kuniklos

Fear not, I am still waiting as well. I have a CV filled with conference presentations, archaeology field work up the wazoo, excellent grades, teaching and museum experience and I'm still waiting. Got my first rejection today. I busted my butt and sacrificed so much in undergrad. Just work-work-work, and a rejection feels like I'm looking at complete failure. I try to tell myself I just wasn't a perfect fit, but it does nothing for me at the moment.

I applied to 4 schools and was interviewed by one. I got my first rejection today from University of Texas, which isn't making me feel good. I need to keep cool for another week or two.

Other than for the summer, it's really not an option for me. At least not long term. I'm about to get married. Unless my fiancee was cool with us separating for half a decade or more, it just can't happen. We have spend the last 5 summers apart just fine, but if I were to take up a PhD overseas I might as well break off the wedding. He's willing to go anywhere in the US for me, but his job possibilities overseas are not good, and getting work permits for both of us is a headache we're both not willing to do. After all, what is a computer forensicist going to do in the UK with a background specifically in US laws?

I apologize for a late reply to losemygrip, and I appreciate the information! It makes me feel a little bit more at ease about things. Thank you!

I got the go ahead for the two state schools I am applying to from their graduate cooridinator. They listed it on their site as well. Pennstate I figured would be the same, as they have the same mention on their site, and both professors I TAed for got their PhDs from there and went the same route for one of their languages (the one that was least important for them though). There actually aren't many archaeologists who have my specialty in the states. One being Tom McGovern and the other being Tina Thurston. I am applying to where Tina Thurston is, but not Hunter's College. I hate the school and they couldn't offer me enough to move to NYC. But that won't stop me from getting into his Icelandic digs (he's a great guy who hooked me up with my first field school actually). There are a few others, but they are purely Byzantine people. Viking studies appeal more to landscape archaeologists and those who like settlements. There is usually limited artifact available as the standard dig area have highly acidic soil that destroy organic remains. Accept some amazing places in Sweden and Iceland. You get the occational awesome wooden or linen bit. I think this is sort of an untapped area for American art historians and archaeologists. My own personal goal is that I would love to change that. Besides, the viking were cool as hell. There are great documents written by clergy complaining of losing women to sweet smelling northerners. No wonder, they were the only one that really bathed and scented themselves. I hear ya. We should gripe over pastry about it. That's the thing that makes me think I have wasted my dreams and my undergrad. I'm not sure what I need in a graduate program is even there. How do I carve a niche if no one can give me a shot? This person here: http://arthistory.berkeley.edu/Faculty_Fricke.html ...is the closest I really have. She does some Celtic work, but even I know that might be follow to lump that culture in with vikings. It's comparable but not the same. I love their journal, I have been a member for years. A viking paper does come up now and then, but there isn't much of it. I think there is something to be said about it. Americans aren't gernally interested, or it hasn't been explored enough. There is a crap ton overseas, but I really am landlocked here for most of the year. Don't know the spoons and bones. Although in my case bones and pottery. Ok, this makes me feel good then. I was an invited speaker to a few of them. The American Anthropological Association was said I couldn't make New Orleans. Too rich for my blood that year. This is a good point. I hope I can express this without sounding snobby. "I recognize the value of artifacts I have handled in the scope of Art History which are often cast aside as a survey number in a historical context." Although part of me wants to yip, "So...I preserved a 13th century wooden cross in Ireland...it gone thrown away after anlysis and no one recorded the embelishments. I totally hit the guiness after that day." My advisor...was not good. It was a photography and modern arts teacher. The head of the department taught our research and writing class and said mine was really fantastic. But I plan on making a visit to her office to chat about grad school anyhow. She was rooting for me to persue it. But if you want to take a peak, I have no problem exposing my undergrad sweat and tears. I may have made a mistake then. I thought MA and PhD admissions were weighed separately. As in one would be more difficult than another. I would rather play it safe and apply to an MA if there was a better chance of me getting in, than all PhD programs and get accepted no where. A few schools I have on my wish list do require an MA. That doesn't really bother me at all. Thanks again for all your input. Our art history department was very, very tiny, and I feel far less equipt on paper with it than I do anthropology.

