[Fall 2020 Applicants]

Can anyone speak to the reputation of the department at UNC-Chapel Hill? I recognize that it can't possibly be the same without Mary Sheriff, but I imagine its still a well-regarded program? Thanks.

[Fall 2019 Applicants]

21 minutes ago, pedestal said:

I’d recommend looking up students at other programs besides Yale. There are nearly 10 students from Williams at Harvard and Princeton in the last 3 years. How many are at JHU/SMU/Pitt? (Also do you know there are a few people from JHU at Williams—including the director of the program?)

Yes, my ex studied with Michael Holly and accepted a position at JHU because he/she was rejected from Yale, Harvard, and Berkeley. My close friend who started Harvard didn't have a Williams degree either. I must confess that I didn't spend time looking at Harvard because (a) their grad profiles are minimal and (b) they don't have a prof who I can work with. How do you know about the 10 people at Harvard from Williams? Three years seems a bit far back.

[Fall 2019 Applicants]

11 minutes ago, michael fried said:

Do not assume that no Williams students were admitted to Yale over the past two years simply because none attended; that’s a fallacy. 

True. I guess I will still apply there. I just found their brochures from previous years and tracked down the students who expressed PhD plans. I find it hard to believe someone would take CUNY, Pitt, etc over Yale. But thanks for your advice. 

[Fall 2019 Applicants]

10 hours ago, pedestal said:

There have always been Williams students going to CUNY, JHU and Stanford. There are also still more Williams students from recent classes going to Harvard, Yale and Princeton than going to the institutions you mentioned. Those three, along with Columbia and the IFA, are also considerably larger programs than many others, reputation notwithstanding. Looking at recent placements alongside older ones, there's really no shift. 

I don't mean to be rude, but I did go through all the first and second year students at Yale. I don't have time to look at every program but NONE of the first or second year students there came from Williams. Many had MAs from Courtauld and Upenn. Some had BAs from Harvard and Chicago. Can you please give me examples of what you are pointing to that illustrates your point that there's "no shift?" Thanks. It would help me a lot with the next application season.

[Fall 2019 Applicants]

1 hour ago, wren said:

The strangest part is I’ve had some friends attend the courtauld in the last few years out of our program (which is admittedly at a school not particularly known for art history or the humanities in general really) and while neither has pursued a PhD yet, both ended up in pretty great jobs in museums or galleries less than six months after graduating, and said that while our small program led to some imposter syndrome at the courtauld, they felt perfectly prepared and on par knowledge wise. 

I’m wondering if perhaps my professors are just confused? Like I said my program was very small and while they are both great academics they’re also pretty removed from the sort of “academic machine” since our school is so far removed from it. 

But as you and everyone else has confirmed, the reputation of the courtauld I think is hard to beat, especially if you look at student bios at top PhD programs. 

I’ve received half tuition at tufts so monetarily the costs aren’t super disparate, so I’m reasonably sure I’ll be seeing you at the courtauld! 

My undergrad (ivy league) advisor said that 4-6 years ago their top choice was to take people from Williams and the second was Courtauld, for what its worth. However, in the last 2-3 years, there's been a shift. I decided to do some digging. I found some of the recent Williams people at CUNY, Pitt, JHU, SMU, and Stanford. Don't get me wrong. Those are pretty respectable institutions. They just aren't Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. 

[Harvard or Yale?]

I'm confused. I am applying next year and am actually at one of the institutions you mentioned now. M advisor told me that every advisor is very different and the reputation of your personal advisor matters the most. Why is everyone so focused on the names Harvard and Yale instead of the names of the people who would be advising you?

[Fall 2020 Applicants]

I don't understand the point of applying to programs that don't have a faculty member that pertains to my research area at all. My current advisor doesn't either. 

[Fall 2020 Applicants]

For what its worth, I thought I would share what the department chair said. I freaked out so I started talking to some of the professors in the department and some who I have worked with in the past. They said its good to go to an ivy and probably the best thing to do (with some exceptions such as Northwestern for me but my advisor didn't think they were admitting people for 19th cent anymore). The few profs very strongly stated that an ivy education is not a guarantee of getting the best job and pointed to several job searches that turned up folks from places like Pittsburgh, Tulane, Rochester, San Diego, etc. They said the second best thing would be a famous advisor (who is known inside of and outside of art history) at a reputable institution. The ideal combinations appears to be prestigious school plus prestigious advisor. I was mostly cautioned against going to any MA program that doesn't offer funding or any PhD program that can't offer me at least 4 years of funding with a livable stipend. This is what I was told and thought someone might appreciate it. 

[Fall 2020 Applicants]

I am new here and very confused. I am an undergraduate at an ivy now who wants to get a PhD in 19th cent art. My advisor (who also advisees PHD students/candidates) said there was a change a few years ago to hiring based on the prestige of the advisor over the prestige of the school. Gah! I'm so confused.