Tufts or UC Davis?

[clearvoyant]

Hi all,

Title says most of it, I've been accepted to both Tufts and UC Davis Art History M.A. 

Tufts has offered a half tuition scholarship, and a decent amount to move there - but I'd still have to take out a loan and move from CA to the east coast. There's the possibility of a TAship in the second year, but it's not guaranteed. 

Davis offered me a 25% TAship starting the first quarter, full tuition remission, and a 3k grant for the first year. I also currently live about 20 minutes away, so moving there would be a breeze. I have a visit this Thursday which will probably answer a lot of my left over questions.

However, I know Tufts has a great reputation in the AH world, and they have an actual museum studies department and good POI options. From what I can tell Davis has little to no reputation, and the town itself is really small, definitely not the culture of Boston. I'm trying to scrape together enough $ to visit before April 15th. Does anyone have any insight about if Tufts' program/reputation would be worth taking out loans? 

Thanks! 

Edited March 9, 2020 by clearvoyant

[venusofwillendork]

Hi - I think this is something that echoes throughout this forum, but the general sense is that you should not go into debt for your graduate studies.  If the department is not able or willing to fund you, you will be better off leaving a program debt-free than burdened.  

As for determining the reputation of UC Davis' program -- what do the alumni there say?  Do they feel like they benefited from the program and were well-situated for their careers?  And those that you do not speak with -- where did they land?  Are they getting jobs soon after graduating, or do they seem to be struggling?

Another question to ask yourself is: do you want to work on the east or west coast?  If you're happy continuing to be on the West coast with the connections you have already built, it may be a smarter move to stay in California and continue building your name there.  If you're planning to come to New England in the immediate future, it's worth considering the possibilities of Tufts' program.  But that could be addressed by working to attend conferences and networking well while you're at Davis.

You will ultimately need to decide for yourself if the burden of loans is worth it to you.  My two cents is that you will be able to grow more and take advantage of more opportunities at a university that will financially support you.

[killerbunny]

Just a quick note. You've likely considered this but Boston's cost of living is high. Someone recently quoted the avg one-bedroom apartment is $2000/mo. 

[venusofwillendork]

10 hours ago, killerbunny said:

Just a quick note. You've likely considered this but Boston's cost of living is high. Someone recently quoted the avg one-bedroom apartment is $2000/mo. 

Can confirm this ^ as someone who lives in New England.  Even living in Somerville (which is one of the somewhat less expensive Boston neighborhoods, and where Tufts is located) 1800-2000 is a good estimate for living alone.  With roommates, it's something like 600-1200 depending on how nice/accessible to transit the space is and how many roommates you have.  You could commute to Boston from a little ways away, but between the emotional energy of a long, awful commute & the miles on your car or, alternately, the cost of a monthly commuter rail pass, you're probably better off living closer.  Just some thoughts!  

[Arthistoryiscool]

On 3/9/2020 at 12:05 PM, clearvoyant said:

Hi all,

Title says most of it, I've been accepted to both Tufts and UC Davis Art History M.A. 

Tufts has offered a half tuition scholarship, and a decent amount to move there - but I'd still have to take out a loan and move from CA to the east coast. There's the possibility of a TAship in the second year, but it's not guaranteed. 

Davis offered me a 25% TAship starting the first quarter, full tuition remission, and a 3k grant for the first year. I also currently live about 20 minutes away, so moving there would be a breeze. I have a visit this Thursday which will probably answer a lot of my left over questions.

However, I know Tufts has a great reputation in the AH world, and they have an actual museum studies department and good POI options. From what I can tell Davis has little to no reputation, and the town itself is really small, definitely not the culture of Boston. I'm trying to scrape together enough $ to visit before April 15th. Does anyone have any insight about if Tufts' program/reputation would be worth taking out loans? 

Thanks! 

Congrats on your acceptances! I went to Tufts undergrad, but wanted to get the perspective of a different school for MA. Tufts is a pretty campus, but FYI Boston and the even Medford/Somerville where Tufts is located have gotten extremely expensive. Public transportation there is also a joke (ie the subway will powerdown when you are underground and it's nbd like what???) Tufts is a great school and I know they have a good rep for the MA program, they also have a nice gallery there and you should check out their art school SMFA and as they have gallery space too, not to mention all the museums in Boston. I didn't jive with the AH faculty at Tufts, but if you have someone in mind that you know you want to work with that is awesome! I hear they have an intense comprehensive exam and Tufts really stresses language skills so be prepared for those. I think they gouge you the first year and then the second year is free which is nice. Don't know anything about UC Davis AH prog specifically. 

[Valorship98]

Hi, I would strongly recommend Tufts over UC Davis. Davis is well funded but unfortunately the reputation can kill middle of the road applicants whereas middle of the road applicants from Tufts can still enter top PhD programs!

All best.

[clearvoyant]

On 3/9/2020 at 1:04 PM, venusofwillendork said:

Hi - I think this is something that echoes throughout this forum, but the general sense is that you should not go into debt for your graduate studies.  If the department is not able or willing to fund you, you will be better off leaving a program debt-free than burdened.  

