shoeswithsoul

Congratulations to the applicants who were unofficially accepted into Columbia's MA program! Did your emails give you an idea of the timeline for official acceptance emails/letters?

I'm applying to art history MA programs on the East Coast. My research interests primarily involve the decorative arts and material culture. My question is are the rules for applying for an MA different than applying for a PhD? I have three essay options I can use from undergrad. Only one of them is actually about the decorative arts. I received the same grade on all three of them, but I think the non-decorative arts samples are much better written. Should your writing sample match your research interests exactly, or is it OK that it's just an art history essay? Also, one of my essay options was technically written for an English class, but primarily involves a visual comparison of two paintings. I think this is my best written sample, but it does not involve any actual research. The only citation I used is the original literary text itself. Do you think this would be acceptable, or is it best to provide a sample that involved additional outside research? Thank you for your help. Any advice is appreciated!