iagofan1616

Hey, So has anyone heard from UMich or Rice? I heard back from UIowa and UGeorgia (both accepted ), but am checking my mail frantically in anticipation...

I'm applying for PhD art history in medieval too, but I'm Gothic arch. history. What do you want to do with early medieval? ( Focus on manuscripts, metalwork, architecture etc?) We are lucky; medieval's not overly popular- early medieval especially so you have a good shot. Best advice I have is try to come up with some great ideas for projects to start at Brown that will separate you from everyone else... Like something interdisciplinary or using new technology, etc. Good luck!

While I agree that language courses in general are better in the long run, for art history you should follow them up with a reading heavy course. I took regular German classes for a year and then did an intense Maymester course (3 weeks, 5 days a week, 3 hours a day- yikes) focused just on reading in German, but came out much better for it. You'll also notice that if you really need a language-particularly for reading you'll pick it up quickly after getting only the basics. I only took one semester of French in undergrad and now as a Gothic architecture person, I read more in French than English and it's fine with practice. The beginning of any language is tough, but it gets easier.

We do seem to be shrinking in numbers each year don't we? It both saddens me, due to the increasing lack of interest in medieval, and relieves me because that means we're more likely to get jobs. Currently I'm finishing my first year of my Masters at the University of Georgia. I also study Gothic architecture with Stefaan Van Liefferinge. I'm particularly interested in the interaction between engineering/geometry knowledge and design. I did my BA at Penn State in art history and architectural history. What are you guys working on?