CradGafe

Another SMU MA alum here, graduated a few years ago. Was very happy with the program, got placed at the National Gallery for a year internship the year after finishing, and entered a top ten PhD program (going by the general consensus rankings in an AH grad cafe thread) the year after that. My particular advisor also has a great track record with her MA students. I haven't kept up with the most recent year, but I think for my year and the two years following, every one of her MA students was placed in a paid year-long internship at either the National Gallery of Art or the Getty. And yeah, SMU certainly doesn't have the name recognition of Harvard or Yale, but what it lacked in name, I think it more than made up for in opportunities resulting from small classes, full-funding, close relationship/ mentorship with advisors and faculty, funding for travel during the MA, and general conviviality amongst cohorts and faculty. And I'm of course biased, but I think an MA from SMU can be worth a lot more than one from the IFA (though, some people can and do get a lot out of one from the latter). To quote Joan Calamezzo (Huge Pawnee Today fan, keep doing you) from another thread: Not saying I agree with all of that, but I have heard such things elsewhere and also know of folks not accepted to SMU MA and going to IFA MA. But to the point, I found SMU to be a great program and every bit as rigorous as other programs I have visited or been a part of, including the Phd program I am currently in. In some ways, even more so (I was given Warburg in gothic script to translate for my German language exam, and a portion of the exam was without dictionary). So yeah, a full endorsement of the program from this alum. It of course depends on what your area is and whether there is someone there to work with, but if there is someone at SMU to advise you, I highly recommend applying. I do not envy you in your applying; may the odds be ever in your favor!