Good Grad School for 20th Century Art History

[mareeberree]

I need some advice with grad school for Art History. I'm current going to University of South Florida. I should be graduating in the Spring of 2013. My GPA isn't that great because I am a double major in Biology too. Those classes brought my GPA down pretty bad. Is it going to affect my acceptance that bad? Is it worth going to get my Masters first or go straight to a PhD?

Also I read somewhere that if you aren't going into the top 40 art grad schools, you won't ever find a job in your degree or a job at all. Is that true?

What can I do to improve my chances? Is it true that if you didn't go to a top art undergraduate school you won't get int Columbia, Harvard, Yale, or UChicago, etc?

[violetvivian]

Some things to consider while you're thinking about grad school in art history:

1. Why do you want to go to grad school?

2. What kind of "20th century art history" are you talking about? European? American? Japanese? African? Theory? Photography? Folk? Latin American? The list goes on, and your "chances" are different with each choice. If answering this question seems difficult to you, then yes, a terminal MA is a good idea. It will give you a chance to familiarize yourself with a broad section of art history and its various methodologies.

3. What does getting "a job" mean to you? You will probably be able to find a job with a PhD from a school outside the "top 40." It will probably NOT be a tenure track job. Start reading the Chronicle of Higher Ed, and you'll get a good idea of the state of the academic job market in the humanities. Even with a PhD from a top 10 program (and these rankings are too complex to reduce to a list, anyway), you may have a tricky time landing a tenure track position or curatorial gig. This is why numbers 1 and 2 are incredibly important. You can't go into art history for the job prospects or the money. It needs to be something that you're passionate about, and feel a strong need to add to the state of the discourse.

[mareeberree]

Thank you for the reply.

European 20th century is what I want to study, but I do not have a specific movement or artist I would like to research though. I'm not looking for a job for the pay. I love teaching and I really want to teach Art History at a university level. I think its important in today's culture for people to be familiarized with art and art history and teaching is a way I think I would be best at.

I've just been researching and it's really discouraging from what others say like "You shouldn't go into a grad program if they aren't fully funding you."

I am not sure how the application and process of graduate school really is either. Do I have to find a professor who is in my field of study to help me along the way? Or is it like undergrad. where you take these courses of what you want to study?

[annbkim]

No, it is not like it is in undergrad at all; you'll be assigned to a specific professor as your advisor when you get into the PhD program. You need to look into specific schools and their art history programs, and then research the professor (or professors if the school has more than one person that specializes in Contemporary Art); read their bios, read what they have published. You shouldn't have any problem finding their research interests and books and journal articles they have published. All this information should be provided on the department website.

Also, all the required materials and deadlines and selection criteria should be posted on the same website.

Good luck!

[captainscarlet]

Some things to consider while you're thinking about grad school in art history:

1. Why do you want to go to grad school?

2. What kind of "20th century art history" are you talking about? European? American? Japanese? African? Theory? Photography? Folk? Latin American? The list goes on, and your "chances" are different with each choice. If answering this question seems difficult to you, then yes, a terminal MA is a good idea. It will give you a chance to familiarize yourself with a broad section of art history and its various methodologies.

3. What does getting "a job" mean to you? You will probably be able to find a job with a PhD from a school outside the "top 40." It will probably NOT be a tenure track job. Start reading the Chronicle of Higher Ed, and you'll get a good idea of the state of the academic job market in the humanities. Even with a PhD from a top 10 program (and these rankings are too complex to reduce to a list, anyway), you may have a tricky time landing a tenure track position or curatorial gig. This is why numbers 1 and 2 are incredibly important. You can't go into art history for the job prospects or the money. It needs to be something that you're passionate about, and feel a strong need to add to the state of the discourse.

Some things to consider while you're thinking about grad school in art history:

1. Why do you want to go to grad school?

2. What kind of "20th century art history" are you talking about? European? American? Japanese? African? Theory? Photography? Folk? Latin American? The list goes on, and your "chances" are different with each choice. If answering this question seems difficult to you, then yes, a terminal MA is a good idea. It will give you a chance to familiarize yourself with a broad section of art history and its various methodologies.

3. What does getting "a job" mean to you? You will probably be able to find a job with a PhD from a school outside the "top 40." It will probably NOT be a tenure track job. Start reading the Chronicle of Higher Ed, and you'll get a good idea of the state of the academic job market in the humanities. Even with a PhD from a top 10 program (and these rankings are too complex to reduce to a list, anyway), you may have a tricky time landing a tenure track position or curatorial gig. This is why numbers 1 and 2 are incredibly important. You can't go into art history for the job prospects or the money. It needs to be something that you're passionate about, and feel a strong need to add to the state of the discourse.

Personally, I am not looking to get rich or anything, but I would like to earn a living at art history especially if I attend a PhD program. I have an MFA in fine arts now and I am looking into an art history degree because I like being around art and i like curating. I would hope to work in a gallery or museum and to possibly teach part-time. 20th century American, 20th century Japanese Art. 20th century ,African-American ,20th century Latin , New meda and street art all sound like great subjects.

[arthistoryvoe2]

To be blunt, one thing you need to do before applying to graduate school is work on your writing skills. See what resources are available at your university, take an extra writing class, find a tutor. You'll need to present yourself better in writing to have half a chance at admission.

I need some advice with grad school for Art History. I'm current going to University of South Florida. I should be graduating in the Spring of 2013. My GPA isn't that great because I am a double major in Biology too. Those classes brought my GPA down pretty bad. Is it going to affect my acceptance that bad? Is it worth going to get my Masters first or go straight to a PhD?

Also I read somewhere that if you aren't going into the top 40 art grad schools, you won't ever find a job in your degree or a job at all. Is that true?

What can I do to improve my chances? Is it true that if you didn't go to a top art undergraduate school you won't get int Columbia, Harvard, Yale, or UChicago, etc?