We did fundraisers for refugee communities in south America, petitioned guest speaks (including Mary Leakey and Jesse Jackson), I alone wrote the grant proposals to get extra funding for students doing conferences as a club activity...I hope that would be good? I want to show my leadership skills, and took the position at the suggestion of my advisors to run for it. Sadly, no. There were about a dozen art history students when I was there, and most of them minors. The program will be cut int he next few years sadly. Any there are no medievalists unfortunately. But I will get in contact with the head of the department, as I know we got along well and she might may be able to help. < Bummer! I attended a really prestigious conference at Princeton last year. Blast, guess it isn't so worth it now! And I have got myself quite a few professional memberships. My anthropology conference topics…well, only one of then had anything to do with the medieval.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The others were actually cultural anthropology. And I doubt lengthy survey on debunking the D&amp;D culture myths will look terribly great (although it almost got me an internship).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Players aren’t pasty white, basement swellers who have never known the touch of a woman.

There is a reason I am applying into art history and not anthropology: that facet of academia. If your interests are economic, you may have a niche in business and advertising as applied anthropology has many uses there. Granted, you may end up doing mostly survey, but you absolutely wouldn't need a PhD for it. Its absolutely useful, but the trick is selling yourself. Get a binder of relevant research and data. Go for an interview and show them what data you can offer them and how it would help them. Look for marketing jobs looking for people to "scan" for target audiences. Bring some work with you, and begin the climb up! Maybe it's not helpful, but I remember a professor of mine preaching the joys and variety of applied anthropology concerning this route. Also HR is almost always more than willing to hire anthropologists.

I admit my art history credentials are only about 10% of my CV. I had wanted to an an archaeologist since I was a little girl, but found when I got there...I wasn't happy. I took up art history as a second major on a whim and found those classes to be my "relax and enjoy" classes. Both departments fought over my for a TA position, and the art history department was willing to give me a higher wage because they really, really wanted me. I was a junior by the time I figured out that this area not only made me happier, but gave me all the thing anthropology didn't. But I kept attending everything and doing field work just in case I changed my mind. Sadly I didn't. But all of my activities are academic: President of the Anthropology Club for two years, fundraiser for South American refugees, Student Mentor for Freshman Lecture... I would hate to not list all the things I was told to get involved in. :/ I think I might be spread too thin with art history outside of being a TA and three conferences. Nearly all of them are anthropology. Three are art history, but I only presented at two while volunteering for another. But the papers were relevant in art history as well as I has a focus on material culture. I have noticed all the state schools seem to have this rule. Penn State (although not on my list), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Texas Austin, University of California Berkley... Basically, yes. I enjoy looking at images showing cultural transition on Runestones in that region. It's what one of my senior thesis papers was on. I also adore Viking culture, Celtic culture and the Early Medieval period. I have a special love for medieval sexuality and image. Schwing! Plus, some of my favorite articles are in Swedish (or German) so I found the two to be interesting. Dutch is temping if only because I love going to Belgium and it would be damn nice to know what the heck I am reading in the museums. XD Michael Camille would have been perfect for me in one of my interest areas: sex and the culture of love. But he died in 2003. Dale Kinney is a lovely woman who would have worked with my interests (Bryn Mawr) but she's on route to retire and no longer viable. That's the pickle: there isn't any specific to vikings. There are two archaeologists but...I hate one of the schools deeply (spent time researching there and going on their field schools), and the other...let's just say this is a professor I am not interested in doing anything with. And I don't want to pursue a degree to teach anthropology either. I have other interests in the period. One being medieval sexuality (I presented a paper that got alot of interesting responses, and would love to go deeper into someday) which would leave me with Linas Neagley at Rice University, and another being Beate Fricke as she has a side interest in Celtic studies. I am aware I need to find a medievalist in which I can relate to in some part, but I am not going to find anyone state side exactly to my needs. No, I can't leave the states for school either. It's unfortunate but true. I need to look for other strengths that will help me, as I'm certain I will be on my own much of the time. So I have to look at resources more than mentor as I'm delving into something you really don't see state side at all. Brown makes me sad, because they require two for the MA as well. And I loved going there for conferences and Model UN in high school. Drats! This is a worry of mine too. If I downplayed the anthropology I feel like I wouldn't have much to give on paper. I was hoping that an inter-disciplinary approach would be a lure: aka I'll do archaeology to suppliment my research when I'm not at the books. I have two senior thesises, one for each of my majors. I also have a handful of 15-20 page papers in art history as an option as well. My numero uno choice is my senior art history thesis (presented at a conference) , "Viking Rune Stones: Voice of Scandinavian Transition." But there are a few schools that request two samples. I am fighting on whether to send my paper on interpreting the female figure in the oeuve of Artemisia Gentileschi, or a paper on Rasta Art I did for a caribean course. My professors loved both, but they have nothing to do with my interests. I can do the methodology just fine...but I am unsure about considering a paper I have on medieval sexuality. It's an anthropology paper for a special topics course on sexual behavior. I also have historiography papers from taking a medieval documents course which may or maynot be helpful. Sure can! And I can tell you discrepancies between at least three art history journals for siting. ;p I'm just not sure how to show it other than give them my papers! XD I appreciate the advice and questions. If I had known this was what I wanted a year sooner, I would have arranged my activities to accomodation. But I can't help but cling to a sinking ship anyhow. I enjoyed being a TA for art history a great deal, and had the opportunity to teach the intro classes on the Early Christian and Medieval Period, as well as some classes when the professor wasn't able to attend. And I was allowed to throw in my own slides, so the "barbarians" got some art history love in there too. But here I am getting gabby! I suppose I should throw out a PhD application where they will allow it. A few schools require an MA first though. Turns out I actually like those schools most.

