aojumper

I was in a similar situation. Not an AH major, but wanting to be in the field. I got into a terminal MA program at a good, though not elite, school. I graduated at the top of my class and built my resume extensively during the program. Have gotten one acceptance to an excellent PhD program at a private university in the northeast (don't want to be too specific here!). I am waiting to hear from 3 more schools, but regardless, I'm on my way to the PhD. So it can be done.

I would advise the full MA program - not museum studies. Was told - hearsay, here - that PhD schools (and even many art museums/curatorial depts) could care less about museum studies degrees b/c they are general and administrative in their focus. PhD programs want the best AH undergrad majors, or someone who'd done well in the terminal AH masters; I'm sure there are exceptions of people coming from other disciplines.

Also, by doing the MA, you will know quickly whether this is a field you want to continue in. During my program, several people dropped out during the course of it, because the work was rigorous and they found that they weren't as passionate about art history as they thought. A few MA-level papers/theses will do that to you! Also, I worked my tail off playing catch up in the MA program, since my peers came into the program with a much better foundation in the discipline. I did a lot of extra reading to establish background information regarding the most mundane and obvious art historical topics that would come up.

Lastly, I'd disagree with your assessment of Rutgers. I think it's a very respectable school, and if you excelled there, I would expect you to be a solid PhD candidate. Just my opinion. Good luck!

took a Russian avant-garde class with Kristin Romberg, a recent PhD from Columbia and Russian specialist, currently a fellow at the Phillips Collection in DC; from off the syllabus, here are some names (though some are early scholars, likely not currently around any more) we read work by: Bowlt, Christina Kiaer, Maria Gough, Christina Lodder, Beverly Whitney Keen, Camilla Gray, Jane Sharp, Annette Michelson, Jaleh Mansoor, Susan Buck-Morss. Kiaer came to our class and was really impressive. Of course your interest is a little earlier, but it seems to be a small field so these would be a good place to start. Good luck!