kunstgeschichtedude

I haven't been on gradcafe in a little while, so I do apologize for not getting back to you folks sooner.

Thank you for your advice losemygrip and LLajax! Fullofpink has been undeniably helpful and encouraging. LLajax, I have a confession I need to divulge to you. Before I made an account I swear I incessantly read several posts you made which are now testaments to your journey of getting into a graduate program, so I would like to congratulate you personally, well not really personally but sort-of, on your acceptance into Brown University, WOOHOO! Losemygrip, I appreciate your several suggestions of terminal MA Art History programs, and I am actually very familiar with those at UC Riverside and UMass Amherst. Unfortunately, the professor of German Modern art at the latter institution is now retired, or an "emerita" professor. However, the emphasis on the Renaissance, Early Modern, and Twentieth century periods at the former institution is pretty considerable! Other schools of interest that offer terminal masters programs include CUNY Queens and Williams College. AHHH, I'm so overwhelmed, but excited all at once!

I also agree that "competitiveness" is concomitant with being prepared and having a focused application, and not so much dependent on grades, although those are important, nor on the reputation of one's undergraduate alma mater. My worry about the "competition" was a result of my previous naivety, and I have fullofpink, as well as you both, losemygrip and LLajax, to thank for alleviating my concerns.

Thank you!

"Safeties" do not exist in grad school. I applied to doctoral and MA programs, and I was rejected from the MA program but given 6 years of guaranteed funding and stipend from the PhD program I'm going into. 
 
Find the best "fit" (an adviser who specializes in your field, and a school that meets your theoretical and methodological goals). You'll have a better chance at the school you are most excited about if the fit is right, than the school you begrudgingly apply to because you can't just apply to one (haha) 

Seriously?  Are we going to perpetuate this myth again against top quality R-1 institutions that are not Berkeley?  I can't speak to UNC or Iowa (although their grads tend to place at more regional institutions in terms of tt jobs) but I know for a fact that Michigan has been doing pretty well lately.  As I have said on this board more than once, the name factor matters when you go up for a job but it is not everything.  As long as you're good at what you do, have the support of your diss. committee, do not have any major personality issues, and have written a stellar dissertation, you have a decent shot at a job. 
 
This is not an exhaustive list: 
http://cuart.colorado.edu/people/faculty/jp-park/
http://www.virginia.edu/art/arthistory/faculty/higginbotham.html
http://historyarthistory.gmu.edu/people/aho5
http://www.wooster.edu/academics/areas/art/faculty-staff/presciutti
http://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/history/facstaff/biodetail.html?mail=timothy.mccall@villanova.edu&xsl=bio_long
http://dornsife.usc.edu/cf/faculty-and-staff/faculty.cfm?pid=1017417
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~arthistory/facstaff/hornstein.html

I disagree with this assumption - most of our hires in my location (university and museum) are those whose fields align best with what our objectives were, not their brand name. Out of the 6+ recent hires, only one was from your list  (Yale). Semenza in his book details why hiring from ivies isn't all that appealing.

I work at a nationally renowned and ranked art museum with a R1 just down the street. 

"I also come from an Art History family." That sounds like a dream come true! Can I please join your family!? Science and medicine people all on my dad's side... Talk about the worst support system for what I'm doing, haha.

I'll be entering into my program in the fall for my PhD, and I also come from an Art History family. Dad, sister, and mother are PhDs or PhD candidates. 
 
Most places have an 18 hour credit requirement, even for MAs (and especially for those programs that actually fund their MA students). I would just take those few undergraduate classes as a special student (they'll still go on your transcript) at whatever university is closest and then apply the next application season. Take as many in a semester as you can handle, work, save money, get your application materials finalized. 

"Bump"

ProspectStu, for someone so quick to cruelly judge others for not participating in the discussion put forth, you have not actually contributed anything substantial yourself. I actually disagree with some people here that this is nothing but semantics and I was intrigued when the topic initially popped up. However, I felt that the question was too vague to really engage with it. I think the term is problematic in many ways, for example, the types of objects it privileges, the types of (entrenched canonical) histories constructed around the term, its openness to the attachment of even vaguer terms like "visuality." Where were you hoping to go with this discussion Prospectstu? Instead of continuing to be a jerk on this forum, you might have saved a bit of face by explaining your thoughts on the matter. Also, an apology wouldn't hurt either.

Yikes @prospectstu8735: where's the collegiality?  If you have any hope of joining the ranks of art history professionals, you should fix that attitude ASAP, and certainly before you start your program in the fall.  Your fellow grad students and faculty will not take kindly to it.  In terms of getting a job later on, people skills really do matter.  Also, if the grad admissions process is already raising your stress level like this, I wish you luck dealing with the super intense competition of applying for external fellowships and jobs in a few years.  BE NICE TO EACH OTHER!    

I agree that Prospectstu's comment was rather cruel, but I don't think the original question he/she posed was meant to be controversial. I think that Prospect was genuinely curious. It's so difficult to get your tone across sometimes through the computer. Nevertheless, prospect's response was uncalled for. 

I agree that Prospectstu's comment was rather cruel, but I don't think the original question he/she posed was meant to be controversial. I think that Prospect was genuinely curious. It's so difficult to get your tone across sometimes through the computer. Nevertheless, prospect's response was uncalled for. 

You poor kids, this definition or defense of art history, more likely than not, will be one of the first papers you write in your art historiography course. 

Hey all- I've started a google doc so we can anonymously share where we're going/what we're studying, and see how things shook out for everyone. Please follow the link and add your info!
 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApChf7Cb_JrtdDNjT2dqeDdIcHllalZvanhKcll2OFE&usp=sharing

NO.

