Seeking

Are you on an F1? I did some googling for you (which is generally better than soliciting legal advice from the Internet masses), and couldn't find info about working on-campus during the summer, so perhaps you can use the Immigration Customs and Enforcement contact info below. It appears that off-campus work is very restricted, however.
 
USCIS
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=e34c83453d4a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e34c83453d4a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD
 
 
ICE contact info: http://www.ice.gov/sevis/contact.htm
 
DHS http://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/students/resources/working
 

At the end of the day, I think it's all about timing. I know people who applied to 7 programs, were rejected one year, reapplied the next doing nothing of real consequence in that year, and then were accepted by all 7 programs. You just can't take rejections personally.

Hi everyone, since letters already seem to be going out, this might be a little late, but I thought I would share some words of quasi-wisdom from someone who has been in your shoes. I applied in the 2012 season and lurked on gradcafe heavily while waiting to hear from schools. I am now happily studying at an Ivy with full funding, stipend, etc. etc. Here are a few things I've learned about the application process from my own experiences and seeing the acceptance process at my program.

1) Visits and contact with POI. There is no magic formula. I know people who have visited every program they applied to, talked on the phone or Skyped with their POIs, emailed, and any other combination of these methods. Depending on your POI's personality, this may or may not matter. Full disclosure...I did not communicate with any of my POIs. I throroughly researched their work and the direction their current scholarship seemed to be going, in an effort to determine scholastic compatibility. If you can do it, visiting is a great way to get to know departments and POIs, but it is not necessary. If you do plan on visiting, go in early January right before decisions are made. However, I have heard of professors souring on students they were previously interested in after a visit. In the words of RuPaul, "don't fuck it up"

2) When choosing where to apply, check the department website for the number of students your POI is currently advising. If they've taken 1-2 students each year for a few years there is a very good chance the department will let someone else bring in a student instead of them. This is not in stone though. If they are really passionate about you, and have some power in the department they will make room for you.

3) Once applications are in, each department works a little differently. Some professors will look through every application that might relate to their field, others will allow for a shorter pile of applications to be presented to them and then choose from there. Each year a different number of students are admitted. If last year's group of incoming students was large, chances are not as many will be admitted the next year, and visa versa. As I said earlier, departments try to divide up students among faculty pretty evenly. If a professor doesn't currently have many students in coursework, they will likely take 1-2 students in a given year. All the faculty meet together to decide who to admit. If your POI wants you, they will come to the meeting ready to sing your praises, and will likely make alliances with other faculty to vouch for one another's students. Final decisions are made together and then sent to the Dean who gives final approval. Because of this last step, which may take a few days, ideas about the timing of CAA and the sending out of acceptances is kind of bunk.

4) The only letter that matters is yours. Gradcafe can be good for solidarity in this stressful time, but don't put too much stock in what people report for acceptances and rejections. It isn't over until YOU hear from the school, not when everyone else does

I hope this is helpful! Best of luck!

I guess Princeton has been a big shock to most people here. Don't lose heart, you have other programs to hear from. You'll sure get in somewhere.
 
Congrats to those who got in. 

I guess Princeton has been a big shock to most people here. Don't lose heart, you have other programs to hear from. You'll sure get in somewhere.
 
Congrats to those who got in. 

I guess Princeton has been a big shock to most people here. Don't lose heart, you have other programs to hear from. You'll sure get in somewhere.
 
Congrats to those who got in. 

I guess Princeton has been a big shock to most people here. Don't lose heart, you have other programs to hear from. You'll sure get in somewhere.
 
Congrats to those who got in. 

This has to be true to some extent at most if not all grad programs. Yes, there are professors who encourage you to take risks, ask questions - be unconventional - but there are also professors who will not entertain divergent points of view. Unlike in undergrad, where professors will nod politely and feign appreciation, I have seen profs cut students down in seminar for arguing against their views. It's easy to write these profs off as out of touch hot heads, but sometimes you have to play the game - these are the people who decide on departmental fellowships, and who can write you letters of recommendation to their famous colleagues.  
 
