Valorship98

All I know is that supposedly Harvard has an internal deadline of the 15th for GSAS notifications. I'm sure we'll hear back late, but I just reached out to the DGS to see if there is any news, will update here!

Doesn't look like it... could be this Friday or by the 13th-ish. Or at literally any point between now and the 15th. I don't know how I'm gunna get through all this waiting. If anyone wants to share stats/accetpances let's PM!

Hey I got accepted and totally bombed my language interview. You should do fine. They accept HSK-1.

How did you not apply to UMass Amherst if you're interested in Dickinson lol

Well when I was doing interviews with faculty members during my search process, this question was obviously one of the first. Generally the faculty members I engaged with who I actually liked and had chemistry with would ask me about my research interests. They were all genuinely interested in what I was interested in. I happened to meet a Harvard professor at the airport who I was interested in working with, and before we boarded the plane he asked for the paper I had written in my graduate seminar. I typically ask about the program and what current students go on to do. I guess it's different for everyone, and you know the questions that are in the back of your mind better than I could. But seriously, you can just reach out to them. They may be uber smart, but if you're admitted or even waitlisted, it means they are interested in you. Tell the voice in the back of your head that worried if you'll "sound stupid" to shut up - it makes no sense!

If I were you I would reach out again to your POI's at your UW, UVA and UCDavis and simply introduce yourself as one of the people who've been admitted/waitlisted and ask to schedule a time for a skype interview to cover any questions you might have about the program. I've done this and it lead to my acceptances at two programs prior to application season. Don't be afraid to be confident and ask for what you want!

I would recommend Library Sci over Museum Studies if you end up interested in this route. Being a librarian comes with decent pay, allows time for research particularly with students and faculty, and often you are a guest lecturer in the department you work most closely with. Museum Studies, coming from an art historical perspective, is a degree that is entirely useless. History museums want history PhD's and art museums want art history PhD's. Museum studies folks simply get shuffled over to educational or other administration duties within the museum.

If anyone hears from RSEA today let us know here, and submit your results!

You may want to get in touch with Professor Annie Ronan of Earlham College. While she will not be able to advise you, she is a professor of American art history of the 19th century with a particular focus on animals. She may know of some scholars with whom you'd like to work! And she's an absolute doll.

Has anyone heard anything regarding the RSEA at Harvard? Still waiting on notification so I can start to make a decision.

Hey everyone! Also applying EALC, was admitted to Penn and WUSTL. Waiting for Harvard, but rejected from Berkeley. All MAs. My research concerns Chinese architectural history post-1989 with a focus on cross-cultural encounters through the built environment.

You should see what "The Professor Is In" says about this. From my research, it sounds like if the program isn't top 10 you might have a problem. Now for all I know you could be an incredibly brilliant scholar who is about to write the most important book of the decade. In that case, and if you believe this to be true, do your PhD at Louisiana.

Hi, does anyone at Penn who recieved a FLAS (preferabbly in East Asian langs) know the date on which they heard back? Really trying to make a decision on my schools and the FLAS makes my two schools equivalent in price. Thanks

There are no prerequisites for art history, if you are a competent student of the humanities, you should be fine.

Hello, does anyone have any tips as far as undergraduate thesis writing? What are some things I can do in the thesis that will be good for future writing samples? Has anyone written their thesis and have any warnings?

I have heard that pages for bibliography (and images, in the case of my field art history) generally do not count; I would encourage you to include them.

Eastman ❤️

Hello, has anyone here completed, applied to, been accepted to the MA program at Stanford in East Asian Language and Culture Studies? I am thinking about using this as an entry point to apply to the PhD in art history there. I think I could do the degree in 1-1.5 years considering I will have already completed the language requirement in undergrad. Two of my recommenders went to Stanford.. recently (however one was nationally recognized by an art journal, and the other is technically still finishing her PhD). Will this be a significant bonus to my application for a PhD? TIA

When you're trying to go to a PhD in modern and contemporary Chinese art history. There are like 10 specialists that tenured in the country.

Everyone has this 'inner saboteur," an inside voice that tells you you are not good enough. If other people are (aka the adcom admitting you) then counter that inside voice with your accomplishments. You did indeed earn that accomplishment so do not let the saboteur deter you.

Hi, I am interested in attending Grad School, however most of the professors I want to work with are very late in their career, my top choice telling me he would be retiring prior to my proposed completion date. I could still attend this school but propose to work with him while he is there, but other professors once he leaves, my main supervisor being someone other than him. I am interested in contemporary Chinese art history, so I could easily be supervised by a contemporary or a Chinese specialist. Does it really matter if I am working with a professor who is well known, or is the school the most important part. Most of the times art history PhDs gain professorships only if they attended at a top 10.

Thank you for the reply! I did not know about the automatic MA consideration, that is great news. My mentor and professor told me to apply to Harvard, even after hearing my GPA (which simply is not Harvard quality lol) and I was blown away! I think I will take your advice and hopefully gear up for 7 years of hard work!

Hello, I am a contemporary Chinese art historian (as far as what I want in my Masters / PhD studies). I was wondering if anyone has heard anything about the Master of Arts Program in Humanities at UChicago? I would be focusing in art history since they have one amazing Chinese specialist and a second Chinese specialist. I want to get a Master's rather than a PhD (at least for now). The reason I would choose against applying to the PhD at UChicago is due to my lack of confidence in an acceptance. In addition, I am a first-generation student. I am wondering if getting into grad school is as difficult as I think it will be? How weighted is GPA if everything else about my application (rigor, languages, prior research, AMAZING thesis and other writing, great recommendations)? Two of my rec letters will be from Stanford PhD's, should I apply to Stanford to see? Will this give me an edge over other applicants? Every school with a professor that interests me is retiring, should I apply to work with their contemporary specialist then, rather than their contemporary Chinese specialist? Right now the schools I am interested in are Harvard, Cornell, NYU, Columbia, UChicago, Princeton, Williams College, BU, Stanford, OhioSU, UPitt. Harvard, NYU, Columbia are more because I want to do a masters and those schools offer that program, however, I feel like all of these schools are a long shot since I just do not have any clue what chances I have. I feel because I am a first-generation I do not feel like I belong in academia. Thank you.