adjunctlifer

My particular experience is that I actually already have a terminal MFA degree, and am feeling the constraints of that (since I am most likely going to continue in teaching ). So my views are definitely influenced by that experience. I was a little older going into that program, too, and I really treated it as a chance to begin my career rather than just a chance to study. In some ways, I almost feel like pure learning is easiest to do outside of an academic program in many ways, where one just reads and studies on their own time. But I digress. I treated my MFA program as an incubator to build career options and it worked - but I wish I had even longer to make those connections stronger and afford me even more time to explore and learn while doing so. So, I'm actually thinking that I would like to do a PhD to buy time to build my career, so that I can hit the ground running (ie not in an entry level position) when I graduate. Hope that's helpful to think on, just my personal experiences thus far.

You sound a lot like me - doing the school debate while also trying to balance the responsibilities that come with time. Some of the things I’m thinking about (as a fellow « older » student): The cost of living, not just the numbers. Such as: how much is health insurance in a particular area? How good is that health insurance, and how would that translate to overall costs? (Lower premiums aren’t always cheaper if there are more out of pocket costs). Transit costs, such as public transit, but also the cost of insuring my vehicle (more in a more urban spot). Plus rent - some cities are half the cost of others. Time. Ideally, grad school is where a career starts, and the time as a student is invaluable to creating contacts and networks. When I was younger, two years felt like a lot of time, but now it feels so short. You can absolutely curate with an MA. I know numerous humans at reputable institutions with MAs or MFAs that are curating; there seems to be a bias on this forum that this is impossible, which doesn’t align with my own experiences at all. In some ways, it actually seems easier for MAs to get jobs, as they have less baggage in terms of research specificity, and a lot more agility in terms of working at smaller institutions which might need generalists. But I also think about the fact that I’m an « older » student also means I’ve aged out of entry level jobs, which are meant for young people that don’t need benefits, aren’t worried about making maximum yearly contributions to their IRAs (or have the time not to) or have health insurance though their parents; I literally could not afford one of those jobs if I wanted to do it. So in my career, I’ll have to jump to non-entry level post grad school if I want to be not homeless, which makes me (personally) want more education (and time), not less. [I’m bracing for someone to fire back about the impossibility of curating with an MA, but I stand my ground.]

@kaufdichglücklich I encourage you to re-read the words that I wrote. I do not think that you are listening to what I am saying here. I am approaching this with a specific set of experiences, which are different than yours, and I have offered an opinion based on my experiences. I also want to add a gentle reminder that this is an anonymous internet forum. You do not know me. You do not know the qualifications that I bring to the table. You do not know my accomplishments. You do not know what my previous education was or what my professional history has been. Likewise, I do not know these things about you, or anyone else who chooses to write here. We are all just peers offering advice based on what we know, in order to learn from others who may know things that we do not know. The spirit of the internet forum is that a plurality of voices strengthens the conversation, and I am offering just that. I also am going to reiterate that stories differ, lives differ and goals differ. I do not need to prescribe to a heteronormative narrative of what is "right" in terms of pursuing life goals, career goals or more education (or not) in order to voice my opinion. Now, that's all folks. Over and out. I'm not responding to this thread anymore.

@kaufdichglücklich You're right: I have not done a PhD in art history. I have, however, spent decades in academia as a student in a terminal degree program, as a professor, and as a program administrator. I have so much experience, but I'm choosing not to list it here. My opinion comes from a different place, but my advice isn't terrible just because it is different than yours. And I am not delusional - that is a word derived from psychology with specific clinical meaning and it does the mental health community disservice to co-opt it as a descriptor (please don't for the sake of other people). So, we are going to have to agree to disagree, because, as I stated in my post, not everyone's story is the same and not everyone comes to the table with the same set of experiences that drives them to look for the same things in life or a graduate program. Clearly, my goals are different than yours. And that is okay.

To reply as a human who has a few potentially relevant experiences: I am queer. I hold an MFA, which is a terminal degree that sets one up for the potential of tenure track. I’ve done the adjunct circuit (see username). I have museum experience as well and understand the politics of that world. I am a potential applicant in upcoming cycles for an art history PhD. So, with all that in mind ..... this is my opinion. The art world doesn’t have any jobs right now. Not for me, not for you. The pandemic had caused issues in academia that have long reverberations, but so too in the museum field. Everything is a wreck, and will probably be a wreck for years to come. I am considering going back to school. I know there are no tenure track jobs waiting - I am already proof of that. But trying to navigate the world as it currently is just isn’t working. I don’t have a spouse to support me, and even if I did, they would be a woman (and a queer woman) and thus statistically wouldn’t earn the same that a male partner might. So I’m doing this on my own and making this work on my own ... and it isn’t working, especially now with covid. As @qwer_asdf pointed out as well, many of the historic ´backup’ plans don’t work anymore either - I don’t feel safe waiting tables or teaching kids. Will more education get me further? Maybe not. But it can’t be worse than this, and it’s most likely faaaaaaar more stable than piecing together one semester contracts at a time. And then in five or seven years, the economy might be better. It might not be. But 5-7 years of relative stability just feels so tempting, and it’s a gamble that I’m willing to take. I feel frustrated at the flippant tone that assumes that everyone comes from the same place and wants the same things. I don’t want kids - I want to learn. None of my friends are getting married. None. And no kids, and no houses, and I’m not young. My friends are in similar boats as me, and being poor and in school doesn’t mean anyone ´missed out’ but that our paths are different from the prescribed heteronormative assumptions others have for us. And top tier programs and state schools are not the same. Of course they aren’t. For my terminal degree, I went to a school that that wasn’t top tier, and all opportunities were competitive. But I was a big fish in a little pond, and I had a really good experience and was able to gain experience that wouldn’t have been possible in top tier programs. My peers who went to "better schools" with "more money" didn’t have a better experience. In fact, it was probably the opposite, and with that in mind, I would be super wary of actually applying to top tier programs this next time around. Just my two cents. Essentially, not everyone's story is the same.