In academia there is definitely a hierarchy, and the attitude that everyone must put in their time and suffer though absurdity (without complaint) before they have full autonomy and intellectual freedom. It is important not to step on toes too soon. No one should do anything, or produce work that they find truly abhorrent, but there is definite strategic value in just shutting up and doing what you are told for the first couple of semesters. Show them that you are dependable, and that you can produce high quality work.

Josephinebeuys - 
This has to be true to some extent at most if not all grad programs. Yes, there are professors who encourage you to take risks, ask questions - be unconventional - but there are also professors who will not entertain divergent points of view. Unlike in undergrad, where professors will nod politely and feign appreciation, I have seen profs cut students down in seminar for arguing against their views. It's easy to write these profs off as out of touch hot heads, but sometimes you have to play the game - these are the people who decide on departmental fellowships, and who can write you letters of recommendation to their famous colleagues.  
   
This is actually true in many cases - including at top schools and in most Humanities and Social Sciences Programs.
 
What I have seen is that they want you to be innovative and a critical thinker when you are entering Graduate School and during the first few years. But as you are nearing the end of your PhD and go into the job market, you are expected to fall in line with the predominant thought systems more often than not.
 
Exceptionally brilliant, innovative and critical candidates who question the system too much are not wanted in the academic job market - unless they happen to have been fortunate to have made the right contacts during their PhD program. If they want to change the system, they should have an influential mentor who follows a similar idea - but the mentor will support such a candidate as long as the candidate doesn't deviate from the mentor's route.
 
So, if an application gives the impression that this candidate is going to ask too many uncomfortable questions in future that the influential academics may not agree with, such an application is not likely to be successful. But if an application gives the impression that this candidate is going to add some more innovation to the POI's thought system without ever questioning the POI, the applicant is likely to be successful because of an innovative and critical writing sample.
 
 
You can't afford to question your mentor's approach if you don't agree with it at some stage. Innovation and critical thinking end where your mentor's territory begins in the academia.

I disagree with the assumption that all programs want critical thinkers. There may be programs that encourage intellectual dissent but there are also many that enthusiastically embrace the status quo and churn out mini-me's. This isn't a numbers game. The professors are people with likes, foibles, particular points of view and interests just like everyone else. These things influence their decisions. I also disagree with the assumption that people with money and good grades are utterly lacking in imagination, I don't think affluence and creativity are mutually exclusive. I don't think that economic challenges breed superior creativity either. People are individuals. While there are any number of reasons to speculate about why student x was admitted, but not student y, sometimes it just comes down to whether or not the professor liked you when you met (if you did meet), or the professor preferred what you wrote in your SOP and the tone you used as opposed to another prospective student. Obviously people who apply to grad school are generally qualified to do the work, so it boils down to whether or not the professor(s) want to work with you. I wouldn't discount personal interactions. I am in a PhD program, where certain professors absolutely want their students to spit back exactly what the professor teaches them and departure from that is not encouraged. I think most, but not all, professors would love to have a student who is innovative and original. But these are academics. They have their insecurities just like everyone else, oftentimes more so. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there. The last thing they want is a student who is smarter or more innovative than they are.Make no mistake, while the majority of admitted students are outstanding on one level or another, the fact is that departments get money from the university based on how many asses they put in the seats. That's how it works where I am, and I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that that is how it works elsewhere. So while it is agonizing to try to figure out if what you wrote in your SOP, or what paper you submitted was on par with Dickens, sometimes it's just a crap shoot and your magnificence or shortcomings have absolutely nothing to do with it. Which is why you have to try to not take it personally if you aren't accepted. Even though that's not easy to do.

Personally, I rate a school highly only if the highest grades are given there to the most critically innovative students - regardless of whether the various ranking lists place this school in the top 5 or in the last 30.
 
