oldhousejunkie

I applied to two art history PhD programs, but not Case Western. I haven't heard anything from the two I applied to. I have heard back from the two American Studies programs that I applied to. One waitlist and one reject. Do most art history programs ask for interviews or is that something specific to Case Western? This is my first round of applications so I'm on a steep learning curve in terms of what to expect.

I don't have any insight but I am with you in solidarity. I applied to two PhD programs in art history, one in history, and two in American Studies. I got a waitlist response from Boston University mid-February (a month after applying), which seemed to be super quick. I got a reject from Yale at the end of February (applied in December). The three other schools are in the wind still. I came here to see if people were getting responses from the schools that I applied to though I haven't seen any posts. Sigh. Part of me wants to believe that the longer it takes, the better my chances. It seems like they would have sent out automatic rejects by now. But this is my first round of applications, so I'm still on a learning curve. Good luck to you!

Thanks to you all for weighing in on the subject of taking my foreign language exams before I graduate. It sounds like I should definitely ask for guidance from the schools I intend to apply at before spending the time to take the exams at my current institution. @Sigaba Brain dump is a struggle for me because I have ADHD. I often get caught up in describing a situation and lose focus on the reason I spoke up in the first place. Some professors appreciate that I know so much and have a passion for what I'm talking about, while others just want me to get to the point. Though I will say, I've been approached by many of my peers who say they appreciate my thoughts because it makes them think. Nonetheless, I've been trying to work on being more succinct in my communications because I do understand it can be a liability. I appreciate your willingness to level with me about the competition. I would argue, however, that knowing my own mind does not put me at a disadvantage. I'm 38 and coming to this path late. I have the additional "complication" of being married, so I have to determine the best route for accomplishing my goals without harming my spouse. My commitment to him comes first, but that does not mean that my commitment to other areas of my life is lacking. Am I willing to walk through fire? The answer is 'yes' because I'm already walking through it. I have to work 30 hours a week at my job and have a 4 hour round trip commute to school. I spend the entire day in class because I can only afford to be on campus twice a week. I'm told that this is impressive, but I still push myself further. With very little help, I've established a chapter of a major national architectural advocacy foundation in my state. I've presented programs and papers at national conferences. I've accomplished all of this while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. When the time comes to enter a PhD program, I'll give up a good paying job and benefits. None of this is easy, nor will my path forward get any easier. But I do it happily because I want to make significant contributions to the field of history. Thanks again for your thoughts and insight.

Thanks everyone for weighing in. @Sigaba I absolutely would never write in a SOP what I wrote in my OP. My post was a brain dump and not an indication of what I would write or how I would write it. My job is 75% persuasive writing, but I can always improve. I will look to do that and consider the questions you posed. Essentially, it seems that I'm writing an application for funding, not just admission. @ashiepoo72 I was being a bit vague about my interests because I like to play close to the vest. I already have two potential dissertation topics in mind, both of which have not been explored as far as I can tell. Thus the secrecy. ? Finding a good fit is definitely my preoccupation right now. I have a little book of schools along with the professors and their specialties which match my own. I just wanted to make sure I was uncovering all the options for schools with professors specializing in women's and social history. @starshiphistory Thank you for the positive remarks! My verbal scores have always been high but it makes sense to lean in more on those to get them as high as possible. @TMP I have absolutely done primary resource research. That's the other 25% of my job; researching census records, historic newspapers, city directories, and historic maps are something that I do regularly. I will be taking a research methods course in the fall, so I'm looking forward to further polishing my skills in that arena. As for a historiography course, I will be taking one during our winter term. My thesis will be on the history and architecture of residential hotels for women. I've obtained a grant to travel to New York and Chicago to conduct archival research. I'm working on my French and German reading knowledge. My grad school can administer the test; in fact, my thesis advisor has encouraged me to do it, but will the results be accepted wherever I attend? I will be doing my externship with a local museum this summer, so I'm certainly building connections. Also, regarding JHU and UNC, they floated to the top via my research on professors. JHU has two professors that would be a great fit for my interests. I've identified a couple of professors at UNC does as well but in addition to that, they have a strong working relationship with the university's women and gender studies program. I looked at some of the schools you suggested--Rutgers was the only one that I found with a professor matching my interests. I have been reading books and articles of interest, and then checking out where the authors teach. Unfortunately, a lot of them are retired or are preparing to retire.

