Art History MA advice!!

[speculum]

Hi all!

I am looking at Master's programs right now and am a little overwhelmed as to where to start. My focus is Medieval art and I have been out of undergraduate a year interning (including the Met's medieval department and the Morgan Library), my GPA was high, over a 3.9 but from a CUNY school (saving my debt for grad school), I have been working on my German but frankly it is less than proficient and I have yet to take the GRE. Initially I was going to apply to Museum Studies programs since I am thinking of going a more museum professional rather than curatorial route but my internship at the Met made me feel as if an Art History Master's is more of a safe bet. That being said, I am rushing to revise my school list.

I am thinking of Tufts, IFA, GWU, Williams, Johns Hopkins, Temple, CUNY Queens and Bank Street's Museum Education program but to be honest I am overwhelmed by the choices! I would like to get out of NYC but as a born and bred New Yorker I am not sure where to start. Does anyone have any good advice on narrowing down school choices or any other good programs with a strong Medieval/Museum studies bent? Given the state of my list and that I have yet to take the GRE Is it too late to apply for Fall 2012?

Thank you all!

[fullofpink]

1: I believe that a MA in Art History trumps a museum studies degree if you are interested in working in an art museum (especially if you have extensive museum experience anyways), so I agree with your logic. Definitely look at art history programs with an art history focus. [However, some museum studies programs have a fantastic track record in placing candidates so it may be worthwhile to seek those and add them to the list].

2: I've heard museum directors and professors call IFA's terminal MA program a "cess pool." However, some people who are in the program already rock it.

One of the reasons (rumors?) I've heard about why it isn't looked upon so fondly is because the terminal MA students' (who receive no funding) tuition goes on to support the doctoral students (heresay, but who knows?) so the MA students are completely inconsequential. However, one of the reasons why I can see this is because some of the students I personally know who have gotten into the program, I hate to say, weren't the best candidates for any program anyway.

3: You definitely have time to apply for this season, but you better get going! lol. GRE's taken in August and Sept won't be released until November, so, if you were going to take the GRE for this app season, better get it done before mid-Oct if you want it to get in on time. I'm horrible at standardized testing, so if you were me, I'd end up waiting till next year for that little component of the application.

Out of your list, I'm supposing that Williams is the most famous and considered the best but I don't think they have anything medievally there (collection-wise, though there might be some prints) and their medievalist seems more bent on architecture - but I do know Williams tends to bend the boundaries really well concerning their students interests. The faculty I've met at Tufts seem pleasant and encouraging. I wish I could say something about the other programs, but I really don't know them well at all.

Edited September 5, 2011 by fullofpink

[losemygrip]

It shouldn't be too late to apply for fall 2012, but you need to sign up immediately for the next possible GRE testing.

You have sort of a weird combo listed there--museum studies and medieval. My guess is that it would be really hard to do something professionally with medieval materials in a museum without a Ph.D. Good medieval collections are very limited in the U.S. The Met, maybe Cleveland and the Getty . . . . My point is that if you are super focused on doing medieval, you may need to go a different route and get a Ph.D. If you're more interested in getting a museum job, then you may need to give up the idea of focusing so tightly on medieval.

They used to have a combined M.A. art history/MBA arts administration at SMU. And medieval was quite good with Annemarie Carr, but since she's retired I don't know what's going on with that.

I've never heard this "cess pool" attitude about the MA from the IFA. Some years back there was an article in Art News about how fantastic the MA at the IFA was, and how it was as good as a PhD at some other schools. But the fact is that the IFA has very strong attachments with the Met, and you'd probably be able to work that angle if you went there. But it'll cost you . . . .

[speculum]

Thank you both! Medieval is my area of interest but as of now I want to stick to a Master's, all of which tend to be pretty general anyway. I suppose I am just using Medieval as a qualifier to help narrow down choices. I have heard mixed things about the IFA but its true everyone at the Met seems to have only heard of IFA and Columbia...wish me luck as I try to ace the GRE in a month!

[aojumper]

Dumbarton Oaks, run by Harvard, is in Washington D.C. (Georgetown area) and has a great Medieval collection and library. Just something to consider if you are looking for a place where you could possibly intern during school and use as a research resource. Several MA programs are nearby: GWU, Maryland, Johns Hopkins (though it is in Baltimore, not DC) and Georgetown, which I think has an emphasis on museum training. Not sure, but check on that. I believe the GWU museum studies program is one of the best in the country, they also have an art history masters, so you could apply to both. There are lots of art museums in the area to work at, including Dumbarton Oaks.

[losemygrip]

Aojumper has given you some excellent advice. Maryland or GWU might be the way to go. I think Maryland allows you to enter the MA program separately from the Ph.D.

[speculum]

thank you everyone! Johns Hopkins is PhD only and I've never spoken to anyone who went through the Georgetown program, which sounds like an amazing 1 year (4 semester) intensive but if it doesn't turn heads on a CV whats the point? Does anyone know how I could go about contacting an alum to find out more? I'm afraid of applying to too many schools, what's a good number? I was thinking 5-6, is that too many? In other news, I have been scoring 1350+ on practice GRE tests so now I just have to figure out what my final school list is!

Here are my defs:

Tufts

Williams

IFA

Bank Street

Here are my maybes:

CUNY Queens (safety...do I need it?)

GWU- The museum studies program is not art history based, how is the Art History Master's here?

Georgetown

Columbia

???

thank you all for your advice, Tufts and Williams were definitely added because of this thread! I think I am sticking to Boston, DC, NYC areas for practical reasons, I hope it's not a mistake

Dumbarton Oaks is something to consider, thank you

[skamp]

Are you looking at Hunter? They've got a very good Art History MA. Not sure how they are for Medieval, but if you're looking at CUNYs, Hunter is a better bet than Queens.

[tob]

Ut Austin has two excellent medievalists: Joan Holladay and Glenn Peers.

[obscurefemale]

Does anyone have any good advice on narrowing down school choices or any other good programs with a strong Medieval/Museum studies bent?

I would definitely look into Tufts! (It seems like you are already considering it.) Their grad art history program offers a Museum Studies certificate and they have two very strong medievalists there (Overbey and Hoffman). Tufts might be a great place to bulk up on museum experience while also satisfying your medievalist interests.

Edited September 15, 2011 by obscurefemale

[speculum]

I definitely concur! Tufts is at the top of my list, and perhaps GWU for the same reason.

[LLajax]

I'm also a looking for medieval, but PhD programs- same programs are good? I've just been going off the CAA catalog of programs.

[OnceAndFutureGrad]

I don't have anything to offer, but as a Medieval Studies MA-holder looking for an MA and/or PhD in Art History, and in the same area of the country, I just wanted to let you know that you're not the only medievalist also thinking of museum studies. Personally, I've become more interested in medievalism and I hope that it's the edge I'll need in museum studies, but clearly we are looking at similar futures in scholarship. (None of our schools overlap, though, as I am more focused on the Delaware Valley region.) Best of luck on the GREs and with this year's application season.

[speculum]

Scholastica, that is really inspiring to hear. What facet of Museum Studies are you interested in? And why will Medievalism will give you more of an edge?

Cheers!

[Pictureit24]

I'm currently in the Georgetown Art & Museum Studies M.A. program if you have any questions!