I know that not everyone thinks like me. But I feel that in an ideal situation, a good school should also rate its most innovative and critical-thinking scholars on top.
 
That said, in an admissions process, apart from the writing sample, SOP and the LORs, the prestige of the previous school also counts - as also the names of the recommenders.
 
Besides, it's a relative comparison process, so what also matters is how one's application compares with other applications and where one stands in the applications pool.

Thanks, Hal.
 
About me - I am interested in cultural theory in all creative disciplines - visual, performance - including cinematic and audio-visual - and literary arts.
 
I am interested in looking at theoretical models from a historical perspective. I feel theory without history is directionless and history without theory is not quite upto the mark.
 
At the same time, I try to engage in theoretical discourses in a simple, layperson's language. I feel there is no need to go obtuse in order to engage in theoretical discussion. In fact, in my opinion the mark of a great scholar is that s/he should be able to explain his/her complex innovative theoretical critiques in a language that any student just out of high school can understand. 
 
That said, I am a kind of an iconoclast - I am a follower of none. If I don't agree with a scholar/theorist/philosopher, I don't follow their ideas just because it's the in-thing to do so. I don't feel obliged to accept anyone's theories as the last word. I feel there can be no last word in cultural theory, or in any academic discipline for that matter. So, at some stage you may see me saying things that may sound outrageous. Beware. 
 
Since this is a forum for Art History, let's stick to the issue of cultural theoretical criticism in relation to Art History.
 
The question of exploring the issue of social justice vis-a-vis the divergent ideas of Postmodernity and Altermodernity in the context of Art History, Theory and Criticism is an important one.
 
Since you have said you'll revisit this issue after thinking about it, I'll wait for your revisit.
 
Thanks again.

For Art History, even the top-ranking schools see the verbal scores, not the Quant and they look at the whole application while making their selection, GRE not being the most important criteria (For example, see the websites of Columbia, Princeton and Bard Graduate Center).
 
Some schools may take the Quant schools into account if funding is not automatically linked to admission. But in all cases, Verbal and Writing scores along with the writing sample, SOP and the LORs will be the more important factors than the quant score on the GRE.
 
That said, since you have time, you can see if you can prepare and get your Quant score up, without going down on your Verbal score in the re-take. If you feel it's possible, prepare well and go for a re-take. But if you feel the Quant test is really not for you, no matter how much you prepare, you can search for schools that specifically make it clear that GRE - especially the Quant score is not an important criteria for selection.
 
Some schools write it clearly on their websites. From others, you can inquire and find out as suggested above.

That's a long list of interests!
 
Perhaps these are oversimplistic questions and reflect my ignorance, but how do you correlate postmodern and altermodern with social justice issues related to race, class, gender etc?
 
Or, do you really correlate them or do you see them as divergent planes where ideas of social justice are concerned, given that they are not really synonymous terms?
 
Do you feel that postmodern and altermodern perspectives approach the questions of social justice in different ways?
 
Further, as an artist, does your art flow between the postmodern and the altermodern, while experimenting with social justice?
 
I am not being critical in a negative sense, but just trying to understand all this further from your point of view.
 
Thanks

Thanks for this list, which is very helpful indeed.
 
I would like to add a few to the above - 
 
The "Grade" in the link given above largely applies to the STEM disciplines and perhaps to the MS programs. It will differ largely for PhD programs and for Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines.
 
Before applying, candidates should search for their preferred Programs' rankings on US News, Times Higher Education Rankings and QS Rankings, NRC rankings etc to name a few.
 
Besides, they should write to the Graduate co-ordinators of each program and ask about the success rate of the alumni of these programs in the job market. They should also find out how many candidates are typically admitted in a year and out of these, how many are International candidates.
 
The GRE scores are not so very important in the admission process, unless funding is not automatically linked to admission. Candidates with lower GRE scores can get admitted over those with higher GRE scores if their overall application package is stronger.
 
