lotte-laserstein

The last contact I had with UCSB they said they were putting financial packages together, which was why it was taking so long. When I talked with my POI a few weeks ago I'd received an official admittance, but no contracts or financial info, and they said it would be weeks before they had things together. I would contact the person you applied to work with and ask for a firm answer. At this point, as far as I know, they have their top choices from the people invited to the visit, and they're trying to get their ducks in a row. The person you applied to work with should have their list and know for sure whether or not you're on it, or at least be able to give you some more information besides "we'll tell you later". The impression I got over all is that it's a great program with some administrative/financial issues going on, which is unfortunately leaving a lot of people hanging.

Unless there's something going on that I don't know about, all potential admits were invited to the campus visit. I went and received a decision yesterday. At this point I'd definitely email for info. Personally I find it a bit silly that programs as a whole that know for certain that they're not accepting students don't just inform them as soon as applicants are sorted into different piles, but I'm sure there's a good reason, right? A really really good reason to leave applicants hanging, just a totally amazing reason

Should I assume that I was rejected from Stanford, given that I wasn't contacted about an interview? At this point I'm just waiting for a few programs to give me an answer, since I want so badly to just be able to accept the offer I have without having to wonder if I'm jumping the gun.

I went to an incredibly un-prestigious MA program, but I had an unbelievable support system in my advisor and other faculty and administrators, and plenty of funding opportunities. The end result was I had more time and energy to focus my thesis, which is the main reason that I got into my top choice phd program. I don't know what would have happened if I'd gone to a more prestigious school, but there are bright spots in smaller, less well known programs. Ultimately a "better" program is impossible to judge until you've actually experienced it. It could be that your lesser known choice has a prof who is dedicated to mentoring you and going above and beyond, but the more prestigious program doesn't. In my opinion, every program is what you make of it, and while a name can open some doors, it's not the end all be all of deciding factors. If funding will make your life considerably easier then that has to be one of your considerations, but don't count out going and talking to POIs in person and emailing current students. Gut feeling makes a difference too. Congrats on your acceptances!

This would be something that you should probably consult more about with a professor who's been on hiring committees, but I wouldn't make this decision purely based on your chosen subfield. Street art is a viable option of study in an art history program, so long as you choose a program with faculty who have expressed similar research interests. What kind of street art are you interested in? Why are you interested specifically in this subject? What about it draws your attention? If you were going to write a 100 page paper about street art, what would it look like? Which sources would you want to cite? Answering those questions could help you better decide which discipline is better suited to your career path. I just finished my art history masters and will probably choose a visual studies phd over art history, but that's due to my practice having an interdisciplinary focus. If your interest in street art skews towards things like activism, social justice concerns, queer theory, etc etc, then visual studies might be for you. But you could still study street art in a strict art history program, and you could get a great art historical background in a visual studies program. Really it's based on differences in schools of thought and approaches to a subject. If you're interested in teaching art history, however, know that a visual studies phd will narrow your prospects at some universities. I would seek advice from as many professors as possible and make contact with universities you might be interested in attending. Another thing you should do is look at the curriculum and mission statements at different programs - a visual studies program will often have similar courses, but you'll be able to see in the descriptions how the focuses differ across various programs.

I've just completed an MA and I applied for 5 phd programs to study lgbtq contemporary art. I have no idea what to do with myself for the next few months while we're all waiting - it's kind of terrifying knowing that a few emails anywhere from a few weeks to a few months from now will determine what happens next but until I get those responses, it feels like endless limbo. I feel like asking to be put in a medically induced coma...