highpriestess

Hi - I was accepted for their internship program (and declined). They called to tell me (if I remember correctly) the last week of March.

Hi, just a note - I'm fairly sure that Kasfir is now retired. This is a great idea though; African art definitely needs to be included more in the discussion.

Hey! Firstly, I'll preface this by saying that I'm in an MA program and study French art from 17th-19th century. I don't at all want to discourage you, but your academic record will be an issue. I agree with qwer7890; you need to play up your "journey" and kind of own the fact that you might not have started strong but will finish strong. DEFINITELY emphasize your French skills. Also, try to find out where your LOR writers have connections and apply there. Having connections is very important and can be a make or break situation if you have someone that can vouch for you. Good luck!

I'll add that the way I have been studying is that I have just been checking out history books in French from the library, sitting down with a French-English dictionary, and writing out a translation. For me, I think this has been the best method, mainly because I am fairly solid with grammar, but things like colloquial phrases and idioms are tough. Translating an already history related text has been very helpful and, honestly, at this point we cannot learn an entire language before the exam. For the most part, what's done is done. So it is good to just practice as much as possible and get your head in the game. But we can do it I believe in you guys!!!! (and it is not like they will kick us out if we fail)

Same. Mine is only one hour and no one will give me a straight answer as to how long the passage is. And the GRE was absurd I got like in the 20th percentile for math I think.

yeah I think that is what I have heard too...which I guess isn't that big of a deal. More just embarassing/a pain in the neck. I knew a doctoral student at my undergrad who that happened to and I don't think they made her feel too bad about it.

Yeah same...I really need to cram. I'm fairly confident in my French reading abilities but I am not too sure what the exam specifically entails. Does anyone know what happens if you fail it? haha...

So at the start of September I will have to take my first language exam (French) for my MA. Is anyone studying for this currently? Does anyone have any insight on the best ways to prepare?

I will add that Mary Sheriff is not taking anymore PhD students, sadly. And at UVA there is also Douglas Fordham.

I had a similar situation - I moved back home after I graduated so that I could apply for grad school and save money. I ended up doing two unpaid internships and my advice would be to do it. Unfortunately, unpaid internships just seem to be a fact of life now. I know people who majored in things like finance and architecture who still have to do unpaid internships, so us art history majors are not alone. However, I would temper my pro-unpaid internship advice with this: don't limit yourself to the art world. My first internship was at a pretty good museum (not like the MET or something, but still well regarded), and after a few months I decided that it just wasn't what I wanted. You will probably find out that, because you aren't a paid employee, your internship isn't going to entrust you to do too much real work. It was almost all paperwork and, like, sending invitations to donors for events. So I decided to switch to an internship where I was teaching English to refugees for a non-profit organization. I can tell you hands down that when I was applying for grad school and doing the interviews my universities were much more interested in the work I was doing with refugees than my museum internships. As a bonus, all of my students were from the Congo and I was able to practice my French skills with them, which was a great addition to my application. Basically, I would just say that you shouldn't limit yourself to a gallery or museum, because they will very likely use you as unpaid labor. The connections could be worthwhile, but I wouldn't rely on that. Doing something outside of the art world could give you an edge.

I'll really have to disagree with the idea that "pickings are slim" in the field of French art history. It is a very popular field (which makes it very competitive). Because of this, I would advise against getting a PhD from a 2nd tier university (unless the fit happens to be extremely good). You didn't mention the time period you are interested in, but my specialty is 19th Century France, so here are some places/people I would recommend if you are going along those lines: Darcy Grigsby - UC Berkeley Thomas Crow - IFA Micheal Fried - Johns Hopkins Howard Lay and Susan Siegfried - University of Michigan Andre Dombrowski - UPenn Carol Armstrong - Yale Margaret Werth - University of Delaware Laura L. Meixner - Cornell Ewa Lajer- Burcharth - Harvard Martha Ward - U Chicago S. Hollis Clayson and Stephen S. Eisenman - Northwestern Of course, this is a finite list. It could go on and on. Good luck!

Also, I will add that it sounds like the University of Wisconsin might be a good match for you as well. Possibly Hunter as well. If you have foreign language skills then play that up BIG TIME.

Hi Fiona! Firstly, I want to preface this by saying that you should not give up and you are not "dreaming." While the low GPA is certainly a hurdle, if you can make a compelling case for your interest in Art History then it probably won't be something that outright eliminates you. The Courtauld is pretty selective, but they also accept a pretty large number of people. My GPA was far from 4.0 but was accepted anyways. I would say you should certainly apply, but don't put all your eggs in that basket. Also, you are probably aware of this, but the Courtauld is very expensive and the chances of getting any sort of funding are very slim, so it might not even be a great option if you are accepted. What I would recommend above anything else right now is to start emailing prospective professors. If you can get someone in your corner then that will make all the difference. Make a case for why you want to study what you want to study, and if there is a reason for the low GPA then make sure that is included in your application (i.e. my GPA was significantly lowered because of my math and science gen eds but my major gpa was always strong). Also, I would say hedge your bets if you can. Apply to a large number of programs. If you have an art history professor that you are close with make sure you consult them and run your application by them before you submit. And grad cafe is very helpful! Good luck; don't give up!