I think it is totally normal to have loved your undergrad experience and want it to continue. However, being a grad student is different because it’s viewed as the start of ones professional career - not an extension of being a student. Dating an undergrad is just inappropriate, even if the age is the same. You’ll be in a different life place. And if you can’t see that? Maybe the issue isn’t actually about dating an undergrad, but rather about your own intentions and aspirations as a grad student.

Years and years ago, for my last semester of undergrad, I opted for pass/fail in a class without considering what that meant for the future. I don’t know if it ended up affecting my masters applications much (by the time I decided to apply years later it just was what it was) but for what it’s worth, out of four applications, I got into two, waitlisted for another and only rejected by one. On the flip side - all my anxiety over failing the course prompted me to take pass fail. And yet my grade would have been an A! So in the end I regretted my decision.

It’s been a long time since I’ve cracked open my Preziosi. It was one of three texts that were used for a course I took in undergrad. The other two were Art History’s History by Vernon Hyde Minor and The Methodologies of Art by Laurie Schneider Adams. If I remember correctly, all three worked in tandem but the latter two were easier to comprehend than the former.

I actually think Boston is pretty hard without a car - the T is limiting at best. The T functions well for the core downtown area, but does a very poor job serving the residential neighborhoods. If you want to travel from South Boston (différent from the South End) to East Boston? Practically impossible. Dorchester to Allston? Might as well give up. Boston is a much larger area than what surrounds the Commons, and if you only stay in the downtown, you aren’t getting an authentic experience, as almost all the born and bred Bostonians live in the outlying neighborhoods.

I think I just threw up a little reading how much people are paying for housing in Boston. Two things to keep in mind: All leases run September -September. Rent renewals start in January, so by February or March, almost all the real estate in Boston is already rented for the following September. If you’re looking in summer (even early summer), it’s the leftovers, evictions and otherwise empty apartments that are available - which means that landlords really need to lease that space and want to do so more than they want full rent. AND Rent is negotiable. Edited to add: heat and hot water included will save you money, but the reason it is included is because you won’t have the ability to control it yourself. 80 degrees inside in January isn’t unusual, and there is a reason the City of Boston has two portals on their website - one to report a landlord underheating your apartment, and another to report a landlord overheating your apartment. I guess I have some feelings about the Boston rental market

I'm hopeful that there will be the opportunity for at least partial funding. I just can't imagine going into debt since I am aware that my field doesn't produce the highest paying employment opportunities. I'm planning on emailing professors, but probably a little later in the summer as I know that most universities are currently overwhelmed with COVID-19 planning. Plus, I need to do more research before reaching out. Right now, I'm looking mostly at Concordia and McGill, for Art History or a related humanities trajectory.

I tried to look around for an answer to this, but I couldn't seem to find anything. I'm a US citizen that wants to study abroad for my PhD, specifically in Canada. As I look at all the tuition costs ... I just can't pay for any of them unless I receive funding. All the schools I'm looking at make vague platitudes on their website about supporting students, but I'm not quite sure what that ultimately means. I'm potentially applying to humanities programs. I know in the US, at least for undergraduate studies, (I have no idea about graduate studies) almost all schools make international students pay full tuition, and those students are the ones that really help fund the schools and allow the institutions to give scholarships to domestic students. I'm wondering if this is true for other countries too, at the graduate level. I just *can't* pay for another degree, and I don't want to waste my time applying if it just isn't possible. Any insight?

I also have a studio art background and am looking to move into art history (PhD). I disagree a bit with @ncan360. I think that BFAs actually teach us more than people realize, and the capacity of an artist to do research and synthesize material into a new form is absolutely relevant to academic study. We don't learn the same forms of study, but all the info about how to properly research, cite things, etc is totally learnable on our own time. BUT I think that the trick is to convince others that this is the case - and I'm still thinking about how best to do that. Best of luck!

I've finally learned that no matter how much you give as a teacher, everyone will want more. So, boundaries are essential. As I go through each semester, I try to separate things out with two questions: Is this my job? Is this not my job? Meaning ... student is having trouble with their research for a final paper. Do I coach them myself? I could. Or, do I have them make an appointment with a librarian and then reach out to me afterwards? It's my job to teach my subject, but it's also okay to send students to other departments / resources as needed. And, the student will probably learn more from having to access research help with a librarian than they would with me coaching them. I spend forever preparing my lectures, though. I've heard others say that they don't, or that this is a waste of time. If you are headed into academia, having really good lectures with notes prepared will save you lots of time down the line. I have one class I've taught for the last five years, and I have the lectures (jokes and all) memorized at this point, which makes lecturing so, so easy. I'm so thankful I spent that initial time. Same goes for preparing documents like grading schemes and assignments. Also - you are a performer on a stage in the classroom. So smile, laugh, move around, keep their attention. They are literally asleep sometimes.

Thanks for replying, @sorenerasmus. It's actually really great to hear that answer, because it makes me realize that I probably wasn't asking a question as much as looking for reassurance. Because of the nature of an MFA program, I didn't really produce any papers of any significance, and I'd have to revise what I did write SOOO much that I might as well write another paper. So ... now I just need to find the time to write a new paper! Ugh.