curatortobe

I’m starting to think this advice may vary depending on the strength of your undergraduate training. I.E. did you do art history at a well-regarded school (and did you write a thesis?) or did you major in something else or otherwise not feel completely prepared for a PhD? I have always been told the path to a good PhD is Williams or the Courtauld. Of course, if you feel like your art historical foundations aren’t entirely solid then a two-year American program is most likely going to teach you more than a one-year British program. If, however, you feel pretty comfortable with where you are academically then it seems to me hard to beat the seal of approval the Courtauld provides. I’ll be going to the Courtauld. That said, I can also understand arguments against it, particularly if it comes down to funded-at-Tufts vs not-funded-at-Courtauld. (FWIW I have heard people say a Courtauld/British PhD is less respected than an American PhD, at least in American academia, so I don’t know if that’s confusing matters?)

A professor at Yale - and I think this translates to many other top PhD programs - told me that at this point nearly 50% of their accepted students have MAs from Williams or the Courtauld.* (FWIW Tufts was not mentioned. And the Courtauld is not great about funding if you’re not from the UK.) This may have been an exaggeration on his part, but I think overall his point stands and the preference for MAs is only going to increase for the time being. I can’t speak to the quality of professors and fit at every MA program, but I think the reason people like MAs from Williams is less that they know the MA increased your expertise in your field and more that the MA rigorously trained you in how to think and how to be a professional art historian. At most top PhD programs you’re going to have to do two years of coursework again (effectively a second MA) so in many ways with the first MA you’re just proving you can hack it as an academic more than anything else. So the impression I’ve received is that, at least for the MA, be less concerned about professors’ areas of research, as frustrating as it may be when they don’t overlap with yours. *Usual caveat that there are people who got MAs from other institutions who are at Yale, and that not everyone wants to go to Yale.

Does anyone want to claim Williams admits from last week or provide any info they have? On the one hand I assume no news yet is bad but on the other hand they seem to admit people at multiple times.

I don't have much direct knowledge of KU vs UT's programs, but it's worth considering the fact that UT is decimating its fine arts library (to be fair, I don't know what KU's library is like). The faculty, students, and museum are all very against this, but it seems like an uphill battle to prevent the books from disappearing. https://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2018-03-30/changes-at-uts-fine-arts-library-cause-a-rift-in-the-college-of-fine-arts/ https://hyperallergic.com/433583/fine-arts-libraries-books-disappearing/

Is anyone else still waiting to hear from Williams? I'm pretty pessimistic this late in the game but would still like to get a sense of where they might be in their process. Is there a specific date that accepted students (@TJGreenbergFried @rosehip) have to notify the program by before more rejections/waitlists will go out? @unanachronism you mentioned you were accepted to Williams pretty late - had that happened by now? I know I could email them about my status but too superstitious at the moment... Thanks!!