History of Art MA/PHD 2010

[policysecond]

For anyone interested, Michigan letters are supposed to go out today, according to someone at their office.

Admission offers or rejection letters? or both?

I'm on the waitlist, and the anticipation is killing me!

[policysecond]

Thanks for the info! Do you know if they send both acceptances and rejections snail mail, or just rejections?

woops- just repeated your question. haha

[jmb04]

Thanks for the info! Do you know if they send both acceptances and rejections snail mail, or just rejections?

Not sure. All the woman told me was "the letters are supposed to go out today."

I don't think she's even the admin person with all the info. They're on spring break this week so no one is around.

[jmb04]

I'm on the waitlist, and the anticipation is killing me!

Me too. The letter we'll get is probably one that confirms that we're on the waitlist.

We'll just have to stay in academic purgatory for a while longer, I suppose!

[watersnake]

Congratulations to the freshly anointed Princetonians!!

[jmb04]

Congratulations to the Princeton acceptances!!!

[sweetc10]

How 'bout all of you MA applicants out there? I know it's early, but I can't bear the wait. News from Columbia, Gtown, SAIC, Syracuse?

[worldspinsmadlyon]

How 'bout all of you MA applicants out there? I know it's early, but I can't bear the wait. News from Columbia, Gtown, SAIC, Syracuse?

I've been wondering about the same thing. I applied to 6 schools and I have only heard back from one thus far (Bard Graduate Center). It feels good to have at least one option, but waiting to hear from the other five is unbearable! I also applied to Syracuse and after looking at the archives, I am feeling even more nervous. It appears that in years past, people have heard a response by the end of February. However, it feels good to know that I'm not the only one waiting to hear back. Any other MA hopefuls out there?

Edited March 2, 2010 by worldspinsmadlyon

[Ritualist]

How 'bout all of you MA applicants out there? I know it's early, but I can't bear the wait. News from Columbia, Gtown, SAIC, Syracuse?

From what I understand, Columbia POIs have contacted some students whom were admitted to the free standing MA program(s).

Edited March 2, 2010 by Ritualist

[RedPotato]

Did you apply to Gtown Art and Museum Studies, or is it another program?

[aar5h]

someone posted a unc ma acceptance on the board this afternoon -- do you mind specifying your subfield? also, they said they'd give you funding for an ma? any word on how many they're accepting?

[Oedipa Maas]

Hi everyone,

I am feeling pretty down after being slaughtered by Stanford, Yale, and Princeton the past few days. I am a first-time applicant applying for PhD programs (Modern/theory w/emphasis on performance and technology) right out of undergrad (although I've been out of school and working for about a year and a half now). I am still waiting on Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, USC, and Berkeley, but I am having difficulty remaining optimistic about my prospects for the remaining programs. My undergraduate GPA was 3.8/3.9 (art history major), in the honors program, wrote honors thesis, presented two papers in grad/undergrad symposiums, 3 years German, and 710 V 530 Q and 5.5 writing. I realize that the vast majority of applicants have solid, solid, solid undergraduate/graduate portfolios and I seek advice from those of you who have been accepted and or have more insight into the graduate application process. I am trying to prepare for the worst and learn how to build a strong application...the second time around.

Also, congratulations to those who have received offers :-)

[rogers100]

Hi everyone,

I am feeling pretty down after being slaughtered by Stanford, Yale, and Princeton the past few days. I am a first-time applicant applying for PhD programs (Modern/theory w/emphasis on performance and technology) right out of undergrad (although I've been out of school and working for about a year and a half now). I am still waiting on Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, USC, and Berkeley, but I am having difficulty remaining optimistic about my prospects for the remaining programs. My undergraduate GPA was 3.8/3.9 (art history major), in the honors program, wrote honors thesis, presented two papers in grad/undergrad symposiums, 3 years German, and 710 V 530 Q and 5.5 writing. I realize that the vast majority of applicants have solid, solid, solid undergraduate/graduate portfolios and I seek advice from those of you who have been accepted and or have more insight into the graduate application process. I am trying to prepare for the worst and learn how to build a strong application...the second time around.

