OHSP

I agree with what others have said but also would advise you to get rid of the notion of reach and safety schools—NYU is not a “back up” if you don’t get into the others (said as someone who chose a “lower ranked” school over UPenn). If you’re assuming that NYU and BU (not in the same category) will be easier to get into because they’re not ivies then you don’t have the best sense of how graduate programs operate. 

I agree with what others have said but also would advise you to get rid of the notion of reach and safety schools—NYU is not a “back up” if you don’t get into the others (said as someone who chose a “lower ranked” school over UPenn). If you’re assuming that NYU and BU (not in the same category) will be easier to get into because they’re not ivies then you don’t have the best sense of how graduate programs operate. 

Unlikely. PhD coursework isn't really about the credits; it's about forming you as a scholar, and any department worth attending will think that their training program is necessary.

It's also quite likely to be the case that faculty members don't really know or care about this language funding (sad realities of grad school). It's better to focus on academic fit--why are the questions you're asking a good match for x professor etc. 

It's also quite likely to be the case that faculty members don't really know or care about this language funding (sad realities of grad school). It's better to focus on academic fit--why are the questions you're asking a good match for x professor etc. 

History of architecture type work often takes place in art history departments. Really I can't stress how different history and art history departments are--it would be better to ask these questions of people who know about the art history field. It would also help to do some basic research into schools rather than asking people to identify "top schools" for you--unlike in undergrad the "top school" for your own research is very dependent on your subfield and approach. 

History of architecture type work often takes place in art history departments. Really I can't stress how different history and art history departments are--it would be better to ask these questions of people who know about the art history field. It would also help to do some basic research into schools rather than asking people to identify "top schools" for you--unlike in undergrad the "top school" for your own research is very dependent on your subfield and approach. 

You're obviously not paying close enough of attention to what we are saying.  This isn't the right place for you to be asking questions.  Go to Art History fora.

Someone else posted about this recently and the collective advice was that, other than the word "history", art history and history PhD programs have very little in common--said as someone in a history phd program whose partner has an art history phd and is an art history lecturer. 

Someone else posted about this recently and the collective advice was that, other than the word "history", art history and history PhD programs have very little in common--said as someone in a history phd program whose partner has an art history phd and is an art history lecturer. 

@PHD! I think you are using the wrong forum.  For history PhD, you'd want to look for programs that are strong in public history or American Studies.  Those programs will have professors more sympathetic to your career goals.  History PhD programs, even with all the talk about preparing for non-professor positions, still hinges on the tradition.

@urbanhistorynerd Been there done that. If nothing else, you have this professor to keep in touch with after (hopefully) you get into a PhD program elsewhere.  That person could potentially write a letter on your behalf or look at fellowship application materials or even serve on your dissertation committee as an external reviewer.  Just focus on this as an opportunity to network, not only to get into Harvard.

You don't need anyone to tell you that this is a positive response--the kind that's likely to freak out any lurkers on this forum [dear lurkers, my current advisors didn't respond to my pre-application emails at all--I applied anyway and they are both really supportive and great]. I had basically this same response from two professors at ivy leagues--I got into one of the schools and was not admitted at the other but am still in touch with the POI. The POI at the latter sent me a long email after the decision explaining that it was a numbers thing, which I appreciated--but know that this can happen to you too. 

This is great to know. Thank you!

I can only speak for nyu but it’s definitely the case that the admissions committee (and esp. the current dgs) is more concerned w quality of ideas and questions than with details about the archives you might go to etc etc. I wouldn’t waste a single moment explaining why it’ll be great for your research to be in nyc, that’s really a pretty minor detail about the department. If you’re interdisciplinary, stress it. Same goes for working across regions or diasporas. I know all adcoms deal with a bunch of applications some of which are immediately recognizable as a poor fit for the school, but just know and keep in mind that schools like CUNY, Columbia, and NYU receive quite a few applications from people who “would just find it interesting to live in nyc” [this is a complaint I have heard from a professor]. Show that you know the school and it’s strengths. **note that this is obviously not directed at TMP but following on from their suggestion

@TMP I almost didn't apply because I didn't want to live in NYC, and when I got in I wrote it off entirely--the visit weekend totally changed my mind but until then I was like NOPE. And living in the city can be hard, so, I wasn't totally wrong to be wary. 

@OHSP I agree with your take and would say the same for other "big city" schools, particularly that one can receive research/summer funds to conduct research later on.  It's quite challenging to conduct archival research during a very busy semester of coursework (and TAing if applicable).  When I applied to NYU, the only thing that did not excited me about the school was having to live in/near NYC!  (At the time, I wasn't fond of NYC but now I'm more warm to it after several months of living there for research.) 

