Hunter Vs. Univ. of Glasgow

[AnyaOP]

I am deciding between Hunter college in NY, University of Glasgow and GW University. I am in the process of making decisions about grad school, and I have some questions about the pros and cons of studying in Europe vs. USA. I applied to art history grad programs with the plan of studying Medieval and Renaissance art. I intend to pursue a career in the museum world, and was wondering on opinions about the benefits of studying in Europe, where there will be much more primary source material in my specialization, or studying in a place such as New York where there will be internship opportunities for my field. Hunter has an excellent scholar in the field I intend to work in. I was drawn to both programs due to their reputation for art history programs, as well as an emphasis on work study. Hunter emphasizes internships (they only hold class in the afternoons/evenings so students can hold jobs). My reservation is that the exhibition spaces associated with Hunter are for modern and contemporary art, so I think there is probably more of an emphasis on that in the program. Glasgow does offer a work study option for their postgrads. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

[Mississippi Snow]

I can only respond to your note about Hunter and the exhibition spaces. Yes, those spaces are more for contemporary and modern work, but the largest space is also there primarily because of the MFA program and the artists' thesis shows. Hahn, whom I am guessing you are referring to as the Medieval scholar, had been doing work on Medieval Reliquaries and the relationship to Paul Thek's work to hopefully broaden this interest in exhibiting contemporary work (which I think is smart in order to show the non-linear aspects of Art History, particularly in museum exhibition practices these days, which is something you will not readily find in Europe). However, the Art History program itself is far and away NOT focused on Modern and Contemporary to the degree that other programs in the city may be. Living in central Europe for the past two years, and having studied in NY before, I would argue that your ability to research, learn, network and grow in the field is much better in NY than here. I had Cynthia Hahn for my first semester at Hunter, and that class influenced my perspective on other periods of art history more so than any other class following it.

 

Edited March 28, 2019 by Mississippi Snow

[AnyaOP]

Thank you so much for your advice. I am glad to know that there is some medieval/Early modern exhibition opportunities at Hunter. It is also nice to have the perspective of someone who has studied in both NY and Europe.