Also, congratulations to those who have received offers :-)

An undergraduate friend of mine told about this website, and I became a little obsessed with reading the posts that have been made here. I felt like I had to respond to yours.

Though it's not the case 100% of the time, most entering PhD students hold Masters degrees. Stanford, Yale, and Princeton all receive over 100 applications yearly, and accept a very small fraction of those students--and generally, those students hold Master's degrees. I know it's favorable to forego the MA completely to enter a fully-funded PhD program from the get-go, but the truth is that students who have had more research experience and can show evidence that they're capable of writing longer work are much more desirable candidates to PhD adcoms. You seem to be on the right track with what you've done so far as an undergrad, but it also seems that the programs you've applied to are all on a PhD-only track--without a terminable masters (excluding Columbia, I believe).

As a 5th year PhD student at an Ivy (in Art History), and as someone who has sat on the admissions committee twice, I would recommend (if you are unlucky this time around, which I really hope you're not!) working REALLY hard on your writing sample. It's probably the most important component of the entire application--more so than recommendation letters and grades. Internships demonstrate your passion for the field, but they aren't really evidence of scholarly potential. Your GRE score is fine -- the Q score is hardly looked at. And if you haven't done so already, I'd suggest presenting your research at a couple of conferences. Beef up your language skills, as 3 years of one foreign language is a pretty common asset among perspective applicants.

Good luck! I do hope you hear some good news soon!

Edited March 3, 2010 by rogers100

[sweetc10]

Did you apply to Gtown Art and Museum Studies, or is it another program?

Yes, I applied to the Art & Museum Studies Program. I was hoping to hear yes/no by now since the deadline was Dec 1.

[mmustard]

Hi all. I know this might be a futile question, but I'm just sick with worry about Columbia (1st choice). I had a (relatively) informal phone interview with my PA in early February, where he essentially said I'd made it to the last step of acceptance, and that I should hear either way by early March. Being that it's March 3rd, does anybody have any insight on exactly how worried I should be about the fact that I haven't heard a peep from Columbia yet?

[Oedipa Maas]

An undergraduate friend of mine told about this website, and I became a little obsessed with reading the posts that have been made here. I felt like I had to respond to yours.

Though it's not the case 100% of the time, most entering PhD students hold Masters degrees. Stanford, Yale, and Princeton all receive over 100 applications yearly, and accept a very small fraction of those students--and generally, those students hold Master's degrees. I know it's favorable to forego the MA completely to enter a fully-funded PhD program from the get-go, but the truth is that students who have had more research experience and can show evidence that they're capable of writing longer work are much more desirable candidates to PhD adcoms. You seem to be on the right track with what you've done so far as an undergrad, but it also seems that the programs you've applied to are all on a PhD-only track--without a terminable masters (excluding Columbia, I believe).

As a 5th year PhD student at an Ivy (in Art History), and as someone who has sat on the admissions committee twice, I would recommend (if you are unlucky this time around, which I really hope you're not!) working REALLY hard on your writing sample. It's probably the most important component of the entire application--more so than recommendation letters and grades. Internships demonstrate your passion for the field, but they aren't really evidence of scholarly potential. Your GRE score is fine -- the Q score is hardly looked at. And if you haven't done so already, I'd suggest presenting your research at a couple of conferences. Beef up your language skills, as 3 years of one foreign language is a pretty common asset among perspective applicants.

Good luck! I do hope you hear some good news soon!

Dear rogers100,

Thank you very much for responding for my post. Your response helps me gain a better idea of where I stand and "the par for the course" when it comes to graduate admissions at the Ivies et al. While I hope to hear good news soon, your suggestions and advice are very valuable to me and I will surely heed them in preparation for the next application season.

Vielen dank fur ihre hilfe!

