Anyone have a read on the reputation of the UC Santa Cruz Visual Studies PhD?

[DigitalHubris]

Hi all! I'm considering applying to the Visual Studies PhD program at UC Santa Cruz this year-- hopefully to work with TJ Demos and Jennifer González-- but I'm having a hard time getting an idea of the reputation of the department as a whole. Any ideas or notions? 

[Noscrubs]

It's a new-ish program, no? I can't find a solid placement record for their PhD grads...

Their current students seem to publish and present frequently, though. I was on a conference panel with a UCSC student and their research was interesting and unique. Your best bet would be to contact current students and ask them what the atmosphere is like--I found this most helpful when considering where to apply. Are they all fully funded? Is there a lot of competition for funding and external fellowships? Are the faculty supportive of their students? 

[mrssalad]

I think they do really interesting work; work that I don't think usually gets the attention it deserves.

[staxdo_21]

I know little about their Ph.D. program but recall that they were making a lot of cuts to their humanities programs to make room for the sciences, per many colleges in the country. That said, when I was there my junior year as an undergrad, I was blown away by the caliber of scholarship on campus and the beauty of the campus itself. It's definitely a California school, which may turn some people off. I would return in a heartbeat.