curatorcritic

kate_ellen: Are you still trying to decide between Columbia, Stanford, and Chicago? I'm an MA student in the Modern Art program at Columbia. I could probably give you some advice if you need it. I haven't heard much about the art history departments at Stanford or Chicago, but Columbia is really strong in Modern art, both in African and otherwise. Kellie Jones electrifies, especially when you get her talking about Adrian Piper and African American performance art. As for New York, it's one of the best cities in the world, even if it's not as warm as northern California. It's definitely worth the higher cost of living.

This reply is about a year late, but Columbia's Critical and Curatorial Studies program is very good if you want to study theory and art history in a rigorously academic environment. But if you want to "learn" how to curate, I would recommend Bard's program, which is more practical and less art historical (at least that is what I've heard). Columbia's program is basically an art history MA with an added curatorial study component.

I went through this shit last year--pain in the ass. Good luck!