Especially in the Humanities programs, Quant scores don't have much importance in the admission process.
 
Before applying, the candidates should find out from the Departments what kind of role the GRE scores play in the selection process and if there is data available on the range of the GRE scores of the candidates admitted to the Department in previous years.
 
Often, all the above information is given in the university website. So, the candidates should spend time exploring the websites of the various programs to see what information is given and about what more they have to write to the Department to find out.
 
Those who want to apply for funding, should explore if the University website clearly mentions funding - for domestic as well as for International candidates. If it's not mentioned clearly, they should write to the Department and find out the possible sources of funding. They should clearly mention their citizenship and residency status while asking for this information.
 
Like the SOP, check and proof-read your writing sample several times and make sure it's related to the field you are applying to and it's the best writing sample you have in that field. SOP and writing sample play a vital role in the selection process.
 
A Majority of the American universities expect that you should have already taken Undergraduate or Graduate level courses in the discipline you are applying for - this is true of even many top-ranking universities.
 
There are some that don't make this a requirement and they usually say so in their websites of the relevant programs. If the university doesn't clearly mention that prior training in this field is not necessary, it usually means that you should have taken coursework worth of at least 12 credits (15-18 credits in some cases) in the discipline in which you are applying. This translates to approximately 4-6 courses.
 
So, make sure you have taken enough courses in the relevant discipline before you apply for a Graduate Program in the US.
 
MBA program may be an exception to this, where many STEM candidates are admitted without a prior training in financial fields. However, most MBA programs are not funded.
 
In your SOP, you should write very clearly why this program is relevant to your future career goals. Relate the professors' works and the courses being taught there to how you want to use this training to your future goals.
 
And before convincing the admissions Committees, convince yourself that this program is really relevant for your career goals. Don't get admitted into a program just for the sake of getting admitted.
 
Especially for Indian candidates -
 
It's not a good idea to get admitted into a low-ranked non-funded program by paying a lot of money to the university and/or to your admission counselor in India.
 
Greater chances are that your degree from these low-ranked non-funded programs are not going to be valuable in the job market when you graduate.
 
A graduate from a higher-ranked school will most likely always top you in the job market.
 
So, it's really a waste of time, money and energy to get into such programs.
 
Please check the ranking, success rate of the alumni and the reputation of the universities on the list that your admission counselor in India places before you when you go to them, especially if the universities are not very well known and especially if the payment of a lot of money is involved.
 
There is every possibility that you are just being exploited for your money and being sent to a low-ranked non-funded program, from where your degree will not be regarded as valuable in the job market when you graduate.
 
Don't fall for such admissions counselors in India, even if they are well-known.
 
Know this that many Indian candidates have fallen into this trap before you and they have suffered later after completing their US degree.
 
If you need any help and advice regarding this, you are welcome to PM me.

Hi All,
This topic is for those who wish to openly engage in dialogue on research interests, why the PhD in art history (why not cultural studies, continental philosophy, or media studies), and any tangential discussions that break out.
 
To break the ice, I suppose I should go first, briefly.
 
As an artist, art educator, and art writer, I found art history in undergrad as an artist. It was really Dada, Surrealism, The Situationists, Joseph Beuys, and Andy Warhol that had a profound impact on my thinking. Reading, writing, and looking at art have long been important and art history has been a fascinating outlet for going deeper in cultural knowledge.
 
My interests are:
Postmodernity
Altermodernity
 
Visual Studies
Critical Pedagogy and Critical Theory
Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality, Age, Ability, Education, and Language 
Social Justice
Art Education
 
The Educational Turn
Artistic Research
Social Practice

Thanks for this list, which is very helpful indeed.
 
I would like to add a few to the above - 
 
The "Grade" in the link given above largely applies to the STEM disciplines and perhaps to the MS programs. It will differ largely for PhD programs and for Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines.
 
