Career Change Advice... MA or PhD?

[KatiLoraine]

I'm new to Grad Cafe and wanted some input about a possible career change. I am broadly interested in museum management, exhibit design and textile/fiber restoration.

I currently have a BA in Theatre Arts Costume Technology and Arts Management and have been working for the past several years in costume departments of a few regional theatres. I minored in art history in undergrad but I'm wondering if I need to go back and finish the BA in Art History in order to be a competitive candidate for either an MA or PhD program. Additionally, which is the more worthwhile track, MA or PhD?

I would appreciate any tips or advice.

Thanks!

[Shelley Burian]

Depending on how many art history course you took, it may not matter as most departments don't require a major, just a specific number of courses. You might want to take a few refresher courses, depending on how long ago you went to school, but what I would really advise you to do is volunteer or intern in several different departments in art museums, as many as you can, to try and narrow down your interest area. Unless you want to curate, you do not need a Ph.D. in art history, and most of the fields of interest you have named fall more under museum studies or conservation MA's than strictly art history. Things like textile restoration and exhibit design require drastically different types of programs, so I would investigate some before making a commitment to a training path. Best of luck!

[losemygrip]

It depends on your goals. Why are you going back to grad school in art history?

[KatiLoraine]

@losemygrip: The short version of why I'm going back to school is that I am discovering I do not want to do what I am doing now for the rest of my life. I certainly enjoy my current career but I know that it doesn't have the kind of future I am looking for. I know that art history, being one of my first loves and encompassing the parts of my current field that I really love as well as my academic strengths, is the general direction I want to pursue. Unfortunately this also means I feel like I am starting from square one in terms of nailing down specifically what I am interested in and the kind of job I want.

[GreenePony]

If you want to Museum Management/Exhibit Design- you should be aware that there really isn't a place in the US to do a PhD in Museum Studies, but there are a number who do MAs (Cooperstown, GWU, Baylor, JFKU, Texas Tech, John Hopkins, etc). If you want to do art museum management, I would look into a program that would allow you to have some focus on that (as far as I'm aware Cooperstown focuses on History Museums, GWU allows for different academic focuses and opening a combined Textile/Art/Washingtonian museum in 2014, Baylor has an art museum that's across the street from the department which is in a history/children's museum). And certain programs have stronger exhibit design programs. I believe Leicester, in the UK on top of having museum studies, also has an exhibit design program.

I'm not sure the path for conservation, I've heard the application process is incredibly tough but I never put more research into it.

I do agree that volunteering/interning would be beneficial to narrow your plan.

[losemygrip]

So you don't know what career you would like to pursue after getting a graduate degree in art history? Then definitely, just go for M.A. Find a nice terminal M.A. program somewhere. You can always apply elsewhere for a Ph.D., but no point in making that gigantic commitment if you don't know if you'll like it, or if there's even a job you're interested in.

You should at least research and decide if you want an academic career or one in galleries/museums.

[TaraGreen89]

Another thing I can think of that might help- is take a graduate level class (or two) in Art History at the nearest University- if that is possible in terms of your financial and time related resources. It could help you narrow your academic focus, career ideas, etc. and most art history masters programs will accept at least a handful of graduate level credits, so it could help put you a bit ahead of the game there.

Also, if you're nervous about your relative lack of art history experience (which honestly I don't think you need to be given your work experience and academic background) and how prospective programs might view that- this would be a good way to address that issue.