I am mainly intereted in the exchange and dissemination of artistic production and visual culture in the Early Modern Period. I also received my funding offer, which helped to solidify my decision.

I disagree only because the GRE passages do not permit one the time to read deeply. However, I'm biased since I did not score about an 80% or higher; I received somewhere around 60% (yikes!). What is interesting to me is that I did very well with the readings in the Princeton Review book since I had time to sit down with them, and most of my answers were correct, unfortunately I went well over the 30 minutes.
 
While you're entitled to your opinions, I don't think I would have been accepted into any grad programs had it not been for my writing sample, SOP, LORs, and the strength of my undergraduate curriculum, particularly in my last two years of study. My math scores were also horrible (18%) and my AW section was a deplorable 4.00, nonetheless, I was offered admission to four funded MA programs (which also offer PhDs) with tuition waivers, as well as two Ph.D. programs.
 
Maybe there is a correlation, and maybe there isn't, but I will gladly keep you and the gradcafe community posted as to my progress and performance in whichever program I plan to attend! 

Totally joining this conversation. I was accepted to the M.A and confirmed today that I will be attending in the fall at Penn State! I am also a Northern Ren person! I am crazy excited about starting in the Fall. I just went to visit the program and everyone/thing was amazing!

Easy as that, huh? I think that if I was primarily responsible for taking care of two toddlers, and working as a museum docent, it would be very challenging for me to invest the time necessary to prepare for and take the GRE, let alone the new GRE! Moreover, not everyone has the means to afford "a good prep course;" both Kaplan and Princeton Review charge a small fortune for their respective GRE prep courses. 
 
Danimacg, given your situation, you certainly do not come across as uncommitted, and I think you're making a sensible decision in waiting for when your children are enrolled in primary school before you pursue graduate studies. However, as much as you dislike the GREs (I also loath them), I think it is wise to invest in GRE review books and work through them at your convenience. When you feel comfortable enough with the material, then register for the exam. Even if you do not perform well on it, at least admissions committees will see you're making a concerted and recurrent effort to improve your scores. I wish I could say, "The GRE doesn't matter," but in truth, some programs weigh it more than others. My scores are rather marginal, and I personally believe the Prometric testing centers where I took the GRE offer a rather unfriendly and uncomfortable environment for test-takers. Nonetheless, I am currently studying for the exam again, and I do hope to do better the next time I take it. 
 
In regards to accredited schools that do not require the GRE for acceptance into an Art History MA program, CUNY Queens sounds like it may be a good fit for you. UMass-Amherst also has a terminal MA program in Art History, and the program is one of the few that I am familiar with that is publicly funded. Yet, I am almost positive U-Mass Amherst requires the GRE for admission: http://www.umass.edu/arthist/ . University of British Columbia and University of Toronto are both excellent universities, and neither require the GRE for admission since they are both Canadian schools, so perhaps you should investigate those two institutions even though they're a bit further away from you. 
 
I just want to point out that losemygrip is well intentioned, but sometimes has a tendency to sound curt and harsh. When he/she wrote, "If you're not committed enough to do even that..." I think he/she was using "you're" generally, and probably didn't mean to address just you, Danimacg. 

Easy as that, huh? I think that if I was primarily responsible for taking care of two toddlers, and working as a museum docent, it would be very challenging for me to invest the time necessary to prepare for and take the GRE, let alone the new GRE! Moreover, not everyone has the means to afford "a good prep course;" both Kaplan and Princeton Review charge a small fortune for their respective GRE prep courses. 
 
Danimacg, given your situation, you certainly do not come across as uncommitted, and I think you're making a sensible decision in waiting for when your children are enrolled in primary school before you pursue graduate studies. However, as much as you dislike the GREs (I also loath them), I think it is wise to invest in GRE review books and work through them at your convenience. When you feel comfortable enough with the material, then register for the exam. Even if you do not perform well on it, at least admissions committees will see you're making a concerted and recurrent effort to improve your scores. I wish I could say, "The GRE doesn't matter," but in truth, some programs weigh it more than others. My scores are rather marginal, and I personally believe the Prometric testing centers where I took the GRE offer a rather unfriendly and uncomfortable environment for test-takers. Nonetheless, I am currently studying for the exam again, and I do hope to do better the next time I take it. 
 
In regards to accredited schools that do not require the GRE for acceptance into an Art History MA program, CUNY Queens sounds like it may be a good fit for you. UMass-Amherst also has a terminal MA program in Art History, and the program is one of the few that I am familiar with that is publicly funded. Yet, I am almost positive U-Mass Amherst requires the GRE for admission: http://www.umass.edu/arthist/ . University of British Columbia and University of Toronto are both excellent universities, and neither require the GRE for admission since they are both Canadian schools, so perhaps you should investigate those two institutions even though they're a bit further away from you. 
 
I just want to point out that losemygrip is well intentioned, but sometimes has a tendency to sound curt and harsh. When he/she wrote, "If you're not committed enough to do even that..." I think he/she was using "you're" generally, and probably didn't mean to address just you, Danimacg. 

@kunstgeschichtedude first of all, nice handle ; )
 
Also, that's awesome! I want to study with Elizabeth Walters while I'm there. Hopefully we'll hear some news about funding soon 

Congratulations Sogni! I am interested in studying with Charlotte Houghton there. I was so happy when I received the acceptance letter too!

Yes,  a cannon can knock your legs off! [The Patriot, anyone?] 
 
The canon, eh. It's ok. Sometimes it's fun to spruce things up! 
 
It's also very important for art historians to engage and disengage with the canon, as fit. 

YES. I knocked a few schools from my list due to this. A meaningful response can make a world of difference.

Ugh, I just produced my magnum opus on here, and then accidentally backspaced.... Whelp, never mind I suppose.