Burr

Definitely. At least until your "Honors and Awards" section grows to a point where you've got something much more impressive to replace it.

Something I want to share, from talking with a prof who did reviews for the GRFP for a long time, is that they actually keep quotas. All the clear top picks get chosen, all the clear losers get sorted out, then the rest are sent to a third party agency* who ensures that the quotas are followed. These quotas include your standard ethnicity, gender, etc., but also institutions. They want to ensure that the awardee list is not overwhelmed by applicants from Ivies and the UC system. My prof was generally predisposed against quotas, emphasizing merit of proposal, but there's only so much one can do. Of course, this is hearsay, but I have a feeling some of you might have heard similar stories. * Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the applications, reviews, and/or reviewer rankings are sent to a third party within the NSF who are not the reviewers. I stand by the overall message re: quotas though, and I don't think things have changed in recent years. In fact, I expect that the quotas have gotten more strict.

I feel you, I'm in the same boat. It's OK, we'll make it. Just gotta beat our own path for a while.

Nope here. F/G, VG/VG, E/E. One very skeptical review, one rather generic (copy-pasting from my CV), one very enthusiastic. One the one hand, I'm glad my plans for the coming year aren't being turned upside down, on the other, ouch. Still, my skeptical reviewer managed to use the word "problematic" three times in one paragraph. I'm vary of such people. Thankfully, my project is one that I can and will work on in my own time, and that does not require funding to get rolling, just public participation.

Finished image optimization for our art museum's online collection database. T-15 minutes. Edit: Woah talk about being ninja'd!

I'm a programmer and a night owl with a project due soon, so I know I'll still be up when the announcement comes. (Knowing me, though, I'll likely get engrossed in the code and forget to check until, like, 4:30 am.) In other news, we've crossed the 300 lurkers mark. Group picture, everyone, cheers! (If this is considered inappropriate, mods, please delete or edit, my apologies.)

Well, I was not accepted into any grad schools this first round (only applied to two, so not much surprise there), and I've already made my peace with it. If I do get it, it'll be like having my life flipped upside down all over again. Good luck everyone!

My sincere congratulations to all the Harvard acceptances thus far! I thought I could handle the wait, but each passing day just leaves me feeling more paralyzed. I hope to hear back soon, one way or another, so that I know what I'll need to do to prepare for the year to come. I'm sure most of us here are in the same boat. It's getting close to the end game now. If any of the folks who applied to Harvard this year – whether you've been accepted or not – did so with a focus on a non-Western subfield, I'd be most grateful if you could PM me and share your experiences. Looking for some camaraderie and a chance to chat about the field in general to relieve the stress.

Throughout my undergrad, I've had multiple TAs per class only twice. One of those times, we had a TA assigned to us for discussion section, so that is the TA I contacted if I had concerns. As for the other course, I chose to contact the TA who was listed first on the syllabus. That is a bias unto itself: if your last name starts with a letter that's pretty early in the alphabet, chances are you are going to be picked for marginally more things throughout life, including student emails. Of course, this does not invalidate instances of face-to-face discriminatory action (e.g. winking), nor the linked findings re: online courses. Lastly, I can't speak for everyone, but throughout my undergrad, I had no idea as to the level of experience obtained by my TAs before I contacted them. Even if the TAs are introduced at the start of the semester ("Jane Doe is a fourth-year grad student, this is her third time as TA for this course. John Doe is a second-year grad student, this is his first time being a TA."), most students probably do not care enough to remember this info by the time an issue comes up that warrants contacting a TA.

Not so sure about rankings, but you might want to take a look at South Asian art... and perhaps at this list of dissertations relating to Japanese/Korean art. It might give you an idea re: currently available advisors. After that, maybe cross-reference that info with the "Jobs at Grad" data at phds.org for a general "reputation" overview.

