Art History M.A.

[Virago]

Hello,

So I am currently an undergrad student looking to apply to an Art History M.A. program I've researched a few programs mainly here in California (I'm in SD) such as UCR, UCLA, as well as other programs outside of CA such as University of Oregon and was even looking into the program at Tufts. I am kind of all over the place. I am interested in Renaissance-Baroque art, but I am a little lost as to what would be the best program for me. Any recommendations or thoughts? I am also considering programs in Europe, mainly Italy. I just feel stuck right now. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

About me:

Will graduate with a 3.0 overall GPA

About 3.5 Major GPA

Currently volunteer at an Art Museum

Volunteered as a gallery guide at the San Diego Contemporary Art Fair

Worked at a museum for 2 years

Have an internship in Florence, Italy as a journalist with the Florence Newspaper and published an article (also studied abroad here during my sophomore year)

[hopelesslypostmodern]

Hello,

So I am currently an undergrad student looking to apply to an Art History M.A. program I've researched a few programs mainly here in California (I'm in SD) such as UCR, UCLA, as well as other programs outside of CA such as University of Oregon and was even looking into the program at Tufts. I am kind of all over the place. I am interested in Renaissance-Baroque art, but I am a little lost as to what would be the best program for me. Any recommendations or thoughts? I am also considering programs in Europe, mainly Italy. I just feel stuck right now. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

About me:

Will graduate with a 3.0 overall GPA

About 3.5 Major GPA

Currently volunteer at an Art Museum

Volunteered as a gallery guide at the San Diego Contemporary Art Fair

Worked at a museum for 2 years

Have an internship in Florence, Italy as a journalist with the Florence Newspaper and published an article (also studied abroad here during my sophomore year)

Have you considered Williams College? They have one of the top MA programs in the country and offer some pretty nice opportunities to intern in Museum settings. They do have one Renaissance/Baroque specialist, Michael Cole, although I don't know much about his work (my interests are 20th c., especially postwar German/American). I'd also look at the Courtauld Institute in London. I've heard some good things about UCR, too, though you've already done some research on that program. Hope that helps.

[mooncake88]

UCLA website: "The M.A. is awarded in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. The department does not admit students who wish to work solely towards the master’s degree."

You almost gave me a heart attack, thinking I missed out on applying to a school I'd love to go to.

I'm applying for M.A. programs to start next fall. It's hard to find a good program that I personally think would be worth my time and money (since they are usually largely unfunded). I'm from SD and currently living here during my year in between undergrad and grad, but ended up applying mostly to schools on the east coast because there are more programs out that way.

[anonymousbequest]

I think it depends on whether you want to pursue a PhD in the future. If so, you should look for programs that have a track record of being able to send students on. The dirty secret of a lot of MA programs in art history is that they are basically dead ends, either because they are not seen as rigorous enough to prepare students for more advanced work, or the professors do not have much clout. A lot of them are just cash cows for their schools. Williams is a great MA program, and funded. You spend your first winter abroad. UCR is the only terminal MA in Southern California to consider, and has some funding. If you are not thinking of future study, it might be a good fit if you want to stay in SoCal. However, they do not have seem to have sent many students on to PhD programs. I'd nix Tufts, in New England, aside from Williams, you might want to look at UMass Amherst, which traditionally has been able to send students to top 20 PhD program with some regularity. Avoid the New York terminal MAs.

DO NOT get one of those one-year terminal MAs in Europe. They are useless. The only program to consider is the Courtauld.

Edited January 26, 2011 by anonymousbequest

[anonymousbequest]

Hi Borromini's Girl,

I also got my MA from UMass. I agree with everything you said about the program. Members of my cohort and those within 5 years of me were accepted to PhD programs at Hopkins, IFA, UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, MIT, UCSB, UDel, WUSTL, Rutgers, Iowa, OhioU, and several others. The program is a bit of an odd duck because they do a series of comprehensive exams rather than a thesis, which imo is great training for general knowledge in art history, and good preparation for PhD qualifying exams. Sometimes, a student is invited to develop a seminar paper in their major area for publication rather than take that part of the comps. I did this, as did another student in my cohort, and both papers ended up in leading peer reviewed journals. I'm guessing that you did something like this too, when you say you had your thesis published? Monika is great, I took a seminar on the history of collecting with her..

The UMass program would be better known if it were not near Williams or at a big state school.

Good luck in your PhD applications!

