Am I prepared for a PhD?

[studentwiththelongneck]

Hey y'all! I hate to be the person asking these kinda questions, but I'm really curious as to what you guys might think about this:

I'm going into my last year of undergrad, and I'm trying to decide on whether or not I want to get an MA or go right into a PhD; I'm planning on applying to a mixture of both, but I'm wondering if I'm a competitive applicant for a PhD, or if an MA would improve my chances of getting one from a good program later. I'm an Art History and Italian double major, so I have lots of art history coursework. I studied abroad for a year in Italy where I enrolled directly into an Italian university to do art history coursework there, so I'm at a C1 level of fluency. I want to focus on Italian medieval and early Renaissance art, so I'm able to do research in Italian as well as English, which is super helpful! I'm also approved to do an Honors Thesis in art history this coming year, which is based on previous research I did and will be evaluated by an outside expert in the field at the end of this coming school year. I have a high GPA from a good liberal arts college, and I have solid experience working in art museums (right now I'm doing an internship with the National Portrait Gallery's research offices; earlier this year I interned at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice).

I've heard that MA's are to mostly help you gain research experience and language skills- is it safe to say that I already have a fair amount of those things? Would I have a shot at getting into a good PhD program with just these, and not an MA? I have seriously no idea of my standing in the greater applicant pool- any advice would be appreciated!

[Hope.for.the.best]

It is really hard to comment as I don't know your field. I would say your strategy is wise, i.e. applying to both. If you get accepted into a PhD program, then you are competitive enough. If not, then you can get there after completing MA. Please be reassured that if you are prepared for a MA, then you are also prepared for a PhD. In most cases, PhD is just an extended version of MA. FYI, I did my PhD straight after undergrad and I am doing fine. 

Good luck!

[moushkey]

As far as your language proficiency goes, many schools require 2 languages outside of English... so how well do you know a third language? You'll want to take a look at the requirements for the schools you're applying to!

I don't think there's a "perfect" answer - it's whatever is right for you.

I can only speak to my own experience: I'm from Canada where it's not "the norm" to do your PhD right after your BA. We all do M(something) degrees before moving on, unless we're studying in the states. That being said, the PhD is less lengthy here than in the states (3-4 years).

I do know that doing my MA really helped me hone in on my research skills - graduate seminars and expectations really are different than in your bachelor's degree. I'm applying to PhDs now and I feel like the work that I did in my MA absolutely helps make me a better scholar and more competitive applicant. If nothing else, I now have an extra two years of field knowledge, which is invaluable to me. I can confidently say that I have the background I need to pursue the research project I want to pursue and it's because I did that foundational work in my MA.

That being said, if your senior project is related to what you want to pursue for your doctoral research, I definitely think you'll get some of that same experience. Just be sure to really do your work when it comes to understanding your subject area and that you do a more comprehensive lit review than would probably be required. It'll help you out a lot in the long run!

[staxdo_21]

@erikaash I've thought about applying for an MA before a PhD but, as you referenced, the length of an Art History PhD is so incredibly long in the States. I'm hoping to take a course on research methodologies next fall to better prepare myself, though I am wondering if I should hold off until I am actually in a program? Trying to be cost effective. 

[annarchy666]

I got a mix of advice from my advisors when I went into the application process. Applying to a mix is good because it seems like a lot of top universities look for students with an MA from a top program so it could be a way to boost yourself a bit if you're really aiming for those top programs. That being said, PhD programs are kind of hit and miss. One might have multiple spots available one year and none the next so it's a little bit more of a risk. Also, funding is important to think about. Most MA's don't give very good financial aid whereas most PhD's are full tuition plus funding. The ultimate advice I received is if a PhD is your ultimate goal, apply for more PhD's than MA's. Don't waste your time and money on an MA if you want to do a PhD. You're right, an MA can be used as an opportunity to feel out the field and my professors described them to me as being helpful to people who want to feel out different subfields before locking in for a PhD, but it doesn't seem like you're at that point! Hope this helped!

[venusofwillendork]

Hi @studentwiththelongneck -- BA-only applicant here. This is something I have spent a lot of time thinking about for my own benefit.  I think ultimately, it's up to you and how you feel and what your goals are.

It's wonderful that you have Italian experience, as that will help a lot.  Your coursework, study abroad, and museum experience will help a lot, as will your senior project. 

