PhD Applications?

[phd_weltschmerz]

On 2/18/2022 at 8:42 PM, LEANCO10 said:

I also haven't been asked for any interviews which is very nerve racking. I've come to terms that I might need to apply again next year which isn't completely surprising given that I did not major or even minor in Art History. Instead I've been taking classes and organizing a bunch of independent curatorial projects. Anyone else in the same boat? 

As someone who’s been more on the curatorial side of things without a concrete AH degree (my degrees are closely related), I think it just depends on the program itself, the profs taking students, and if they want someone who leans more academic with past projects already—I’ve had my fair share of rejections and I’m waiting on one more, but from my experience, it’s all related to timing (and I think a lot more programs are traditional than you think). 

[SukieSue7528]

13 hours ago, sonsoles said:

Hi! To the applicants who were asking about Princeton—I don’t think they do interviews and that they send out their decisions to everyone at once. I applied last year and was waitlisted (which later became a rejection) without having done an interview. I also saw rejected, accepted, and waitlisted statuses for Princeton in the results section within 24 or so hours after I got the email from Princeton. So I think not hearing from Princeton simply means they are still working through the applications. But I suspect we’ll hear from them anytime now (I received their email on February 25 last year…). I hope this helps even if just a bit. 
Best of luck to everyone!

Thank you for this! I have applied to this program and feel that my chances are OK as I have 2 master's degrees (art history and adult and higher education), both with 4.0 gpa's, research publications, honors, awards, and scholarships. However, getting into Princeton is like winning he lottery so you never know.

[atchugarry]

Hello! Has anyone heard from the HTC program at MIT?

[phd in art hist]

11 hours ago, atchugarry said:

Hello! Has anyone heard from the HTC program at MIT?

I applied and haven't heard back either!

[ChrisBJ]

Hello everyone, has anyone heard anything from UPenn, Penn State, Maryland and Kansas? Many thanks for your feedback!

[brooketrout]

Has anyone heard from BGC?

[nowhere00]

Heard from Princeton today, got rejected. 

[JuniusBattius]

On 2/20/2022 at 1:30 PM, mellirae said:

I went to UNC-CH for my undergrad and was an art history major. I am curious about your experience there! My undergrad time was great, but I am currently in a toxic grad program so I am wondering how it changed from undergrad to grad.

As I am still within the program (though not for much longer), I’m not at liberty to discuss the fine details, for there is real risk of retaliation.

What I can tell you is that student-faculty relations change dramatically between undergrad and graduate school, and in the case of UNC, it’s because faculty view undergrads as monetary resources for the department/university. I know there are a few genuinely kind professors, but much of the placating of undergrads is fabricated to reach enrollment rates, cultivate tuition funds, and appease admin. Undergrads bring in money.

Conversely, grad students often cost money. They don’t cost much—they are cheap labor—but they still cost money. And, in a department that is constantly fretting over resources (and, in recent history, brazenly mis-managing them, though that has been tempered), that means that supporting graduate students is, or at least was, envisioned as risky. PhD students are rarely accepted with complete funding packages, and MA students, last I heard, were not going to receive funding at all. But each need it and have asked for more (and more meaningful) support for years. It seems senseless that the only public graduate program in art history within the state, and at the wealthiest public institution, cannot support its students (and absurd when compared to Duke University’s program just up the road). The few opportunities for additional funding support were once referred to as “competitive” on the department website; in reality, these are predetermined based not on merit, but on faculty relations with one another (and sometimes with the Graduate School).

This could be acceptable—academia’s myth of meritocracy died off long ago and efforts to conceal that are usually poorly constructed, so I think people have just started to accept that fellowship opportunities, etcetera, are often more about who you know/who your advisor is than anything else—but the program also lacks any substantive form of professional development. There were once workshops for this, but many were unproductive, and a department that is desperate to rake in money also accepts a lot of people who, perhaps, would benefit from more life experience before trying to cross the professional academic threshold. There is also a course, but I found it fully unhelpful and the faculty member teaching it was more interested in mis-informing students who they viewed as competition than in fueling their junior colleagues as they travel down the autobahn of art history. So, students enter a program with few resources, leave with weak experience and CVs, and never really learn what appropriate professional conduct consists of.

There is also an emphasis on theater over substance: e.g., if you say absolutely nothing meaningful in very decorative language, you will receive praise; if you say something incredibly insightful with potent language, you will be dismissed.

While I am happy to answer further questions in a DM, my first line of advice for anyone considering this program is to keep in mind something that the department definitely does not: through the Freedom of Information Act, UNC emails are a matter of public record. With the right phrasing, you can put in a request for emails exchanged about your career (though the reviewers of these requests are very picky).  In line with this, if you feel that something strange is happening to your career, it is not in your head.

[SukieSue7528]

I was rejected from Princeton for the PhD in Art and Archaeology today too. I was hopeful since I have two master's degrees with 4.0 gpa's (one in Art History), published research, awards, and scholarships. However, I did not get any of my degrees from Ivy League schools and am a bit over the "regular" student age. I just see the rejection as it meaning it was not the place for me. I really wanted to start on my PhD in 2022, but it looks like it might be 2023 instead. The only other school I applied to was Oxford, and I won't hear from them until later in March, but I need full funding to go there. Next year, I will definitely apply to more than two programs. Good luck everyone!