[Virago]

Wow, thanks for replying guys I will definitely looks into all of your suggestions

[Virago]

Where you go should depend on what it is that you want to do - whether go on to do museum work post-MA or continue on to a PhD program. If it's the former, then you should look into programs that have strong museum connections and faculty who are actively involved in that world. If you are interested in continuing to a doctoral program, then you should be looking at schools that have faculty with strengths - and who are actively publishing - in the Renaissance-Baroque field. Williams is a great program, however their strengths generally lean toward the 19th century because of their affiliation with the Clark Art Institute, which is largely based on a 19th century impressionist and post-impressionist collection. Michael Cole is only there as a visiting professor, as he is actually based out of the University of Pennsylvania, so he'll likely not be there should you attend the Williams program. UMass Amherst has several things going for it:

1) Monika Schmitter is a Venetian Renaissance specialist, is currently working on a book, has published numerous articles, and is VERY well-connected in the world of Early Modern Italy.

2) Walter Denny, the Islamic specialist, also works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC and frequently takes the graduate students into the city and teaches a great Museum Studies course which allows you to make connections with professionals in art Museums. His recommendations frequently lead to graduate students at UMass getting internships at the National Gallery in DC and at the Met, among other places.

3) UMass has an interdisciplinary center that is an asset for anyone interested in the Renaissance-Baroque: the Massachusetts Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies. They have a wonderful library, lots of Renaissance related activities and lectures, and you get to meet faculty from various Renaissance and Baroque related disciplines - beneficial for any grad student

4) UMass is part of a 5-College Consortium which includes Smith College, Mt Holyoke, Amherst College, and Hampshire College. All of these colleges have art history majors with excellent faculty in the Ren-Baroque (Northern AND Southern) as well as art museums at Smith, Mt Holyoke, and Amherst, with excellent collections.

5) Most students get funding for the two years that they are in residence doing their MA, through teaching assistantships, which covers tuition, health insurance, and a stipend.

As you may have gathered, I earned an MA in art history from UMass Amherst in the area of Renaissance-Baroque and I could not have been happier with my experience there, and with the results (I was able to begin teaching at a private liberal arts college as soon as I graduated, have had my Master's thesis published, and am now in the process of waiting to hear back from doctoral programs). It's a small program so you get a lot of individualized attention from your advisors and the rest of the faculty. You also have the potential of leaving there with 2 years of college-level teaching experience, which is a nice perk.

You might also want to check out Rutgers in New Brunswick; they, too, have a terminal MA in addition to the MA/PhD and a post-MA PhD with EXCELLENT faculty in Renaissance-Baroque. Given their proximity to NYC and Philly, the faculty there have great connections with other institutions and with the museums in that area and would be a really good place to go if you are interested in pursuing museum work.

If you are more specifically interested in Baroque rather than Renaissance, take a look at the University of Toronto. Evonne Levey is one of the best people working in the Italian Baroque - specifically the art of the Jesuits - and I do believe they also have a terminal MA.

My suggestion to you is that you figure out what direction you would like to go in art history and with a specialization in Ren-Baroque and find programs with faculty that suit your interests and can therefore assist you in reaching those goals. If you want to work in museums, find a program that has strong ties with art museums and faculty who have had experience working in that world. If you want to do a PhD then you'll really want to find a program with faculty in your area of specialization because they are the ones that are going to have the connections to other scholars in your field which will only work in your favor when you continue to the doctorate.

Thanks so much for your great advice I am actually looking into it right now. Thanks again

[ColoradoRoman]

DO NOT get one of those one-year terminal MAs in Europe. They are useless. The only program to consider is the Courtauld.

I'm really curious, anonymousbequest -- what exactly makes you say that? I'm quite concerned by you're statement, as I'd been seriously considering one of those "useless" MAs.

[georgica2]

I'm really curious, anonymousbequest -- what exactly makes you say that? I'm quite concerned by you're statement, as I'd been seriously considering one of those "useless" MAs.

If you're planning on applying for a PhD in the US after getting your MA, many of the European programs are not considered particularly rigorous (at least not when compared to top US MA programs.) For one, they're substantially shorter (1 year as opposed to 2 or 3) and tend to have very little coursework. I wouldn't necessarily say that ALL of them aside from Courtauld are useless, but most US PhD programs won't see a European 1 year MA as the equivalent of an MA from a multi-year program in the states.

[Mrs. Grad]

Interesting. My friend is getting a one-year MA at the University of York. Curious....very curious.

[jakebarnes]

Although people have mentioned the Courtauld, I am almost 100% sure they require applicants to have a 3.5 cumulative GPA at least.

I'd suggest looking into Canadian schools. UBC, UofT and McGill all have rigorous two year MA programs that offer quite a bit of flexibility in regards to subject area (major/minor sort of system, thesis + coursework in major, coursework in minor). All three universities are pretty reputable, so it's very possible to go on to a top American PhD program from one.