Best Graduate Schools for Concentration in 20th Century Art

[GhostsBeforeBreakfast]

Hello everyone.
I'm currently a college junior who is interested in finding out what graduate schools are the best for a 20th Century Art concentration.

I'm also ultimately interested in curation.

[GhostsBeforeBreakfast]

I actually noticed, well after making this thread, that someone already asked a similar question only to be criticized for not being more detailed.

 

As I previously stated, my ultimate goal is museum curation but I don't necessarily want to be limited to a museum studies program.

 

I'm not even sure just yet if I want to do an MA en route or just start with an MA and get to my PhD later.

 

I've been told more recently that 20th century is the most popular area of study but when I look at university websites it seems like everyone is concentrating in either Renaissance or Contemporary.

 

I do like Post-War but I'm more concerned with "Imp Mod." I'm very interested in Dada and Drawn-on-Film animation. I'd love to work with an expert in either of these fields.

 

Thank you, everyone.

 

 

[JosephineB]

Why don't you track down a few of your favorite articles that were written in the past few years, on a topic that you would like to study. See who wrote them and look up where they teach. No one can do your research for you, because no one knows your interests as well as you do. Also, doing research is a major part of being an art historian.

[GhostsBeforeBreakfast]

I figure someone who is interested in similar movements and is already in a graduate program could let me know which are the best for this concentration, someone here can surely do that.

Being pointed in the right direction would be nice.

 

I will, of course, be doing my own research but first-hand reviews of programs are surely valuable.

[fullofpink]

I figure someone who is interested in similar movements and is already in a graduate program could let me know which are the best for this concentration, someone here can surely do that.

Being pointed in the right direction would be nice.

 

I will, of course, be doing my own research but first-hand reviews of programs are surely valuable.

 

I think you would have better luck if you were to say, "I am interested in Schools X, Y, and Z for 20th century. Does anyone have first hand experience with these programs?" 

[auvers-sur-oise]

These replies... yikes. 

 

that might be helpful for the MA vs. PhD question. Anecdotally, the best advice I got from my undergrad advisor was to avoid MA programs where staying on for a PhD wasn't an option. I wish I had taken his advice. 

 

Otherwise, I second the above - I looked at the authors of recent books and articles that I admired in my field. I also asked my undergraduate advisor and professors for their suggestions. And I did what everyone does, but few will admit because it sounds too much like shoddy "research": I made a list of cities I wanted to live in, of dream schools based on name/reputation, and then I looked at the faculty in my field at those schools. 

 

You're a junior, and so you've got lots of time. The replies above make fair points - research is an important part of graduate school, and it is important to be proactive.You're also... a junior, so you don't need to worry about perfectly executing the Major Parts of Being an Art Historian just yet. You asked a bad question, big deal.

 

Best of luck! I hope you're not scared off for good, and that you come back for more specific advice once you've narrowed down your list.

[GhostsBeforeBreakfast]

I think you would have better luck if you were to say, "I am interested in Schools X, Y, and Z for 20th century. Does anyone have first hand experience with these programs?" 

 

I had good reason not to word my question like that; I didn't want to limit any answers.

I'm currently most interested in Columbia, Princeton, Berkley, NYU, and CUNY Hunter as a last resort.

Of course, I emphasized curation because Berkley, for example, breeds more professors than curators.

I also don't really want to go to NYU. I was actually interested to see if there were schools I wasn't even considering that happened to have professors knowledgeable in my specific concentration/interests.

Edited December 28, 2012 by SheisStellar

[GhostsBeforeBreakfast]

These replies... yikes. 

 

that might be helpful for the MA vs. PhD question. Anecdotally, the best advice I got from my undergrad advisor was to avoid MA programs where staying on for a PhD wasn't an option. I wish I had taken his advice. 

 

Otherwise, I second the above - I looked at the authors of recent books and articles that I admired in my field. I also asked my undergraduate advisor and professors for their suggestions. And I did what everyone does, but few will admit because it sounds too much like shoddy "research": I made a list of cities I wanted to live in, of dream schools based on name/reputation, and then I looked at the faculty in my field at those schools. 

 

You're a junior, and so you've got lots of time. The replies above make fair points - research is an important part of graduate school, and it is important to be proactive.You're also... a junior, so you don't need to worry about perfectly executing the Major Parts of Being an Art Historian just yet. You asked a bad question, big deal.

 

Best of luck! I hope you're not scared off for good, and that you come back for more specific advice once you've narrowed down your list.

 

Thank you for advice that lacks the same degree of condescension as others. Hopefully this thread already shows that I am proactive. 