Here are a few things that have been helpful for me to think about:

• Is it feasible for you to apply while completing your senior year of undergrad?  Can you commit to visiting schools, reading professors' books to become familiar with their work, and writing the applications all while doing this major senior project and finishing school?
• How does graduate school fit into your future goals?  For me, my goal is to work in academia. An MA is not a terminal degree, and would not help me build my career very much in academia either in the immediate or the long term.  However, if your goal is museum work, there are many, many positions that accept an MA graduate and could be a good step between your MA and PhD applications... if you need time off, or if you want to work while doing your PhD.
• Could you propose a dissertation topic today?  Or by the end of this year?  Some uncertainty, especially around the specifics, makes sense, but in order to feel prepared for the PhD, you should have some idea of which frameworks/lenses for art history you are interested in pursuing, which topics or themes within your field you want to study, and what methodologies you expect to use to study them (are you an archives-driven art historian, or deep in theory, or all about strict visual analysis, no psychoanalysis here!)?  While you certainly seem to have wonderful experience, the ability to begin speaking about your specific research goals and interests is important for making a strong application-- and you may not have thought about it in this way yet!
• Something a student suggested to me during my app process: earning an MA and a PhD at different institutions grants you the opportunity to meet and work with two entirely different faculties.  This gives you a wider range for your networking and might be useful for broadening your art historical horizons.

This turned into a much longer post than expected.  Sorry for the info dump!!  Feel free to message me if you want to discuss -- I'm a year ahead of you in the process, but in a very similar situation!

[/sigh/twombly]

I think that you are right to apply to both and a lot of the advice on here is good. If doing a Ph.D. is your ultimate goal, you might as well apply and see what happens! And, like other posters have mentioned, one of the main problems with doing an MA first is that it's not often funded which is not feasible for most and is not often a good idea to go into significant debt for (of course this is a personal choice and totally dependent on your personal circumstances!)--especially if the option is between a fully-funded Ph.D. and an unfunded MA. (But take the MA applications as seriously as you take the Ph.D. ones!) 

Re: your "chances" (as hard as it is to know/comment on) from my experience, regardless of good grades, good school, language preparation, and research experience what it really takes to get into a Ph.D. program is a particular project with interesting questions (in addition to the skills/background to pursue it) and an MA may be the right place to figure out what exactly that project is. It's not really enough to be interested in Renaissance art, or 20th century painting, or whatever and to like it enough to want to get a Ph.D. in it to get into a Ph.D. program--you should have a much clearer idea of what you want to contribute to that field but, its not quite the same of MAs (of course its always a good idea to have an MA project in mind too. 

This is mostly from personal experience, so take that as you will. I applied to Ph.D.s one year out of undergrad, with good research experience (including a senior thesis as well as another project), good grades from a good liberal arts college, language prep in one language (and study abroad!), museum experience, and what I thought was a good idea about what I wanted to study and why (so your situation reminds me of my own)--and only got in to an MA (although I did get partial funding, which made it feasible). I'm applying second time around this year, and (fingers crossed) its looking much better because I have a specific project this time (not that Ph.D. programs expect you to stick to it entirely). I am SO glad I did the MA first, I was committed to doing a Ph.D. (although obviously wasn't as ready for it as I thought I was) and am clearly sticking to that plan, but I have a *much* better sense of what I'm getting my self in to than I did as an undergrad and have had more time to reflect on my career path, and have certainly benefited from it. 

I say all of this not to discourage you, but because I wish that some one would have told me this when I was thinking about applying the first time around. It's getting less and less common for people to get straight into Ph.D.s without an MA first in art history, which is certainly unfortunate, but if a Ph.D. is what you want to do, then it's good to know this. Along those lines, I'm so glad that I took a gap year (and wish I had taken two years off!!) between, so if that's something you are considering, I would say do it (and take two!--one year really means only a couple months off between graduation and beginning the work of applications). Applying takes up a lot of time and I think would be overwhelming to combine with senior thesis writing -- plus you should enjoy your senior year!! And writing about a senior thesis you've completed (rather than one you are working on) will be much more convincing for your application as well. 

Sorry for the long-winded answer and keep in mind that this is simply based on my own experience and what I wish I would have known making this decision. Going to grad school is a personal decision: talk to your professors and advisors who know you and know your work--they'll give you the best advice!