Advice on building an application

[starfields]

Hi, I'm in a really sticky situation at the moment and was hoping for some advice.

 

I am currently an undergraduate at a London university doing a BA in Politics. My passion is in Art History and I would really love to switch to an Art History degree but the sponsor for my current BA is unwilling not keen to fund a BA in Art History. Also, the terms of my sponsorship mean that I have to work for the company for 6years. Hence, I would like some advice on how I can build up a strong portfolio for graduate study in Art History in the future while completing my BA and working in a completely unrelated field. Any advice or sharing of personal experience is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance

[fullofpink]

Can you switch to Business, and away from politics? Honestly, with a BA in Business, you could go for an Arts Administration masters degree and it will definitely get you one of the high paying jobs in arts administration (Foundation management, development, membership and visitor services,) Our former Deputy Director of Services and our Deputy Director of Finances make about $150-200k each and they are on the lower middle end of that scale. You could be in the field without having to sacrifice your studies and income for the art history humanities part, and with that experience you could be involved in the appreciation without the study. I believe that they both have a MBA, but I can see Arts Administration gearing you towards art appreciation, precisely.

 

However, alternative, if you are bent on withdrawing from Politics, or if you want to double major in Art history, you could focus on Art Law. It would require an appropriate amount of art history coursework without completely switching your major. 

[starfields]

Sigh, the organisation refuses to let me switch to any course! My university isn't being very helpful either because it offers a rather limited range of courses, ie little/no art-related modules, and does not allow me to double major. So far I've been taking summer school courses which qualify as university modules. I've done 2 of these summer courses and am planning to do 2 more but i can't fit in anymore because i will have to go back to work in the organisation immediately after I've graduated. I am currently considering distance-learning courses (to do while working) but i'm unsure if they will be sufficient for a strong application. My goal is to work as a curator or in academia.

[fullofpink]

Then, honestly, you're wasting this time with this sponsorship. If you don't have to pay them back, then you should apply to transfer into a different department, and if accepted, forgo the sponsorship. Honestly, I really can't see why you'd waste 4 years in college on a degree you're uninterested in, plus another 6 in a company, THEN apply to graduate school in art history for another 2-8 years. If you graduate at 22, you're not really eligible to go back to school until 28 and you may have to waste 2 years in a masters program before applying for a PhD, which is the degree you'll need to work in academia or as a curator. So, you're not really "entering" the field until you're in your late 30s. Yikes. Not only that, but I can't see a job in an unrelated field for 6 years really helping you're art history applications out. 

 

This is a really difficult decision - it should not be taken lightly, especially since jobs in the humanities are super hard to come by AND don't pay well at all AND take a consider amount of time to get. You should discuss this with your friends or family or someone who knows you, and see what you really should be focusing on. It's awesome that you have a sponsorship for school, and sometimes the universe awards us such opportunities for good reasons, so definitely think hard and long about it!