Hi all, I'm graduating from a MFA program in Architectural History next year (spring 2021) and have been seriously considering applying to PhD history programs, most likely for admission in fall 2021. I'm an older student (late 30s) and my career has been focused in architectural history up to this point. I love research and writing, and have done a significant amount of it in my career, but I've lost my interest in the built environment. I've always been an amateur social and cultural historian and want to focus on that in a professional capacity. It seems that going on for my PhD is a means of achieving that. I do have a strong desire to educate; I'm very into public history (researched and developed my own historic walking tour, started a history podcast, etc.) as I feel it is integral to making a traditionally stuffy topic more accessible to the general public. To that end, I'm flexible about how my future career takes shape. I understand that history teaching positions are drying up, so I would be equally happy in a museum setting. I'd like my primary field to be women's history (late 19th and early 20th century America and Britain), with secondary fields in social and cultural history (American, British, European). Primarily, I've been looking at schools with women's history faculty. I have a running list of programs and the professors that I would want to work with, and general idea of the requirements. But am I wrong to assume that getting into a top 25 program is an absolute necessity for obtaining a teaching job (if I were to pursue that route)? I've been using US News' list of top history PhD programs to do my research--is that list valid? Right now, my top choices are Johns Hopkins (my professor "spirit animal" is there) and UNC-Chapel Hill (all around strong women's history program). I know University of Wisconsin is known for its women's history program, but I have been a little reticent about that due to the location. I'm on the east coast would prefer to stay there or at least be able to fly back and forth regularly. Are there other programs I should be considering? Now that I've read some threads on here, I'm definitely more nervous about applying. The only way for me to do this is to be fully funded (tuition waiver and stipend). My undergrad GPA was 3.45 (3.8 major), which I thought was good, until I read on here that it might not be? So far, my GPA in my masters program is 4.0. I should note that the school that I'm doing my MFA at is an arts school that is well regarded...but it's an arts school. I haven't taken the GRE yet (it wasn't required for admission for my MFA) and I'm terrified. Honestly, I'm a terrible test taker and know that my math scores will stink because there is a giant black hole in my brain where anything beyond basic math skills should be. My verbal should be good. I hope to take and pass the reading exam for French before applying. I've presented a paper at one conference and am applying for others--will that help my application? Any other suggestions for ways to improve my chances at acceptance? Do I need to start reaching out to the professors that I would like to work with? It seems that gaining their favor also improves acceptance chances? I feel like I'm very prepared for all this but then some days, I feel like I've got a blindfold on. Any advice and/or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks so much! I have ties to England (my aunt lives there) so I am partial to programs there. :-)

Hi folks, I'm not applying for a MA/MS in Historic Preservation, but my undergrad degree is in historic preservation/community planning. At one time I had planned on continuing my education, but after ten years in the workforce, I've decided not to pursue further education in historic preservation. If I go on to higher ed, I will most likely pursue a degree in economic/community development or communications. I have found that with my undergrad degree, I could achieve a lot. I spent some time in my state's SHPO, beating out a person with a Phd simply because I had real world experience. I live in South Carolina where historic preservation jobs are few and far in between and it's more about who you know than what your credentials are. I think this is because preservation in South Carolina started with the who's who of society and has gradually gained footing as a field of study. Since I am not able to move, I have decided that the cost of a MA/MS in historic preservation just doesn't equate to what I would get paid. Pay here in this field is dismal. I used to joke that historic preservationists in South Carolina can't afford to live in historic houses! To give you an idea, when I was in the field, I made $33k/year. Now that I'm out working in the government grants field, I make just over $40k/year. In addition, I am currently running my own preservation consulting business. In order to be successful, I have to severely undercut other consultants and my former SHPO job plays into my "bankability" as well. People want to know that their projects are guaranteed and since I have working relationships with those folks who make the decisions, I have found that carries a lot of weight with my potential clients. To the original poster -- UGA has a good program and a good reputation. I think you could go far with it. I'm very money minded as well, and would pay a lot of attention to what kind of debt I was taking on, if I were in your shoes. But since you want to work in conservation, that would play into what program you look into. Conservation is very hands-on and you will definitely benefit from that type of program, even if it is more expensive. A lot of programs are geared to the nuts and bolts So my advice to you all is be careful what debt you take on, especially if you "married" to a particular region of the US in regards to future work. Make sure you will get the money you need to pay back those debts. At best, I highly suggest you be open to moving anywhere to follow the money. In LA, you can make a 100K/year as a city historic preservation planner, but of course, the cost of living there is astronomical. Best of luck to you all.

Hello fellow preservation lover! I see that you applied to Clemson, which is just down the road from me. I also attended the College of Charleston for my BA. So lots of coincidences all around! Good luck with your applications. I almost went for my MA in historic preservation. I was admitted to the Savannah College of Art and Design but then lost my job, so I decided not to take on that kind of debt. And now unfortunately, South Carolina is not very receptive to historic preservation, jobs are very few and far in between, so I've decided that since I can't move (stubborn husband, unfortunately) that would not make economic sense to pursue the MA in hist pres. So my advice to you is be prepared to move where ever you need to get a job! And I would even venture to say that if you get accepted to multiple programs, be aware of networking and getting potential jobs following completion of your degree. For example, at Clemson, you may make some good connections, but with the job market being so poor here for historic preservation, you may do better attending another school where you can make the connections that will lead to a job. Just my two cents. :-) Best of luck to you!

Hi all, I've recently been investigating my options for grad school, specifically online programs. My BA is in historic preservation/community planning and I have close to ten years in the various jobs, both related and unrelated to the field. Most of my work has been in municipal and state government. Since my undergrad was so specialized and since I have no hope of getting a job in the field in my current location (and I'm unable to move out-of-state for opportunities), I would like to diversify my education in hopes of a career change of sorts. I'm a decent writer and am pretty hooked in to social media, so I'm looking towards communication with a social media/public relations bent. After searching for a bit I saw that John Hopkins had a MA in Communication with a digital concentration. I know Johns Hopkins is a good school for medicine, but do they have the chops for other majors? I'm thinking I will probably end up doing PR for a local government, which is fine. I just want to stretch my creative brain more (currently I'm a grant writer for two specific monetary outlets that do not allow for doing anything outside the box!) My other caveat is that I prefer programs with no GRE requirement. I never took it and don't want to take it as I am a very poor test taker. I know I would score very well in English (obviously), but the math portion would do me in. I'm hoping that my experience plus my undergrad GPA (3.5 overall, 3.8 major) will carry me through the admissions process. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm signed up for an online chat later this month, but would appreciate any comments from people who have attended or done more serious research into the program. Or if you know of any other "good" programs that would fit my specs, I would be open to hearing about those as well. Thanks in advance!