Hi! I'm actually not doing conservation, but I do have some friends working on it. It sounds like you are actually doing pretty good so far, but you are going to need more art history under your belt, I think. Not to be creepy, but it looks like you are in Ann Arbor; I would suggest going and talking to Alex Potts in the art history department. He would certainly help you out. The UMMA has some conservation stuff going on as well on the second floor and I am sure someone there would talk to you. If I were you I would also look into the conservation program at U Delaware--it is excellent. Good Luck!!

Hey I was wondering if anyone might know more about U Delaware's MA program? Specifically their placement record with PhD programs? Feel free to PM me if you are a current student!

I think its definitely a good idea to make a thread based around everything we have learned about the application process; hopefully it will be helpful for future prospectives. A lot of what outside_person wrote is pretty dead on I think. But I think the biggest thing I learned about this process, particularly regarding MAs, is the funding problems... There are A LOT of masters programs that make it seems like they are going to give you more funding than they do (or any, for that matter). Also, even if maybe the program didn't exactly mislead you about that, there are places with reputations for providing better funding than they do. Not to totally dissuade people from these programs by any means--and people should definitely chime in if they disagree -- but for me, here are some places that I was accepted to that I had been led to believe would provide ok funding and have not followed through: Hunter (although I'm not in-state, so that probably matters a great deal) Boston University University of Delaware (they have been very nice about it, however; I think this past year might have just been particularly financially strenuous for them) University of Wisconsin Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

thanks for the response!

Hey, I know a lot of people have been doing this but I'm not sure how to go about it. I have been accepted to an MA program that gave me tuition remission but not stipend, and I'm very interested in the program, but I was also offered a big stipend from a university that I'm not sure I'm as excited about (still unsure though). Does anyone have experience hitting these places up for more money? Any advice on how to phrase it?

Idk I mean I think the brand name school thing is over. go to u of phoenix and save your money.

I can't believe that schools think it is ok to have their deadline before april 15

Yes I was wondering about this...it is one of those 4 person MAs. I don't know if they have a waitlist for actual acceptance but I think they might have one for funding. I really don't want to do that if I can avoid it, but I guess I'm not so morally righteous as to say I wouldn't do that if push came to shove. I am also going to email that program and ask if I can have an extension until April 15, but I'm not holding my breath on that.

Yeah I wish I could be less vague. Lets just say, it isn't a terrible program by any means, but it certainly isn't a Williams or a Columbia. However, it is very well known for how good of a funding situation it provides, so my hope is also that if I attend and then apply to PhDs then those graduate committees will see it and more or less be like "ok good she made a sound financial decision." And the professor I would work with is someone I really really like and I would be able to work on exactly what it is that I'm interested in. And according to their website, they do have a really good track record of placing their MA students in top PhD programs But I guess I'm always wary when schools say that, because I just assume that more or less any school can claim that. I know people who went to very poorly regarded schools and went on to top programs because they are genuinely smart and hard working people. Sorry, I know I am over-analyzing all of this and I am very grateful to have these options, but I had my heart set on my top choice and I'm very worried that I will screw my future over by not going with a top school. Stupid MA funding situations...

Hi Everyone, I was hoping for some advice because I am REALLY uncertain as to what I should do... So here is my situation. I was accepted to my top choice MA program (which is a very well regarded one), but I am currently on a waitlist for funding. According to the DGS, she thinks I have a good chance of getting off of that waitlist, but of course it isn't certain. Like a lot of programs, I have to commit there by April 15. I should also emphasize that I don't come from a family with a lot of money, so funding is VERY important. However, I was also accepted to an MA program that isn't amazing, but it does fund extremely well (I wish I could list it to give you a better picture, but it is a very small program and of course I don't want them seeing this). Unfortunately, their deadline is April 10, and I am very worried I won't have an answer from my top choice about funding by then. So here is my question: if you go to a not as great MA program, will that make things incredibly difficult when applying for your PhD? I certainly intend on continuing into my PhD right after my MA (and, actually, I'm on a waitlist for a PhD program too, but I don't expect to get off of it. More stress). I am certainly hoping that PhD admissions committees will be understanding and not expect everyone to have been able to attend expensive/elite MA programs like Courtauld or IFA, but hey, this is a pretty elitist field. Does anyone have any insight? I am very worried about attending the well funded MA and not being able to get into a PhD program after.