redparis6

Thank you all for your replies and advice, your insight has definitely given me a better sense of how I can better prepare myself for applications and the fact that I need a concrete plan before I can consider anything further. My school is heavily focused on science and engineering and as I've come to learn opportunities for Art History students are scarce. Seeing all of the students who have been able to publish and participate in other art-related activities has been pretty daunting to read! This forum is such an excellent and encouraging resource for UGs like myself who are working with very little guidance so thank you again for sharing your experiences and expertise!

Hi! I am an Art History major graduating in May 2012 from a mid-sized public school and completely unsure of what my next step should be concerning grad school. I'm interested in getting a PhD (to research or teach) eventually, but I'm not convinced I have the grades/recs to get into a good program at the current moment. I have a 3.5 GPA overall and a 3.6 in Art History. I am currently writing an Honors Thesis (my school does not require a Senior Thesis; this is elective) and though it is not required to graduate, I took a graduate seminar my junior year (I am currently enrolled in 2 more for this year). I had an internship at a NYC contemporary art gallery over the summer and am currently volunteering at our local art museum. I am also a tutor at my school's Writing Center. As far as languages, I am a French minor and studied abroad in Paris last semester, so I believe I have one language completely taken care of. I will take the GRE in October. My recs would most likely come from 2 Art History profs and possibly the director of the Writing Center (who is also a Writing professor). My main question is: Is my application too weak to even bother applying to PhD programs? Should I stick to MA programs and see where I can go from there? Should I take a year off so that my senior year classes count in my GPA and it is therefore higher and my recs stronger? Any schools I should look at that are less selective but still respected? Very generally, I am interested in women in Medieval art (my thesis is on Sainte Genevieve of Paris) so I am looking for professors who specialize in Medieval/early Renaissance with an emphasis on gender and women. I would prefer to stay in the North-east but will consider anywhere in the US.