Before applying, candidates should search for their preferred Programs' rankings on US News, Times Higher Education Rankings and QS Rankings, NRC rankings etc to name a few.
 
Besides, they should write to the Graduate co-ordinators of each program and ask about the success rate of the alumni of these programs in the job market. They should also find out how many candidates are typically admitted in a year and out of these, how many are International candidates.
 
The GRE scores are not so very important in the admission process, unless funding is not automatically linked to admission. Candidates with lower GRE scores can get admitted over those with higher GRE scores if their overall application package is stronger.
 
Especially in the Humanities programs, Quant scores don't have much importance in the admission process.
 
Before applying, the candidates should find out from the Departments what kind of role the GRE scores play in the selection process and if there is data available on the range of the GRE scores of the candidates admitted to the Department in previous years.
 
Often, all the above information is given in the university website. So, the candidates should spend time exploring the websites of the various programs to see what information is given and about what more they have to write to the Department to find out.
 
Those who want to apply for funding, should explore if the University website clearly mentions funding - for domestic as well as for International candidates. If it's not mentioned clearly, they should write to the Department and find out the possible sources of funding. They should clearly mention their citizenship and residency status while asking for this information.
 
Like the SOP, check and proof-read your writing sample several times and make sure it's related to the field you are applying to and it's the best writing sample you have in that field. SOP and writing sample play a vital role in the selection process.
 
A Majority of the American universities expect that you should have already taken Undergraduate or Graduate level courses in the discipline you are applying for - this is true of even many top-ranking universities.
 
There are some that don't make this a requirement and they usually say so in their websites of the relevant programs. If the university doesn't clearly mention that prior training in this field is not necessary, it usually means that you should have taken coursework worth of at least 12 credits (15-18 credits in some cases) in the discipline in which you are applying. This translates to approximately 4-6 courses.
 
So, make sure you have taken enough courses in the relevant discipline before you apply for a Graduate Program in the US.
 
MBA program may be an exception to this, where many STEM candidates are admitted without a prior training in financial fields. However, most MBA programs are not funded.
 
In your SOP, you should write very clearly why this program is relevant to your future career goals. Relate the professors' works and the courses being taught there to how you want to use this training to your future goals.
 
And before convincing the admissions Committees, convince yourself that this program is really relevant for your career goals. Don't get admitted into a program just for the sake of getting admitted.
 
Especially for Indian candidates -
 
It's not a good idea to get admitted into a low-ranked non-funded program by paying a lot of money to the university and/or to your admission counselor in India.
 
Greater chances are that your degree from these low-ranked non-funded programs are not going to be valuable in the job market when you graduate.
 
A graduate from a higher-ranked school will most likely always top you in the job market.
 
So, it's really a waste of time, money and energy to get into such programs.
 
Please check the ranking, success rate of the alumni and the reputation of the universities on the list that your admission counselor in India places before you when you go to them, especially if the universities are not very well known and especially if the payment of a lot of money is involved.
 
There is every possibility that you are just being exploited for your money and being sent to a low-ranked non-funded program, from where your degree will not be regarded as valuable in the job market when you graduate.
 
Don't fall for such admissions counselors in India, even if they are well-known.
 
Know this that many Indian candidates have fallen into this trap before you and they have suffered later after completing their US degree.
 
If you need any help and advice regarding this, you are welcome to PM me.

Every discipline has its own list. This list varies by the organization that prepares the list and it changes every year even when prepared by the same organization. This is why several lists should be compared to get a fair idea of where a Program stands and its alumni's success rate after graduation should be inquired into.
 
Here is the NRC ranking of English language and literature programs - 
 
http://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-English/124728/
 
This should be compared with the ranking lists mentioned above and where their graduates from recent years are today should be found out before applying to these programs.

That was an awesome addition

Thanks for this list, which is very helpful indeed.
 
I would like to add a few to the above - 
 
The "Grade" in the link given above largely applies to the STEM disciplines and perhaps to the MS programs. It will differ largely for PhD programs and for Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines.
 
