PhD without a BA in Art History?

[TonyJacobs]

Hi everyone,  I am planning to apply for the MA+PhD Art History program directly from Bachelors. However I do not hold a BA Art History, my background is in design(textile).  I was wondering if this would affect the admission committee's consideration of my application? Also wondering if I should be doing an independent MA Art History before the PhD? Personally I would prefer to do the MA+PhD program as I am very committed and dedicated and totally aware of my capabilities and skill. Since I do not have a formal educational background in art history, I'm a bit unaware of where I stand in this. Any other considerations that I should be aware of? Thank you in advance

Edited May 27, 2020 by TonyJacobs

[Jickey]

I am not sure what you mean by design, is it a BFA, or design theory? In general, I would say that given my experience Art History is one of the most exclusive disciplines in the humanities, i.e. they have a very specific way of doing theory/history/things, take extremely long to finish the PhD and would expect you ideally to have a rigorous and proven background in Art History before embarking on the PhD, especially with top ranked programs...So in that sense, a BA in Art History or at least an MA is ideal.

[Bronte1985]

Have you taken any art history classes? You don't have to have majored in art history, but you will likely not be admitted to an MA/PhD program directly without at least art history few classes and a major research project, ie a senior thesis, in a related discipline, preferably on a topic that involves visual material. But that's just the minimum: you need to demonstrate to an admissions committee that you have 1) a sufficient background (broad knowledge of the material and issues in the field; that's why classes in AH are important), 2) research skills (relevant languages, work in primary sources, substantial written projects), and 3) potential to contribute to the field (the ability to articulate an informed and interesting research question and position it in the relevant literature, strong writing skills, and a record of academic achievement). Your transcript, personal statement, writing sample, and letters of recommendation need to show that you have these qualifications. It's hard to get them without a certain amount of coursework in art history and other related writing-, reading-, and research-intensive disciplines. I suppose it's not impossible without that background--and certainly whatever the case it will be important to articulate how your work in design informs your research agenda--but you'd have your work cut out for you to convince a committee that you're ready. 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Bronte1985

[Bronte1985]

2 hours ago, Bronte1985 said:

Have you taken any art history classes? You don't have to have majored in art history, but you will likely not be admitted to an MA/PhD program directly without at least a few art history classes and a major research project, ie a senior thesis, in a related discipline, preferably on a topic that involves visual material. But that's just the minimum: you need to demonstrate to an admissions committee that you have 1) a sufficient background (broad knowledge of the material and issues in the field; that's why classes in AH are important), 2) research skills (relevant languages, work in primary sources, substantial written projects), and 3) potential to contribute to the field (the ability to articulate an informed and interesting research question and position it in the relevant literature, strong writing skills, and a record of academic achievement). Your transcript, personal statement, writing sample, and letters of recommendation need to show that you have these qualifications. It's hard to get them without a certain amount of coursework in art history and other related writing-, reading-, and research-intensive disciplines. I suppose it's not impossible without that background--and certainly whatever the case it will be important to articulate how your work in design informs your research agenda--but you'd have your work cut out for you to convince a committee that you're ready. 

 

[ncan360]

I would also recommend an MA before you applied to PhD programs. You can broaden your coursework, research interests, have a thesis project etc. A BFA, by its very nature, emphasizes different, more technical approaches, and is not particularly well-suited to prepare you for the type of work you need to do as a PhD student in the humanities. 

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by ncan360

[TonyJacobs]

On 5/27/2020 at 6:31 PM, Jickey said:

I am not sure what you mean by design, is it a BFA, or design theory? In general, I would say that given my experience Art History is one of the most exclusive disciplines in the humanities, i.e. they have a very specific way of doing theory/history/things, take extremely long to finish the PhD and would expect you ideally to have a rigorous and proven background in Art History before embarking on the PhD, especially with top ranked programs...So in that sense, a BA in Art History or at least an MA is ideal.