Edited February 26, 2022 by SukieSue7528

[nowhere00]

Anyone heard anything from UPenn? Haven't heard anything about interviews.

Out of curiosity, does GRE make a difference? I got 167 verbal 165 math and 4.5 AW. I only submitted where it was required bc I felt like only my verbal was good and even then doesn't add much – I feel like you can tell I have adequate verbal abilities from my transcript/writing samples. Plus they charge per school. However, I'm finding that I'm getting a better response from where I did submit my scores even though they're nothing special. What do you all think?

[aik257]

33 minutes ago, nowhere00 said:

Anyone heard anything from UPenn? Haven't heard anything about interviews.

Out of curiosity, does GRE make a difference? I got 167 verbal 165 math and 4.5 AW. I only submitted where it was required bc I felt like only my verbal was good and even then doesn't add much – I feel like you can tell I have adequate verbal abilities from my transcript/writing samples. Plus they charge per school. However, I'm finding that I'm getting a better response from where I did submit my scores even though they're nothing special. What do you all think?

Also waiting to hear from UPenn. I know someone else here is too. ?

[ChrisBJ]

6 hours ago, nowhere00 said:

Anyone heard anything from UPenn? Haven't heard anything about interviews.

Out of curiosity, does GRE make a difference? I got 167 verbal 165 math and 4.5 AW. I only submitted where it was required bc I felt like only my verbal was good and even then doesn't add much – I feel like you can tell I have adequate verbal abilities from my transcript/writing samples. Plus they charge per school. However, I'm finding that I'm getting a better response from where I did submit my scores even though they're nothing special. What do you all think?

I don't think GRE matters for UPenn this year. I believe your writing sample values more. I did not submit mine either. Also waiting to hear from UPenn. 

[Manet]

Did anyone get a Princeton acceptance?

[Manet]

Hi everyone! Has anyone heard anything from Columbia? Anxiously awaiting news.

[ghirlandaihoe]

15 minutes ago, Manet said:

Hi everyone! Has anyone heard anything from Columbia? Anxiously awaiting news.

Heard on Saturday from DGS that I was waitlisted if that helps!

[Manet]

2 minutes ago, ghirlandaihoe said:

Heard on Saturday from DGS that I was waitlisted if that helps!

Thanks for letting me know and congratulations on the waitlist! Do you mind sharing if you had an interview with them? I did not get one so I am assuming I was rejected. 

[peterpan1127]

On 2/25/2022 at 7:57 PM, SukieSue7528 said:

I was rejected from Princeton for the PhD in Art and Archaeology today too. I was hopeful since I have two master's degrees with 4.0 gpa's (one in Art History), published research, awards, and scholarships. However, I did not get any of my degrees from Ivy League schools and am a bit over the "regular" student age. I just see the rejection as it meaning it was not the place for me. I really wanted to start on my PhD in 2022, but it looks like it might be 2023 instead. The only other school I applied to was Oxford, and I won't hear from them until later in March, but I need full funding to go there. Next year, I will definitely apply to more than two programs. Good luck everyone!

I’m sorry to hear that - just thought I’d add the info I heard from my POI at Princeton. I got into contact with her prior to beginning an application. She recommended that I don’t apply this year because the department has a very reduced cohort and is prioritizing particular fields (profs who don’t have students). Things just sounded very dire there.

[nowhere00]

On 2/26/2022 at 4:09 PM, ChrisBJ said:

I don't think GRE matters for UPenn this year. I believe your writing sample values more. I did not submit mine either. Also waiting to hear from UPenn. 

On results board looks like someone was admitted and had an interview prior. Guessing the rejections are soon to come. 

[ChrisBJ]

47 minutes ago, nowhere00 said:

On results board looks like someone was admitted and had an interview prior. Guessing the rejections are soon to come. 

I think my rejection is on the way... 

[SukieSue7528]

On 3/1/2022 at 12:22 PM, peterpan1127 said:

I’m sorry to hear that - just thought I’d add the info I heard from my POI at Princeton. I got into contact with her prior to beginning an application. She recommended that I don’t apply this year because the department has a very reduced cohort and is prioritizing particular fields (profs who don’t have students). Things just sounded very dire there.

Thank you for sharing that! On the results page there is nothing but rejections to the program. Take care!

[birthofthereadership]

Waitlisted candidate for HTC at MIT, congratulations! Did they let you know if they've already sent out their acceptances? 

[ghirlandaihoe]

3 hours ago, birthofthereadership said:

Waitlisted candidate for HTC at MIT, congratulations! Did they let you know if they've already sent out their acceptances? 

I'm a waitlisted candidate -- the email from my POI said that they only accepted one applicant, implying that they had already been notified.

[phd in art hist]

Congrats to the MIT candidate!

Anybody heard from IFA? Should I assume I'm rejected if I haven't received an interview yet? 

[peterpan1127]

To those who got the rejections from Penn, did you receive an email? I didn’t get an email and nothing is posted to my portal.

[dtu]

Hi All! I am a Yale admit and hope to know more about my fellow cohort. If you are one too and are considering accepting the offer, feel free to DM me!