Pictureit24

I went through the BGC MA program and you can take classes at Columbia, which gives you access to all their amazing resources (I took a class their my second year). You also have the option to take courses at NYU, Parsons, CUNY, etc.

I went through the Georgetown AMUS program and graduated in 2012. I still debate whether it was a good choice for me because at the end of the program I decided I wanted to pursue curatorial work in decorative arts and design (which I studied through the Georgetown/Sotheby's program). I ended up getting a second MA and now work as a curator in my field. True, it's not very academic but you do gain valuable work experience through internships and making connections with a wide group of museum professionals. Almost everyone in my class found a job in their desired field soon after we graduated, which I think speaks to both the reputation of the program and the experience you can gain. You really have the opportunity to craft the program in the way that best suits you and you can do it in only 12 months. Hope that helps.

I just got an email from MoMA about setting up an interview for tomorrow. Guess they were running a bit behind.

I just started as an MA student at BGC. Feel free to message me with any questions you have!

To anyone out there who is taking a language exam this fall, or who has already taken an exam-- I've been studying all summer with a tutor, and I already had a pretty good grasp of the language to begin with (I'm taking the exam in French), but I was wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks for taking the actual exam that were useful for them. I was able to obtain a couple sample documents (approx. 700 words) that were used by the school in previous exams, and I've started trying to translate them within the three hour time span that I'll be given for the test. It seems to be taking me the full three hours and though memorizing more vocabulary could help, some strategies that others have found useful would be great too!

I'm pretty sure funding is based on overall GPA, but I can't be positive. And money is important, but you have to weigh the advantages and the disadvantages. Are you going to be able to get where you want to be in your career without the education? Unless you're fortunate enough to get into the Winterthur program, or you head right into a fully funded PhD program, you can't get this kind of education without incurring some amount of debt. You just need to ask yourself if the payoff is worth it to you.

I wouldn't get too discouraged! I was accepted to the MA program at BGC with a generous amount of funding. The director basically explained that it was distributed based on merit, so if your GPA coming out of undergrad is good you'll be in a better position for funding if you're accepted.

Hi everyone-- It's getting down to the wire, and I've noticed there aren't a lot of posts about decorative arts programs but if anyone can speak to the MA programs at either George Mason, Bard Graduate Center, or Parsons The New School for Design, I would love some input. I was accepted to all three programs and despite the varying degrees of funding from each one I'm still having a difficult time making a choice. Location is not really an issue for me-- I actually live in DC currently but would be just as happy in NYC. They all offer something different, but I haven't had any input form current students in the program except for George Mason, and I'll be attending accepted students day at Bard next week. Any thoughts would be quite appreciated! Or if anyone has questions about applying to these programs I'd be happy to share my experience.

I've been wondering all these things as well-- how could I have made my Winterthur application stronger? I have an MA in Art & Museum Studies from Georgetown University, took decorative arts courses in London, and have tons of internship experience relating to research, collections, and even conservation, icluding working with a decorative arts curator at a major institution... I didn't see my rejection letter because it went to my permanent address at my parent's house, but my dad said that rejected students could contact the office after April 15 to discuss their application and how they might improve next year! In all likelyhood I will not reapply because I applied to Decorative Arts programs at the Bard Graduate Center, Parsons, and George Mason. I would be just as happy to attend any one of those programs, but of course they aren't fully funded like Winterthur. Grad school applications are even more of a crap shoot than undergrad. Maybe I didn't have a 4.0 or perfect GRE scores. Who knows what they were thinking that day when they read our applications. It's best not to put all your eggs in one basket though-- I tried the whole 'strengthen my application for another year' once and was still rejected. Other programs are out there that are just as good.

I actually applied to the MA program at BGC and interviewed last week and this is how they explained funding (and their relationship with Bard College): -The funding for BGC (scholarships and grants) has nothing to do with Bard College. This funding comes from BGC and is distributed among accepted students based on merit. -Financial aid IS dealt with at Bard College. The college examines the FAFSA information and how much federal aid a student will be able to get and then passes that information along to the BGC. -The BGC is otherwise a separate entity (or at least that is how they consider themselves).

I'm currently a masters student at the Georgetown University program (which is Art & Museum Studies combined, with a semester of study at the Sotheby's Institute of Art--a very unique offering of this program). This program can be as museum or art history focused as you'd like, and combines internship experience, which is fantastic when you're studying in the DC area. Just some food for thought!

I'm currently in the Georgetown Art & Museum Studies M.A. program if you have any questions!

I'll be attending Georgetown in the fall as well. I did get my hoyamail set up but I was never sent any information about user names, email, passwords-- I had to call and speak to couple people before someone gave me the information over the phone. Strange if you ask me.

The Syracuse Museum Studies program is a non-thesis MA program and I was told by a student in their second semester that it wasn't very academically rigorous at all, so I think that's pretty much cemented my decision. I'm just interested in going through the program and taking a couple years to work before I think about applying to Art History programs. I am not interested in teaching, but I may be interested in the curatorial track some day. I just didn't feel like that, after just graduating undergrad, I had a narrow enough focus to apply for an Art History program. Thank you for your input, everyone!

I've been in touch with the departments but I haven't received any information about funding (except that it's very limited). I am planning on applying for my PhD in Art History in the future, though.