, you have something convincing to show on your resume. Now, if you don't go back to school right away, do you plan on getting a full time job? Doing more internships? I can give you a more specific response if I know what you plan on doing. As for school, I wouldn't go just to be more "practical." Given the state of the economy, I know that school seems like a safe option. Yet consider how many people are thinking the exact same way! I have so many friends for example who went to law school straight out of undergrad thinking that they would escape the current economic situation. Most of them now can't find jobs and still have to pay off the debt they accumulated. A MA or PhD is a *big* commitment--time wise for sure, and possibly a monetary one. If you're on the fence, I would either wait and become more confident in my decision or apply and see how you feel then. Applying to programs will cost you very little time and money in comparison to the degrees. You know yourself best--go with your gut! I can't really say much about the language issue--I graduated knowing French and German. While having those in advance is certainly a plus, I don't think a program (at least an MA anyway) will discard you based on that alone. If you express your willingness to learn one or both of them--and you will have to since a lot of programs have a language requirement you have to fulfill--then I think you are good. Hope this helps a bit!

Hi everyone, I am looking into applying to MA programs for Byzantine art (i would like to study icons specifically), but am unsure whether my credentials will gain me admittance. I could really use your thoughts! I graduated last year from a top university with a BA in Art History and a minor in German. While i was at school, I took a number of courses in classical and medieval art as well as a few in the Russian department ( I also did a summer abroad in St. Petersburg). I can read German and French quite well and know some Russian. For the last year I have been working at a company that deals with the decorative arts (European and Asian) which has really expanded my knowledge in a variety of areas. However, as I didn't really consider studying Byzantine art when I was in college, I never bothered to take any Greek or Latin. I am worried that my lack of knowledge of these languages will prevent my acceptance. Do you think that it will be a big problem or since I'm not going for a PhD they would be willing to give me a chance? Any advice or guidance would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Thank you for your thoughts, fuzzylogician. I know I don't need a letter of recommendation to go with them or anything, but I thought that maybe I might have a stronger application with a letter from someone who can talk about my writing in very specific terms. Since I wrote the paper for one of her classes, she is familiar my writing style, research methods, and organizational skills. And she clearly liked the paper. The point you make however is a good one--submitting the other one shows it wasn't a one time thing. Just a question to everyone--has anyone actually submitted different writing samples to different programs within the same field? I am not necessarily going to do that, but am curious nonetheless.

Hi everyone, I would really appreciate some advice from the smart people here about which paper I should submit as my writing sample for master's programs. I was an Art History major in college and the AH department has a competition each year for the best written undergraduate research paper. i have won twice--junior year and senior year. I would like to use one of the papers I submitted for this as my sample because I feel confident that they represent my best writing. I have a close relationship with the professor I wrote the first winning paper for and she has agreed to write a recommendation for me. However, the second paper (the one from senior year) is, in my opinion, a tad stronger. Unfortunately, I do not feel comfortable contacting the second professor about a recommendation since he was only a semester long faculty member at the school and actually no longer works in academia. SO--I am torn as to which I would be better off submitting. A paper that is a smidgeon less good, but is work from a class with a professor who knows me well and can write about the paper (she nominated me for the competition after all) or the second, which is a tiny bit better but has no recommendation to go along with it. I'm sorry if this is confusing to anyone--I would be happy to clarify if necessary. Thank you for your help!