KALChicago

Hello fellow ancient Art friends! I just joined Grad Cafe since I too have taken the plunge. Applied for a PhD in Egyptology (focusing on the art and archaeology; the discipline tends to split a bit). Hoping to end up in a museum, preferably curating. I could spend the rest of my life in the archives and collections of a museum and die happy. Applied to: U Chicago, Berkeley (0-2 for undergrad and law; not thinking the streak is going to be broken), UCLA, U Michigan, Penn, JHU, NYU IFA, Brown. Super freaking nervous. Fully expecting rejections from everyone, since I am doing this of off a career change (recovering attorney) and feel that without an intermediate degree in the field, I am SOL. But it is worth a shot. Hoping maybe some schools will take pity and let me in to the MA program on the strength of my undergrad background (Art History with focus in ancient Egyptian art, as well as French. Thank god I am fluent in French...) and the fact that I have been trying to shore up my deficiencies on my own (learning German and ancient Egyptian) and have been volunteering in the archives of an ancient Near Eastern/Egyptian-focused museum for over a year now (3x/week in the early hours before work. Because I am a crazy person). Alas, I am not holding my breath. So...just how screwed am I? Lol. Good luck to everyone. Try to stay zen, though I am fully aware this is near impossible.

Adding to the fray here. I think I am alone in my specialization though; applying to PhD in NELC for Egyptology/ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology. Applied to Chicago, Berkeley, UCLA, U Michigan, Penn, Brown, JHU, and NYU IFA (I am hoping to work towards a museum position, and they have connections with the Met, so...). Fully expecting rejections from everyone. Whee! Hoping maybe Chicago will let me into their MA program, because apparently all PhD applicants, if not accepted for PhD, are automatically reviewed for potential admission to the MA program. Does anyone have any idea when programs start saying anything to anyone? Also, has anyone applied to Michigan/have any idea what they mean when Wolverine Access says "application is not complete"? The statement seems obvious except that it is also showing that everything has been received, so... Has anyone had issues with this? Does it affect that application (this is for receipt of things like GRE scores, LORs, and transcripts, and not the things I had to attach to the application itself when I submitted it). I've email them about it, but I am kind of freaking out over here, and haven't heard anything yet... So yeah, also pretty much a nervous wreck...