londonWill

This is a bit of a long shot, but if you were considering going for a Masters the Courtauld in London is launching an MA in contemporary chinese art: http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/degreeprogrammes/postgraduate/ma/specialistareas/remadeinchina.shtml It's kind of a specialised course, dictated to a large degree by the research interests of the particular lecturer- in this case, a young academic who received her PhD in 2011. However, Julian Stallabrass (a more senior professor at the Courtauld) is also interested in globalised contemporary art (notably from China and India), and you would have the opportunity to forge connections with academics in other University of London colleges (UCL and SOAS). Of course cost and location may be overriding factors, but it's worth noting that the Courtauld has a very good record of placing its MA students in top American PhD programs- a sampling of graduate student profiles on department websites (Columbia, Harvard, Berkelely et al.) attests to that. Also its effectively a 9 month program (October-July), so you would be done soon enough and in a strong position for the next application cycle. Just a thought...

Hi mandasue555, I received an email on Tuesday (March 6) from the the department chair/executive officer Kevin Murphy with details of my offer and fellowship information. There doesn't seem to be a fixed date on their website for notifying candidates, so don't be surprised if they continue rolling out offers (and rejections) gradually. I was told prospective students had until April 15 to reply to their offer of admission fyi. Good luck!

Hi everyone, like most here I've followed the results board as one by one schools to which I've applied have sent out their small clutch of acceptances and I find myself it seems, without a golden ticket. Whilst I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact I didn't get in to these programs I'm curious that I've heard NOTHING whatsover (acceptance, rejection, or perhaps the most cruelly tantalizing, 'waitlisted'). Can someone explain how this phase of the process works? I'm inferring that since acceptances have been sent out, all decisions (thumb raised and thumb lowered...imagining ad comm as laurel-wearing, smirking senators) have been made- the flood of formal rejections simply being deferred until those previously contacted officially accept their invitations. Or is their still hope in silence?

Hi everyone. I wanted to see what the consensus is on this point- namely whether it's recommended or encouraged for students to 'move on' if they've already completed a degree at one institution, be it as an undergrad or at the masters level. I’m facing this problem, as in some ways the department where I completed my MA is the best fit for me, and my advisor would probably be the most suited to advising my future dissertation. There are various issues, firstly with the department’s ad comm and their policy on students having to repeat their MA year with no advanced standing. Leaving that and dept politics aside, what do people think- I’m pretty sure most would say go for the fresh start but I’m interested to hear opinions on this question. Thanks!

Hey, I just received an email from MoMA re: 12-month internship to schedule an interview for early next week. It looks as if these will about 20 minutes and conducted by the Director of adult and academic programs and a representative of the relevant department to which you applied (in my case an assistant curator in the prints/illustrated books dept.) No update on the time frame for decisions, so July 15th is still the nominal date. Good luck all!

I applied for the 12-month internship at MOMA too- working with the Fluxus/prints collection. Haven't heard anything since the standard email responses stating my application/references had been received. They really make you wait on this one, eight or nine weeks! Then again just imagine how many applications they must get. Good luck- probably best to put it to the back of your mind for now and work on something else; I'm doing an internship elsewhere in the interim. Will post if there's an update.

Thanks for all the responses to this thread; I definitely agree on the merits of getting an MA first, especially one from the UK. I think it's a shame that a lot of American programs are getting rid of (or rather assimilating) seperate masters (how many still offer them: Columbia, Penn, IFA?) I think it offers an important bridge for students; a kind of rapid immersion into graduate study that can help with the transition from undergraduate level work. The UK masters degree almost resembles an accelerated version of the graduate experience in which you go from coursework to independent research and finally, one-on-one supervision with a dissertation advisor in the space of one year. My problem is that I wish I was doing it the other way round. While London is great (the Courtauld, UCL and SOAS make for a very dynamic art history 'scene') if you did your undergraduate degree there, as I did, it's perhaps not as exciting or fulfilling to go back to for an MA. Having said that, it's a lot more affordable for British and European citizens (who get their tuition subsidized and are also elligible for quite generous government funding and grants for both masters and PhD). And of course MAs in the states are generally unfunded as well...difficult decisions! I agree with mims3382 about the timing issue too, as it seems like it wouldn't be feasible to start a one year program this year and subsequently apply for a PhD the following year. Lastly, how do people perceive American MA programs (Columbia, for instance)? Is there an attitude that if you're really serious about academia you'll go straight into a PhD, whereas 'terminal' MAs are exactly that: finishing degrees for those going into arts careers/curating etc.?

Has anyone else applied for the MA in Modern Art at Columbia? I spoke to the department secretary (at the end of February) who said the MA applications weren't reviewed until the PhDs were confirmed, so I'm guessing it will be a while before we hear anything (mid-April?). Coming from the UK I was a bit daunted by the prospect of a seven year PhD and felt I wasn't quite ready, although I'm somewhat regretting not applying now. Also, does anyone know how common it is for rejected modern/contemp. PhD applicants to be reconsidered for the MA, as it obviously makes for even stiffer competition. One thing I've also noticed, despite what admissions offices say, is the number of PhD applicants who've gained MAs first to improve their chances of admission. In London, especially at the Courtauld, about a third of MA students are from the States; they come over after a liberal arts BA, get a masters in one year, and subsequently apply to American PhD programs with a much better chance of admission. Maybe I'm just imagining this...any thoughts?