Yes, it's a BFA. Okay that makes sense, thank you.

[TonyJacobs]

On 5/27/2020 at 7:26 PM, Bronte1985 said:

Have you taken any art history classes? You don't have to have majored in art history, but you will likely not be admitted to an MA/PhD program directly without at least art history few classes and a major research project, ie a senior thesis, in a related discipline, preferably on a topic that involves visual material. But that's just the minimum: you need to demonstrate to an admissions committee that you have 1) a sufficient background (broad knowledge of the material and issues in the field; that's why classes in AH are important), 2) research skills (relevant languages, work in primary sources, substantial written projects), and 3) potential to contribute to the field (the ability to articulate an informed and interesting research question and position it in the relevant literature, strong writing skills, and a record of academic achievement). Your transcript, personal statement, writing sample, and letters of recommendation need to show that you have these qualifications. It's hard to get them without a certain amount of coursework in art history and other related writing-, reading-, and research-intensive disciplines. I suppose it's not impossible without that background--and certainly whatever the case it will be important to articulate how your work in design informs your research agenda--but you'd have your work cut out for you to convince a committee that you're ready. 

I have taken few art history courses in my undergrad. Thank you for sharing this, I personally feel like doing an MA will definitely help me get more clarity and streamline my interests to do the PhD afterwards.   

[TonyJacobs]

On 5/27/2020 at 10:31 PM, ncan360 said:

I would also recommend an MA before you applied to PhD programs. You can broaden your coursework, research interests, have a thesis project etc. A BFA, by its very nature, emphasizes different, more technical approaches, and is not particularly well-suited to prepare you for the type of work you need to do as a PhD student in the humanities. 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing. 

[adjunctlifer]

I also have a studio art background and am looking to move into art history (PhD). 

I disagree a bit with @ncan360. I think that BFAs actually teach us more than people realize, and the capacity of an artist to do research and synthesize material into a new form is absolutely relevant to academic study. We don't learn the same forms of study, but all the info about how to properly research, cite things, etc is totally learnable on our own time. BUT I think that the trick is to convince others that this is the case - and I'm still thinking about how best to do that.

Best of luck!

[TonyJacobs]

On 6/3/2020 at 10:32 PM, adjunctlifer said:

I also have a studio art background and am looking to move into art history (PhD). 

I disagree a bit with @ncan360. I think that BFAs actually teach us more than people realize, and the capacity of an artist to do research and synthesize material into a new form is absolutely relevant to academic study. We don't learn the same forms of study, but all the info about how to properly research, cite things, etc is totally learnable on our own time. BUT I think that the trick is to convince others that this is the case - and I'm still thinking about how best to do that.

Best of luck!

Yes, reflecting on my BFA practice I realise that I have learnt so much from it that informs the study of art history, also because we have assumed the role of a "maker" ourselves. 

Good Luck :)

[Atlantis]

I started my PhD in Art History at a major Midwestern program in 2009. I did not have a bachelor in art history, but I did have an MA from the Courtauld. I think an MA is definitely an advantage and is something you should seriously consider. 

[Arthistoryiscool]

On 5/27/2020 at 3:05 AM, TonyJacobs said:

Hi everyone,  I am planning to apply for the MA+PhD Art History program directly from Bachelors. However I do not hold a BA Art History, my background is in design(textile).  I was wondering if this would affect the admission committee's consideration of my application? Also wondering if I should be doing an independent MA Art History before the PhD? Personally I would prefer to do the MA+PhD program as I am very committed and dedicated and totally aware of my capabilities and skill. Since I do not have a formal educational background in art history, I'm a bit unaware of where I stand in this. Any other considerations that I should be aware of? Thank you in advance

This could be a boost! I had a BFA from art school and am now in an art history MA program, a few of my fellow students were also either art majors or other random fields, one of them was even a textiles major too in art school. Just try to show how having this knowledge base/interest will help support and guide you in art history MA program. Good luck!