amleta

Just spoke with Ribner and finally got word on funding. I had to pass on part of the package, so hopefully that will make life easier for whoever gets it instead It sounded like he's been calling people all afternoon, so if you haven't had a call yet, I would expect it this afternoon or tomorrow.

*crickets*

Hey BU folks - I just left a message in the Boston/Cambridge thread about a room available Sept. 1 in my residence in Brookline. Take a look and drop me a message if you're interested in more details. I'm currently the only BU student against 2 BC students, so I need some support.

Hey everyone, I'm going to have a room opening up September 1st. You'd be living in Brookline, about a 10 minute walk from the C and D lines, with three academically-minded housemates, in a historic house with lots of character and not a lot of shiny amenities. Drop me a message if you're interested in more details. (there's a possibility that it's available starting June 1st; message me ASAP if you're interested)

Thanks for the info - here's hoping it's less than a week.

This is good advice - although I might rephrase it as "if you can stand it or not." Honestly, I wouldn't worry about settling on one field or another at this point. You'll have time during your MA to play around and study different periods. Chances are that you'll find yourself gravitating toward one area more than another without making a conscious decision to do so. From my experience, it's also quite common to find medievalists or other early art historians with modern secondary interests (I second the Meyer Schapiro rec). Despite being a medievalist, my secondary interest at the moment is 19th and 20th c. American, and I know of many professors who list similar secondary interests. Whether modern/contemporary or medieval would be better as far as job options, I'm not sure. It depends on whether you want to go into museum work or higher ed. If it's higher ed, then every art history department will have at least one medievalist, so there are as many opportunities as for any other field. If it's museum/gallery work, than maybe modern/contemp would be better. As a medievalist, however, I'm obliged to tell you that medieval is awesome and you should pursue it further

Still waiting (doubtfully) as well. But I'm absolutely with you - I'd just like to know so I can plan accordingly.

Medieval, particularly architectural sculpture.

Yay! What's your field?

That's how I'm doing it. The first 4 credits/semester are free; credits 5-8 are 90% covered. All the employee/student has to pay for is lab fees, registration fees, etc.

Ah, interesting - that certainly makes sense. Thanks for the info! Yes, I'm definitely starting at BU in September. I'm in the very fortunate position of being able to do the program part-time if funding doesn't work out.

Obviously, it depends on your standard of living and your circumstances, but you can do it for less than $2000. My partner is living on a $17,000/year stipend (about $1400/month), without summer income and while paying off loans, and he's still getting by fine - frugally, yes, but he still goes out to eat, goes to concerts, etc. I spent four months after I moved to Boston living on $1600/month, and that included paying off two degrees worth of loans and maintaining a car. Your rent will make a big difference. My partner and I each pay about $675/month in rent, including utilities. We do have two flatmates, but we live in Brookline in a quiet and very nice area. If you're going to live alone, then $1600/month will almost certainly not work for you. Like I said, it entirely depends on your choices and circumstances.

My understanding is that the Dean's Fellowship (not sure if this is the same - I'm familiar with the School of Arts and Sciences) is only for incoming students. I also got the impression that once you have a teaching fellowship, you're extremely likely to keep it. However, the professor that I spoke with phrased this as an unspoken department policy, so depending on where you are, the procedure may vary. Obviously, the current students and profs will know better than I do.

Also congrats!

Holy crap, congratulations! That means there should still be a teaching assistantship or two floating about.