I always took this the same way with the term "Renaissance," it depends on the geographic region you are referring to. But I have noticed in texts, at conferences, in class descriptions...that Late Antiquity seems to be roughly 9th-14th centuries and Medieval being 15th-16th centuries if you are talking Western Europe. Although the 14th century bit can be debatable. I almost always see Late Antiquity attributed with the Mediterranean and Byzantium. But that could very well just a a trend in what people like to study in that time frame.

Hi everyone! I am dwindling down my list of grad schools and preparing to get the ball rolling. But one thing I struggle with is whether to apply for a MA or PhD with some programs? Some require an MA before acceptance to a PhD, so that would be an obvious choice. But for a PhD, I doubt myself. I was a double major in Anthropology and Art History. I have a degree in Anthropology and completed the Art History requirements. My GPA is a 3.6, but my Art History GPA is a 3.9. I was a teaching assistant for two years. I have attended 13 conference in both fields, and presented at 9 of them. I held positions in various college activities as well. I have field experience in archaeology (three years worth), and reading competency in German. I have received nearly a dozen awards and grants for personal research. I will be taking the GREs soon, so I can't comment on that. My CV is 4 pages long for my undergrad activities. Let's just say, I had few hobbies for four years. My biggest worry is...languages. I can get by in German fine, and many schools can waive the testing because I have taken at least 4 semesters of the language. However, the languages that would best serves me as a secondary would be Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Old Norse... Most of the schools I am applying to have some of the languages (which was a huge reason why they appealed so much to me). They would require a second language, but I would not have access to a classroom for them until I began my education there. I wonder if they would be ok with this idea? I also wonder if I am in a good position to forgo an MA and get right on task with a PhD. A few of my professors suggested it, but their worries for me had to do with languages as well. Advice and opinions are greatly appreciated! My grad school list as follows currently: University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), Univeristy of Texas (Austin), Cornell University, Bard Graduate Center, Duke University, Rice University. My so-so schools I may still apply to are Bryn Mawr and University of Buffalo (only anthropology program I am applying to).

One of my professors was talking about a project she wa working on during her MA in Italy. She literally went through boxes of dismembered stone penises and had to try to match them to their original statues. XD More of the funny of stupidity, I was a TA for two years...and man, I had some ridiculous students. I had the pleasure to teach a few classes so I was able to really engaged some...interesting things. Me: Can anyone tell me what a basilica is? Student: Isn't that a cooking spice? You know, for pizza? Me: Showing an early image of Jesus as the shepard) Can someone identify this person and tell me what clues you in to his identity from what we have learned? Student: Caesar! He's wearing a toga. Only Caesar wears one. Me: I'm sorry, but not. He's actually wearing a tunic, and Caesar was a title. Student: I have to disagree. I'm in a fraternity, I know that's a toga and it's a Caesar. Also, my grandmother recently bought a lovely woven poncho. What she didn't realize that the embroidery was of a fertility god from mesoamerica with a large erection. She about crapped herself when I told her.