Private Schools?

[TheDixie]

Hey all!

Best of luck to all of us waiting to hear back from grad programs!

I have a quick question- I feel kind of lost. I am aware of the rankings of many of the public schools that offer Art History masters programs, but not the private ones. What is the general consensus about programs like the School of the Art Institute of Chicago or the San Francisco Art Institute? How would you say they ranked among schools? Pending excellent grades, would a Masters at one of these programs be a potential launching pad to a PhD at, say, an Ivy League School? I just got accepted to SFAI and was just wondering how "YAY!" I should be.

Thank you!

Edit: Forgot to mention, concentration in contemporary with more of a focus on feminist/lgbt art.

Edited February 25, 2011 by TheDixie

[asdf123]

anything you can do to learn more about your intended field and produce a stronger writing sample will help you get into a top PhD program.

if (for whatever reasons) finances don't present an obstacle to enrolling in a terminal MA program, then i'd say go for it. and if your goal is to apply to top phd programs, then focus your MA studies on producing a publishable writing sample (not that you have to publish it, just aim to make it that quality) and honing your focus within the field so that when you apply to PhD programs you'll be able to say with confidence exactly who you want to work with and why.

for what it's worth (from someone who has been through this process with much success) the key is having a specific and confident personal statement, a killer writing sample, and recommendors who can speak in detail about your graduate level curatorial/research work.