[Bearcat1]

If you are or will be writing some kind of undergrad thesis, this is also something to discuss with your thesis advisor. I did a bunch of research myself on where I'd like to go and who I'd like to work with, but many of the people I've applied to work with weren't people I found myself but people suggested by my advisor or other professors. Sometimes it helps to speak to them because they are often aware of new avenues of research their colleagues are taking that haven't yet been published or posted on faculty websites. Also, once I started contacting POIs, a couple of them suggested other people or mentioned that they "assumed I'd be applying to work with so-and-so also" and even though I wasn't I knew then I should at least be familiar with that person's work. I found that once I had a few people on a list, that the list grew rather quickly. You may also want to check the program for the CAA conference. It should be available as a PDF on their website, and although it's long and looking through the whole thing will be tedious, you might find some great potential POIs that way. (I'm on my phone or I'd link the program here.) You are clearly in a good place in terms of planning, being only a junior, but this may seem more daunting at this point because you haven't narrowed down your interests. I say that not to discourage you, but in hopes that you won't be discouraged if it does seem overwhelming at this stage. It will start to fall into place as you narrow your focus, so keep at it.

Good luck!

[runaway]

@SheisStellar: I'm sorry that some of these posts came across as condescending, but remember that all of us were in your position once, too. And, by and large, we began to find direction by doing the grunt work ourselves. You might notice that posts such as the one fullofpink recommends often are followed by comments like "If you're interested in X at Y University, have you considered A at B University, too?" 

 

What books sparked your interest in your subfield? Start there. Look up that person. Look up the people in their footnotes. Look up their reviewers. Academics have family trees; figure out where you want to fit in on yours, and apply to those schools.

 

(Also, you might want to learn how to spell Berkeley before applying there.)

[GhostsBeforeBreakfast]

@SheisStellar: I'm sorry that some of these posts came across as condescending, but remember that all of us were in your position once, too. And, by and large, we began to find direction by doing the grunt work ourselves. You might notice that posts such as the one fullofpink recommends often are followed by comments like "If you're interested in X at Y University, have you considered A at B University, too?" 

 

What books sparked your interest in your subfield? Start there. Look up that person. Look up the people in their footnotes. Look up their reviewers. Academics have family trees; figure out where you want to fit in on yours, and apply to those schools.

 

(Also, you might want to learn how to spell Berkeley before applying there.)

Thank you, guys. Yes, I noticed my misspelling after it was too late to edit! Berkeley is my boyfriend's alma mater so he'd probably kill me if he saw that.

This is all really great advice. I took most of these answers and put them into a word document to keep me on track. I do not feel discouraged in the least.

My internship advisor at this time is probably the right person to ask as he will likely also be my senior thesis advisor.

Unfortunately my department advisor, on the other hand, is a bit biased and bitter so he will only give me certain recommendations.

I will likely have to do much research on my own. I suppose while I'm on break and interning there's nothing better than taking time to do this now.

I understand now why answers have not been simply handed to me here.

Edited December 28, 2012 by SheisStellar

[chamomile]

A last resort! 

[GhostsBeforeBreakfast]

A last resort! 

In regards to Hunter? Yes, I'm already in the CUNY system and would prefer to go elsewhere even though the program is ranked in the top 20.

Also, as much as I love CUNY I don't see any curators at the Met or MoMA with CUNY degrees.

[Atlantis]

May I suggest you consider the University of Chicago as well, in particular since the institution not only has excellent modernist scholars (Martha Ward, Christine Mehring, Matthew Jesse Jackson, Darby English, Tom Gunning), but also because it has one of the best film studies departments in the country (it's called Cinema and Media Studies). Furthermore, Chicago offers opportunities for internships that are often overlooked, and also much less competitive than in NYC. Both Northwestern as well as the University of Chicago (and Loyola, for that matter) have university art museums, which are usually more than happy to work with graduate students. 

[GhostsBeforeBreakfast]

University of Chicago appears to be such an excellent school that I may as well apply there even if I'm not so keen on the location.
I will look further into their modernist scholars, thank you   .

Edited January 6, 2013 by SheisStellar

[losemygrip]

Any department in a city with decent museums should work for you.  UCLA, Chicago, Boston area, etc.  Delaware would be fine--you could be near that museum program, but not have to enroll in it directly (although I think they now have an art history track there for those interested in museum professions).  Williams is the most famous incubator of museum professionals. 

 

Most departments have decent representation in the 20th century area.  UT Austin has produced a lot of successful grads in modern, a good number in museums.