As for determining the reputation of UC Davis' program -- what do the alumni there say?  Do they feel like they benefited from the program and were well-situated for their careers?  And those that you do not speak with -- where did they land?  Are they getting jobs soon after graduating, or do they seem to be struggling?

Another question to ask yourself is: do you want to work on the east or west coast?  If you're happy continuing to be on the West coast with the connections you have already built, it may be a smarter move to stay in California and continue building your name there.  If you're planning to come to New England in the immediate future, it's worth considering the possibilities of Tufts' program.  But that could be addressed by working to attend conferences and networking well while you're at Davis.

You will ultimately need to decide for yourself if the burden of loans is worth it to you.  My two cents is that you will be able to grow more and take advantage of more opportunities at a university that will financially support you.

 

Unfortunately the visit days for both Tufts and Davis have been canceled because of safety concerns. We were directed to contact professors via email "in lieu of an event," which feels like kind of a cop out. Luckily I live quite close to Davis so I'm able to tour the campus and I've reached out to some faculty to see if we can meet even if the campus is technically closed. I really want to get a good idea of the overall vibe and ethos of the department, which is hard to do right now. I've also reached out to some alumni and current students, and I'm compiling a list of questions for the program coordinator about funding, etc. 

I have a lot of the same questions for Tufts, but since the campus is closed and they're advising against air travel right now I won't even get a chance to look around Boston before the decision date. I'm still intending to reach out to my POI at Tufts, but since I'm not even able to see the school before I have to commit to a $35k loan and the expenses of living in Boston, I'm leaning heavily towards Davis. I do think that long term I would like to stay on the west coast, but I'm also sure that I'll have opportunities to live on the east coast that don't require taking out such a big loan with no funding. 

[clearvoyant]

On 3/11/2020 at 2:26 PM, Arthistoryiscool said:

Congrats on your acceptances! I went to Tufts undergrad, but wanted to get the perspective of a different school for MA. Tufts is a pretty campus, but FYI Boston and the even Medford/Somerville where Tufts is located have gotten extremely expensive. Public transportation there is also a joke (ie the subway will powerdown when you are underground and it's nbd like what???) Tufts is a great school and I know they have a good rep for the MA program, they also have a nice gallery there and you should check out their art school SMFA and as they have gallery space too, not to mention all the museums in Boston. I didn't jive with the AH faculty at Tufts, but if you have someone in mind that you know you want to work with that is awesome! I hear they have an intense comprehensive exam and Tufts really stresses language skills so be prepared for those. I think they gouge you the first year and then the second year is free which is nice. Don't know anything about UC Davis AH prog specifically. 

 

This reminder about how high the cost of living is in the Boston area is a really important point. If this were a program with any funding, or a guaranteed TAship (or any in the first year) I would feel a lot better about moving to such an expensive city. Since I can't even visit Boston before the decision deadline, I'm definitely leaning towards UC Davis. 

[clearvoyant]

1 hour ago, Valorship98 said:

Hi, I would strongly recommend Tufts over UC Davis. Davis is well funded but unfortunately the reputation can kill middle of the road applicants whereas middle of the road applicants from Tufts can still enter top PhD programs!

All best.

Are you saying that Davis has a poor reputation, or just the lack of one? The way things are playing out I'm most likely going to end up at Davis, considering overall cost and current travel limitations. Looks like I'm just going to have to be the top applicant if I ever do a PhD ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Valorship98]

Have you ever listened to the podcast "Art History Babes"? They all went to Davis and one ended up as an adjunct with her MA. You could reach out to them via their socials, they're super responsive, especially Gutierrez. I think if you went to Davis you would be fine in applying to PhDs. Tufts is of course super well known and rightly so, the program is really rigorous. However, at Davis you are getting super great funding and a completely valid MA. You should be fine.

I guess I'm favoring name recognition because I decided to decline funding for an unfunded spot at Penn. I did this mainly for geographic location but also for my advisor. It's really up to you what you do, but Tufts funding is really nothing to scoff at. Just make sure you way your options and think about the future in the most realistic terms, with and without a financial consideration.

[typhoto]

I'll be turning down Tufts for a fully funded offer at Hunter. Tufts is a great program but the costs are still very high even with half tuition remission. If you have the financial resources to not go in debt, then I would consider Tufts offer. I don't think prestige matters as much for an MA, it's really about the work you are able to do and the relationships you are able to develop. If you are concerned about PhD acceptance, talk to folks at Davis and ask them what kinds of programs MA students have been accepted into. I don't think Tufts reputation is worth taking out loans.

[tunic_youth]

I guess it all comes down to what would you like to achieve when you graduate. Location, available mentors, program focus, name recognition, campus infrastructure, potential employment, debt etc all come into play. 

Can only speak about Davis since I got some feedback from several students. UC Davis' MA is one of rare AH MAs in the US which is funded and the TA (is it 25% for the 1st quarter or first year?) seems flexible. You could chose classes according to availability and your interests; people even did 50% without it being a burden. Plus, you could do TA inside and outside of the dept. There are 3 museums, a performance center, a gallery and proximity of other big centers. If you do the museum elective, you'll end up making an exhibition with part of the cohort in Manetti Shrem. Overall, the students I was in touch with were very satisfied with the program, the cohort and the professors.