Before applying, candidates should search for their preferred Programs' rankings on US News, Times Higher Education Rankings and QS Rankings, NRC rankings etc to name a few.
 
Besides, they should write to the Graduate co-ordinators of each program and ask about the success rate of the alumni of these programs in the job market. They should also find out how many candidates are typically admitted in a year and out of these, how many are International candidates.
 
The GRE scores are not so very important in the admission process, unless funding is not automatically linked to admission. Candidates with lower GRE scores can get admitted over those with higher GRE scores if their overall application package is stronger.
 
Especially in the Humanities programs, Quant scores don't have much importance in the admission process.
 
Before applying, the candidates should find out from the Departments what kind of role the GRE scores play in the selection process and if there is data available on the range of the GRE scores of the candidates admitted to the Department in previous years.
 
Often, all the above information is given in the university website. So, the candidates should spend time exploring the websites of the various programs to see what information is given and about what more they have to write to the Department to find out.
 
Those who want to apply for funding, should explore if the University website clearly mentions funding - for domestic as well as for International candidates. If it's not mentioned clearly, they should write to the Department and find out the possible sources of funding. They should clearly mention their citizenship and residency status while asking for this information.
 
Like the SOP, check and proof-read your writing sample several times and make sure it's related to the field you are applying to and it's the best writing sample you have in that field. SOP and writing sample play a vital role in the selection process.
 
A Majority of the American universities expect that you should have already taken Undergraduate or Graduate level courses in the discipline you are applying for - this is true of even many top-ranking universities.
 
There are some that don't make this a requirement and they usually say so in their websites of the relevant programs. If the university doesn't clearly mention that prior training in this field is not necessary, it usually means that you should have taken coursework worth of at least 12 credits (15-18 credits in some cases) in the discipline in which you are applying. This translates to approximately 4-6 courses.
 
So, make sure you have taken enough courses in the relevant discipline before you apply for a Graduate Program in the US.
 
MBA program may be an exception to this, where many STEM candidates are admitted without a prior training in financial fields. However, most MBA programs are not funded.
 
In your SOP, you should write very clearly why this program is relevant to your future career goals. Relate the professors' works and the courses being taught there to how you want to use this training to your future goals.
 
And before convincing the admissions Committees, convince yourself that this program is really relevant for your career goals. Don't get admitted into a program just for the sake of getting admitted.
 
Especially for Indian candidates -
 
It's not a good idea to get admitted into a low-ranked non-funded program by paying a lot of money to the university and/or to your admission counselor in India.
 
Greater chances are that your degree from these low-ranked non-funded programs are not going to be valuable in the job market when you graduate.
 
A graduate from a higher-ranked school will most likely always top you in the job market.
 
So, it's really a waste of time, money and energy to get into such programs.
 
Please check the ranking, success rate of the alumni and the reputation of the universities on the list that your admission counselor in India places before you when you go to them, especially if the universities are not very well known and especially if the payment of a lot of money is involved.
 
There is every possibility that you are just being exploited for your money and being sent to a low-ranked non-funded program, from where your degree will not be regarded as valuable in the job market when you graduate.
 
Don't fall for such admissions counselors in India, even if they are well-known.
 
Know this that many Indian candidates have fallen into this trap before you and they have suffered later after completing their US degree.
 
If you need any help and advice regarding this, you are welcome to PM me.

Please keep this forum updated. Great work everyone!!!! I especially love the analysis of whether or not CAA impacts when the decisions come out.
 
Best,

I down voted myself too. It was fun, who knew. I must really suck.

Hey Gang, sorry for the Bolded Text in my letter to you. I wrote you that in a Google doc. and then when I copied it into the Reply Box, it just went bold, I could not turn it off (so funny that someone mentioned it), so I sent it as was.
 