I can only speak for nyu but it’s definitely the case that the admissions committee (and esp. the current dgs) is more concerned w quality of ideas and questions than with details about the archives you might go to etc etc. I wouldn’t waste a single moment explaining why it’ll be great for your research to be in nyc, that’s really a pretty minor detail about the department. If you’re interdisciplinary, stress it. Same goes for working across regions or diasporas. I know all adcoms deal with a bunch of applications some of which are immediately recognizable as a poor fit for the school, but just know and keep in mind that schools like CUNY, Columbia, and NYU receive quite a few applications from people who “would just find it interesting to live in nyc” [this is a complaint I have heard from a professor]. Show that you know the school and it’s strengths. **note that this is obviously not directed at TMP but following on from their suggestion

I can only speak for nyu but it’s definitely the case that the admissions committee (and esp. the current dgs) is more concerned w quality of ideas and questions than with details about the archives you might go to etc etc. I wouldn’t waste a single moment explaining why it’ll be great for your research to be in nyc, that’s really a pretty minor detail about the department. If you’re interdisciplinary, stress it. Same goes for working across regions or diasporas. I know all adcoms deal with a bunch of applications some of which are immediately recognizable as a poor fit for the school, but just know and keep in mind that schools like CUNY, Columbia, and NYU receive quite a few applications from people who “would just find it interesting to live in nyc” [this is a complaint I have heard from a professor]. Show that you know the school and it’s strengths. **note that this is obviously not directed at TMP but following on from their suggestion

I second this. After my first year a bunch of the cohort seemed to be able to finance round-the-world trips and then I realized that they'd just spent 9 months living rent free courtesy of Family Cash. I make up for it by applying for fellowships while I scroll through their "beach life" instagram accounts (only kind of joking). I would also add that one thing I've seen get to people is the culture of academia--you can ❤️ research and teaching etc but that's only part of this place, and at my school the "I Love History!" folk don't really cope that well. If you're reading these boards I'd be very attentive to the advice you get from anyone attending the schools you're applying to--if someone says "I'm not sure that person really takes students" or "this school isn't strong in your area" then pay attention. It doesn't matter that you received a friendly email from a faculty member, they don't always know what's up in the department as a whole--current grad students are the most reliable source of accurate information. 

What Columbia charges students for accomodation versus what grad students in the city tend to pay for rent, especially after their first year = not the same thing. Trust me also that the topic of money, stipends, rent etc etc is pretty relevant to question of whether a phd is worth it. It's a matter of how you're going to live for the next 5-7 years. 

The "struggle" of graduate school is not always a noble, dignified one. It can be humiliating, morally debilitating, infuriatingly arbitrary, and intellectually limiting, especially (precisely?) because academic work is so much more personal than most other forms of labor. I encourage you to read this classic essay by Tim Burke. 
As they say, your mileage may vary, and I certainly have friends who love it and are having a blast, but trust me that you cannot anticipate the ways your sense of self-worth can be destroyed in graduate school, for no good reason and by people you assumed you could trust. You need to prepare to make some provision for your mental health, beyond just dealing with the stress of being busy.
 

When I was accepted to upenn someone mentioned this program and suggested it's more about working for a year in another university's lab (so not that relevant to history). I've found that I don't need any official exchange program to work with faculty at other schools. The consortium (https://gsas.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/gsas/academics/inter-university-doctoral-consortium.html) is useful but I've also had students from non-consortium schools in my classes and I'm taking a class at a non-consortium school because IRL if you have a decent relationship with a professor at your school who's friends with a professor you want to know elsewhere, they can help you to make that connection. Short story: I wouldn't spend much energy thinking about this. 

Always depends where you are living in NYC and how many roommates you've got...

I second this. After my first year a bunch of the cohort seemed to be able to finance round-the-world trips and then I realized that they'd just spent 9 months living rent free courtesy of Family Cash. I make up for it by applying for fellowships while I scroll through their "beach life" instagram accounts (only kind of joking). I would also add that one thing I've seen get to people is the culture of academia--you can ❤️ research and teaching etc but that's only part of this place, and at my school the "I Love History!" folk don't really cope that well. If you're reading these boards I'd be very attentive to the advice you get from anyone attending the schools you're applying to--if someone says "I'm not sure that person really takes students" or "this school isn't strong in your area" then pay attention. It doesn't matter that you received a friendly email from a faculty member, they don't always know what's up in the department as a whole--current grad students are the most reliable source of accurate information.