Hello everyone, Any Africanists out there? I want to start a discussion about current opportunities in the subfield of Sub-Saharan African Art. I'm particularly interested in traditional rather than contemporary art forms, so I'm approaching the topic from that perspective, but if someone does have info on contemporary, diaspora, or African-American arts, please feel free to contribute. In this discussion, I'm interested in ascertaining the following: Prominent scholars in the field, including potential Ph.D. advisors. Museums with significant African Art collections, ideally with internship opportunities. Internships and fellowships that (can) involve African Art. This list might be expanded in the future, depending on what info is shared by other members. I've started a list below, organized in no particular order, which will be updated sporadically as information and time become available. I'm currently prioritizing scholars and institutions in the USA, but this is only temporary. Scholars See the Dissertations section of the CAA Reviews for an overall solid starting point. Patrick McNaughton, Indiana (faculty) Sidney Kasfir, Emory (faculty) Victoria L. Rovine, UNC at Chapel Hill (faculty) Steven Nelson, UCLA (faculty) Suzanne Preston Blier, Harvard (faculty) Chika Okeke-Agulu, Princeton (faculty) Zoë Strother, Columbia (faculty) Susan Vogel, Columbia (personal) William Dewey, Penn State (faculty) Museums & Institutions Field Museum; Chicago, IL (link) National Museum of African Art; Washington, DC (link) National Museum of Natural History; Washington, DC (anthropology) Indiana University Art Museum; Bloomington, IN (Wielgus Gallery) Internships & Fellowships To do... Alright, this is a very rudimentary start, but it's all I have time for at the moment. Share your thoughts, and keep an eye on the list in the next few weeks!

It was an email. Check your spam folder, just in case. I took a look at the website just now. There's no indication that I was rejected. I'm really bummed out about it, just because it was my top choice, going off of my current theoretical focus. I've only applied to two schools this first round, both for personal life reasons and due to insufficient time to do my research as to where the field is going, what are my options, etc. After a month or two of searching, I found only one POI in the United States who is working on the kind of stuff I'm particularly interested in pursuing for my thesis. He's in Chicago, and he specializes in a different subfield than that in which my background is strongest. It was a long shot, but I hoped for the best. Ah well, I'll keep working on the project in my spare time. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. Still waiting to hear back from Harvard, which is a much better fit for my subfield focus.

Well, fellow University of Chicago rejects, methinks I'll be drinking my sorrows away tonight. One for each of the brave applicants who fell to the admissions committee this year, as per the spreadsheet. Eight and counting. God rest their CVs. Also, I'm happy to see Indiana University admits on the list. I've worked closely with a few professors here. Send me a PM if you've got questions about the Department of Art History at IU. Maybe I can answer them (albeit from an undergrad's perspective), or refer you to someone else who might be able to provide better insight.

Hello! Been lurking awhile, but what I have to share is time-sensitive, so here we go. You mentioned an interest in the Smithsonian NMNH. I am not sure whether you qualify to apply, but you should look into the Natural History Research Experiences program. Graduating seniors can apply, but I do not know whether the same applies to recent graduates. (If you graduated early, you might have a better chance at it.) The deadline is January 27, 2015. It is an amazing program with many opportunities, and it sounds like the perfect fit for someone who wants to combine biology with museum studies. Namely, there's opportunities for budding botanists, entomologists, vertebrate and invertebrate zoologists, and paleobiologists. And yes, you can be involved with the National Zoo as an intern (ex). If that sounds like something up your alley, you should contact the program administrator and ask if you are eligible to apply. As an aside, your biology background might be a good starting point for applying to conservation programs. @m-ttl's list seems like a good place to start. Based on what little I know, I think you should keep an eye out for programs that feature "conservation research" specifically, rather than just conservation training or certification. You would be doing a lot of methods and materials research with a fair bit of emphasis on chemistry. Conservation internships might help give you a sense of the day-to-day work, but it's quite likely that you will be saddled with the most repetitive and menial tasks in conservation as an intern without prior experience. It will be very craftsman-like, hands-on work, quite mind-numbing, but peaceful. Perhaps it is an accurate reflection of conservation work overall, but I have not looked into positions that focus full-time on conservation research rather than collections upkeep, so I cannot speak fairly of the field in general. Conservation research is fascinating, though, and it is something you might be interested in given your background! Overall, look into "natural history" and "conservation research" opportunities. If I find anything during my own search, I'll come back to update this post. Good luck! Edit: Pardon, I wanted to see what the arrows next to the post were all about – apparently, you can upvote yourself, and it's irreversible. Oops!