Strong Masters Programs in the History of Photography

[BuddingScholar]

Hi guys...

 

I have done some preliminary research and came up with the following list of masters programs with faculty working in/around the history of photography. Would you suggest any other ones or discourage any one from my list? My concern is also that whatever program I end up in, it will substantially improve my chances of getting into a top tier PhD program when it comes time for that. I am coming from a VERY SMALL UNKNOWN undergrad program, so the latter part is very important!

 

Here is my list thus far:

. Williams
. Tufts
. UT Austin
. Syracuse
. Bryn Mawr
. Penn State
. U Mass – Amherst
. Temple
. UC Riverside
. UC Davis
. Wisc-Madison
. U Delaware
. U Maryland
. UC Santa Barbara
. U Penn
. Rutgers
. Boston University
. Case Western Reserve
. McGill
. U Toronto
 

Thank you!

[anonymousbequest]

Some of these programs do not offer a terminal MA, so make sure you double check.  UC Riverside does have faculty interested in photography, and students often do internships at the California Museum of Photography with the opportunity to curate exhibitions.  Similarly Williams has faculty plus photography collection resources at the Clark and the college museum, both actively collect and exhibit photography.  I think internships at the three museums in the area based on a grad student's area of interest is part of Williams program's overall structure.  UMass Amherst is a wonderful program but without some of the specific collection resources of Riverside or Williams. But, all three have funding and send students on to tier 1 grad schools. The Syracuse MA I think is not terribly well regarded and I never hear much about Tufts (would be interested if anyone on gradcafe has knowledge of that program).  Have you looked into Arizona? I believe that they work with the Center for Creative Photography.  You also might check out Notre Dame, they have a terminal MA with some faculty interested in contemporary photography.  

[BuddingScholar]

Some of these programs do not offer a terminal MA, so make sure you double check.  UC Riverside does have faculty interested in photography, and students often do internships at the California Museum of Photography with the opportunity to curate exhibitions.  Similarly Williams has faculty plus photography collection resources at the Clark and the college museum, both actively collect and exhibit photography.  I think internships at the three museums in the area based on a grad student's area of interest is part of Williams program's overall structure.  UMass Amherst is a wonderful program but without some of the specific collection resources of Riverside or Williams. But, all three have funding and send students on to tier 1 grad schools. The Syracuse MA I think is not terribly well regarded and I never hear much about Tufts (would be interested if anyone on gradcafe has knowledge of that program).  Have you looked into Arizona? I believe that they work with the Center for Creative Photography.  You also might check out Notre Dame, they have a terminal MA with some faculty interested in contemporary photography.  

 

Thank you so much... your help is much appreciated.

[Borden]

I don't think there's anyone doing photography at UC Davis now that Blake Stimson's out at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and to be honest I haven't seen any added cachet from coming out of there in the past five years. It certainly didn't get me in anywhere last year. That said, it is a really good program if you can deal with the cow smell coming from the dairy farm year round.

[BuddingScholar]

I don't think there's anyone doing photography at UC Davis now that Blake Stimson's out at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and to be honest I haven't seen any added cachet from coming out of there in the past five years. It certainly didn't get me in anywhere last year. That said, it is a really good program if you can deal with the cow smell coming from the dairy farm year round.

Great to know... nothing like receiving advice from an insider. I wasn't sure about them already, so I am now definitely crossing them out of my list. Thanks a lot!

[Borden]

Great to know... nothing like receiving advice from an insider. I wasn't sure about them already, so I am now definitely crossing them out of my list. Thanks a lot!

 

No problem! I really liked my experience at the program but now I'm in the same boat of "how do I get into a top tier PhD coming from two state schools."

[Eggleston]

Williams, Tufts, UPenn, Rutgers, and BU are all good bets- either for the quality of their programs or the presence of faculty who are trained in photo history themselves. Don't forget about the University of Arizona or New Mexico- both have faculty in the specialization as well.