The worst part of these comments are people who think my posts are too long (sad to see art historians who don't like reading). Have you ever been on any other Forums? What you write is actually meant for the Chat Section. Who wants to check in on a forum full of back-and-forth anxiety ridden one-liners? That's part of the reason I am leaving this thread. It's called "Fall 2013 Applicants" and people shoot one-liners all day long about getting in and not getting in. No one talks about their passions, why they applied, or what the PhD means for them, I tried and look what happened to me.
 
When you all get accepted to your dream programs you will be reading texts much longer and tougher than what I have written on this thread. Are you up for Benjamin, Foucault, Freud, Lacan, Marx, Kant, and Hegel? You might want to practice reading more than one line of text and posting cute animal photos.
 
For the record and just to kind of brag last minute--do keep an eye out on Amazon for a book in which I contributed called Theorizing Visual Studies: Writing Through the Discipline. I am 1 of 60 international graduate students chosen for the book, it was something I did while I was earning my second masters in education. It was a lot of fun! Maybe if you read it you'll learn my true identity, how wild and crazy would that be!
 
Lastly, if anyone wants to engage an open online dialogic community where we discuss our field, contemporary art, who is reading what, and why we want PhDs in the first place--I might start that thread topic some place if there happens to be interest. It might be fun to discuss these things while we wait for rejections and acceptances. Unlike some here, I'm an artist, art educator, and art historian with or without the PhD. It's what you love and learn, not what school, program, or degree you get.
 
Love you guys!
Hang in there.

I thought we all liked this subject, so I was sharing what I like. I guess I do not get the tone of these forums. I just like sharing ideas and interests. I also tend to share my background and context openly, so that others know a bit of where I coming from. This is feeling less like a space of freedom and more like a secret club with unwritten codes and norms. I was wondering why no one else was doing the same.
 
So thanks, I really had no clue. I didn't know what down votes were until just now. I started posting just this weekend. I thought this was kind of like an online community where we might share things like this. I was asked about art historical methodologies as well, was I not to answer?
 
My mom being a pop culture sample size was kind of a lighthearted response on my part, because she's kind of a mass market gal and does not care much for academia or knowing about schools--which goes to my point that she knows Harvard.
 
I'm an honest person and if you read me one way, I don't really see how I can be blamed for your interpretation.
 
Good luck with your applications. I hope you all get what you want.

@Raisinbrancusi--I knew someone would bring that up! Yes, Northwestern and UofC are brand names, but they are not as famous in popular culture as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. I use my mom as a cultural barometer, a woman who never finished high school has heard of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. However, my mom could not tell you the difference between Northern Illinois University and Northwestern or the difference between Chicago State University and the University of Chicago--that's what I use.
 
I fell in love with art history in undergrad and accessed art historians and art history throughout both masters degrees. Much of my art education practice is informed by contemporary art theory (among so many neighboring fields). As for methodologies, I enjoy writing, arguing, viewing, researching, and teaching visual art. Before my current work, I designed and taught a Modern and Postmodern survey for high school sophomores for two years and a Renaissance to Enlightenment course for juniors. It was in those classes where I was able to take my teaching practice and art history knowledge to new areas. It was seeing my student artists begin accessing art theory for their investigations that really pushed me to consider the PhD more. As a contemporary art writer, art educator, and researcher, art history just feels like the right home for my ideas. I think it's been there all along and at this point in my career, I feel ready. I left teaching for a more service oriented role in the visual arts. Schools have never been my passion the way community has. Much of my early field work was in the community-based art education world--working in communities across Chicago and engaging the public was the center of my masters thesis. 
 
I want to use a PhD to explore The Educational Turn, Social Practice, and Arts Research, I really feel this is where we are right now. So much to think about!
 
To answer an earlier question: I most recently saw the Steve McQueen show at the Art Institute--likely one of the best installations the curatorial staff as ever done. This week I am going to see a small installation of works by Sharon Hayes and the John Cage at MCA. So much good stuff, the art season is really heating up.