[fullofpink]

Hey! Who put that Yale received 10,400 applications?

haha. I let out of little guffaw reading that (I wonder if that IS a correct number, then it must be filtered through the graduate studies department and NOT the art history?).

lol.

[jmb04]

Hey! Who put that Yale received 10,400 applications?

haha. I let out of little guffaw reading that (I wonder if that IS a correct number, then it must be filtered through the graduate studies department and NOT the art history?).

lol.

Right. I didn't put that on the results page, but I saw that number in my own rejection letter. I believe that's the number for the entire graduate school and not just art history. Watersnake posted above somewhere that it was more like 280 for art history.

On another note, congrats to the Duke acceptance!

Anyone have guesses as to who will be the next school to turn our quiet little community into a slaughterhouse?

[georgica2]

Right. I didn't put that on the results page, but I saw that number in my own rejection letter. I believe that's the number for the entire graduate school and not just art history. Watersnake posted above somewhere that it was more like 280 for art history.

On another note, congrats to the Duke acceptance!

Anyone have guesses as to who will be the next school to turn our quiet little community into a slaughterhouse?

I doubt there are even 10,400 art historians in the entire world, let alone applying to Yale! Considering that many science subjects at top schools get 500-1000 applications/year, 10,400 for the entire grad school sounds about right.

Oh, and I'm betting on Harvard! Or Penn? I mean, they notified acceptances weeks ago, so it's about time they start mailing the rejections, right?

Edited March 4, 2010 by georgica2

[jmb04]

Oh, and I'm betting on Harvard! Or Penn? I mean, they notified acceptances weeks ago, so it's about time they start mailing the rejections, right?

Same with Northwestern. I can feel it coming. (Or maybe that's just wishful thinking)

[watersnake]

I doubt there are even 10,400 art historians in the entire world, let alone applying to Yale! Considering that many science subjects at top schools get 500-1000 applications/year, 10,400 for the entire grad school sounds about right.

Oh, and I'm betting on Harvard! Or Penn? I mean, they notified acceptances weeks ago, so it's about time they start mailing the rejections, right?

Yes, my POI at Yale told me there were 280 in art history alone this year.

But, wait! I hadn't heard Harvard sent out acceptances...is this true? I saw one person was short-listed on Feb. 17th or so, but isn't that all anyone has heard?

[georgica2]

Yes, my POI at Yale told me there were 280 in art history alone this year.

But, wait! I hadn't heard Harvard sent out acceptances...is this true? I saw one person was short-listed on Feb. 17th or so, but isn't that all anyone has heard?

Sorry, I should have been clearer: A bunch of Penn people were notified of acceptances and waitlists mid-February. I figured that meant the rest of us are out, but no official rejections have been sent yet. There's only been one posting from Harvard, the shortlist thing, but that seemed to be an unofficial heads-up from a POI whom the applicant had been in contact with. Believe me, I had a heart attack when I saw that on the results page awhile back, so I understand the panic.

[mmsw86]

So, I've been accepted to a program that hasn't made funding decisions yet. Do I reply to their email to reiterate (or demonstrate through questions) my interest in the program? Or would this come off as desperate, as if I'm fishing for money? Do I just wait it out and hope for the best?

[mmsw86]

I think most people would agree that you should respond once they accept you. Why don't you cut to the chase and say something like "I want to reiterate my interest in the program" and "please let me know as soon as funding decisions have been made"? That way you would be communicating honestly while sending the not-so-surprising message that you are looking for funding....without sounding like you're fishing for dollars.

Thanks, phid. This is actually a great suggestion. I do want them to know that I am interested. And I agree that it is probably better to be direct than to insinuate, which might come off as underhanded in a way (if that's the right term for it). I received the acceptance Tuesday afternoon, so I won't be too tardy in responding to the acceptance.

[curiouser and curiouser]

Did anyone else on this board apply to MIT's History, Theory & Criticism program? I'm guessing it's a lost cause at this point, but I'd be curious to know what people have heard.