Am I Being Too Ambitious?

[alfredandozzie]

Hi,

I'm just looking for some realistic advice. I graduated this May with a BA in Art History and Anthropology. My long term goals are to become a curator, preferably for a mid-range college museum or gallery. I am looking to apply to grad school for Fall 2020 admission. I am in the fairly early stages of exploring programs though I have a pretty good idea of what I want from a program. I am focused on modern to contemporary art (basically 1960s onward). I haven't nailed down my specific geographic focus between African and Western so I am open to programs with focuses on both regions. I am leaning towards Western art simply because I am a white woman and the African art field seems to be flooded with people like me and that gives me pause. Regardless, the programs that appeal most to me are top ten to top 20 programs, however, I think it's important that I stay realistic with my goals so I don't end up wasting a bunch of time and money on programs that I have no chance of getting into. 

Essentially, I went to a low-level state school (in the UNC system) and had a really crappy first year so I ended up with a 3.3 overall GPA. Luckily I didn't discover Art History until my second year so my Art History GPA is 3.85. But I haven't really done any research outside of class and I didn't graduate with any form of honors. I do have 2.5 years of experience in the museum field and I am hoping to work or intern in the field during the intermittent year before I enter school. The majority of my experience is within registration however and I have no curatorial experience as of now. I haven't taken the GRE yet but I expect I will do well as I a fairly good at standardized tests. I know I have at least two very strong recommendation letters and a third that should also be fairly strong. 

The programs that really appeal to me are Williams, Columbia, Bard, NYU, CUNY, Tufts, and the University of Bologna has a very interesting program taught half in English and in French. The idea of completing a terminal MA prior to a PHD appeals to me for the chance to bump myself up a bit.

Basically, how ambitious can I be? Sorry for the long read, I really hope someone gets back to me. Thanks in advance!

[N0rd]

My standard advice for people trying to narrow down a selection of graduate schools to apply to is to always apply to a mix of "ambition" programs and ones you feel you have a higher chance of getting into. This is the approach I and several of my friends took when applying to schools and most of us were admitted to more than one university. Looking at your ambitions, being a mid-range university curator or gallerist says to me that you don't need a degree from a top range school to be competitive in the job market. Yes, those degrees would be nice to have but a degree from a big state school such as the University of Texas, Kansas, or Iowa would also make you a strong candidate. My field is early modern so I can't recommend any specific programs for Contemporary or African Diaspora.

It's hard to say for certain what your chances might be of getting into those "ambition" school but the fact that you have a high major GPA helps you. As for the value of your museum experience it would depend on the program. I would recommend looking at the jobs the alumni have of the schools you're interested in. Some schools tend to view themselves as museum prep schools while others want to create professors and more traditional academics. Having experience in a museum would obviously be more beneficial at a school that trues to create museum professionals. And for your concern about registration vs curatorial I don't think that would matter too much, experience is experience and the fact that you have 2+ years in field at this stage in your career is impressive.

A final thought: A lot of the admission process rests upon a strong statement of purpose/personal statement and your writing sample. Graduate schools like to see students who have a clear idea of who they are and why they want to continue in the field. This is also a place for you to make up for other "weak points" in your application. This is where I would focus a lot of your energy during the application process, especially if you have concerns about aspects of your application that you can't change.

[raye237]

Not advice but I'm wondering what the program is that is in English and French? Can't find it online. 

[FiLoveU]

I'm an incoming Phd student in contemporary at one of the programs you mentioned and got into some of the others. While I went to a good, private liberal arts college (BA only), I flat out failed 2 classes in math/science which brought my gpa down to a 3.4 and I don't think it mattered. When I was admitted to programs they said they were impressed with my writing sample and my personal statement (I think strong recs helped too). 

If you're considering a program thats in Italy and half taught in French, I'm assuming you have some language proficiency—at least in French? That will help a lot I think! I also had museum internships that were mostly filing documents, I think programs liked that I was ambitious and wanted to familiarize myself with museums, and that they weren't turned-off that I hadn't curated a show.

If you're comfortable paying for an MA you should bite the bullet and apply to a wide range of programs (phds and mas). Many PhD programs will defer you to the MA if you don't get in. Tufts and Williams are particularly expensive MAs and I know that people from Hunter and Tulane (fully funded!) also get into great PhDs. If you get into a PhD I wouldn't waste your time and money with an MA—even if you don't get into the most competitive PhD—especially because you're goal isn't to be an Ivy professor... other's might advise differently and I"m no expert!