History of Art MA/PHD 2010

[jmb04]

Hi jmb sorry this response may be a little late, but your assumption is probably unfortunately true...if you apply to work with faculty on leave that your chances of admission this round are not as strong--because they the on leave faculty will probably not be there to fight for you. but one never knows...it may be the year in which it is their turn for a student...and the committee is obliged to select certain students with certain interests. I had the same problem in a few programs I was applying to so I made sure to include a few other faculty not on leave who can also fight for me....but lets see how chance unravels---applying is really a crapshoot.

on another note---this board has been really quiet--i'm anxiously awaiting news...but also planning for the possibility of not getting in anywhere--better to expect less than be heartbroken, I say. There are other paths other than the academic one, and just recently I've been thinking that even if I got into the program of my first choice, that I would hesitate.

I have been anticipating and preparing for graduate school for so long, that I feel like I've missed out on other possible experiences and routes...and I regret it, somewhat.

Anyways, I've applied for the southern Renaissance concentration, cross cultural studies in the following programs:

University Southern California

Rutgers, Brunswick

Yale

Princeton

Harvard

NYU

UPenn

Hey, thanks for your response. That's what I pretty much figured out. I applied anyway and included another prof in my SOP. Hopefully that works, though the 2nd prof seems like an afterthought to the first one, who I gushed on and on about. Ah great. I feel like I just wasted $75 applying. Oh well.

In another vein of thought, are any of you making plans to visit the schools in person BEFORE decisions are made? I am making plans to visit one of them in two weeks.

What's the general consensus about doing this? It could help, but it could also hurt your chances, right?

And what about post-deadline correspondence with the profs you e-mailed prior to applying? What to say? "Dear Prof A, Just wanted to let you know that I did apply, so please flag my app and accept me. Thanks." haha!

I know that results won't be coming in for another month or so, but I still check my online apps for decision links several times a week. I feel so neurotic.

And I'm also beginning to think about Plan A, B and C if this whole grad school thing doesn't work out. What are you guys gonna do if you get rejected from everywhere? Try again next year or figure out a different career path? I've been on a totally different career path for the last 5 years and I hate it, which has prompted me to finally apply this year (after 5 years of thinking "I'll apply next year.")

Man, waiting it out is the absolute pits. :\

[babylamb]

Hello Everyone,

One of the programs I applied to is the MA in Art History, Theory & Criticism at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). I haven't seen anything about this program on the forum, so I thought I would ask what is the general impression of this program? I am curious to hear what people think/know/have heard, etc.

Thanks!

[bobo_the_muse]

Hey, thanks for your response. That's what I pretty much figured out. I applied anyway and included another prof in my SOP. Hopefully that works, though the 2nd prof seems like an afterthought to the first one, who I gushed on and on about. Ah great. I feel like I just wasted $75 applying. Oh well.

In another vein of thought, are any of you making plans to visit the schools in person BEFORE decisions are made? I am making plans to visit one of them in two weeks.

What's the general consensus about doing this? It could help, but it could also hurt your chances, right?

And what about post-deadline correspondence with the profs you e-mailed prior to applying? What to say? "Dear Prof A, Just wanted to let you know that I did apply, so please flag my app and accept me. Thanks." haha!

I know that results won't be coming in for another month or so, but I still check my online apps for decision links several times a week. I feel so neurotic.

And I'm also beginning to think about Plan A, B and C if this whole grad school thing doesn't work out. What are you guys gonna do if you get rejected from everywhere? Try again next year or figure out a different career path? I've been on a totally different career path for the last 5 years and I hate it, which has prompted me to finally apply this year (after 5 years of thinking "I'll apply next year.")

Man, waiting it out is the absolute pits. :\

Actually, I can say that it is a very good idea to visit the schools you are applying to. This is certainly true for the school I am getting my PhD at (highly ranked public university in the midwest). You have nothing to loose. Be humble and you should have no problem.

[policysecond]

Hey, thanks for your response. That's what I pretty much figured out. I applied anyway and included another prof in my SOP. Hopefully that works, though the 2nd prof seems like an afterthought to the first one, who I gushed on and on about. Ah great. I feel like I just wasted $75 applying. Oh well.

In another vein of thought, are any of you making plans to visit the schools in person BEFORE decisions are made? I am making plans to visit one of them in two weeks.

What's the general consensus about doing this? It could help, but it could also hurt your chances, right?

And what about post-deadline correspondence with the profs you e-mailed prior to applying? What to say? "Dear Prof A, Just wanted to let you know that I did apply, so please flag my app and accept me. Thanks." haha!

I know that results won't be coming in for another month or so, but I still check my online apps for decision links several times a week. I feel so neurotic.

And I'm also beginning to think about Plan A, B and C if this whole grad school thing doesn't work out. What are you guys gonna do if you get rejected from everywhere? Try again next year or figure out a different career path? I've been on a totally different career path for the last 5 years and I hate it, which has prompted me to finally apply this year (after 5 years of thinking "I'll apply next year.")

Man, waiting it out is the absolute pits. :\

I think if I got rejected from everywhere, I'd first cry for a week, and then begin figuring out what got me rejected from each school (email the programs and ask specifically, as people on this forum have suggested before). Then I'd start doing things to strengthen my application for the following year. I can't see myself doing anything else, and even if I could - I wouldn't really want to. I think I'd apply to year-long internships at museums, or save up to do a summer abroad in the country of the language I'd want to work on (Germany for German, in my case)...but anything really to improve my application.

I know how it is to check the decision links obsessively, by the way. I do the same...every day. It's pretty bad. I've been daring myself to not check for 24 hours, but it's completely impossible. I mean, it's my future being decided on! Pretty difficult to stay away..

[starfish]

In another vein of thought, are any of you making plans to visit the schools in person BEFORE decisions are made? I am making plans to visit one of them in two weeks.

What's the general consensus about doing this? It could help, but it could also hurt your chances, right?

I visited several schools during the admissions cycle, at the suggestion of my MA advisor. It was a really great experience, and I'm glad I did it. At one school, I discovered that I didn't like the feel of the department and my personality and research interests probably weren't a great match for my potential advisors. I was able to mark that school off my list before I spent the money and time applying.

The other schools I visited were much more positive experiences. I was able to build a brief rapport with potential advisors and overall, I think, made a good impression. I have no idea if that will be enough to actually get me accepted, but I definitely think it improved my chances. At least they'll recognize my name and have a face to put to it when they're wading through piles of similar-sounding applications. If I don't get accepted anywhere this year and have to reapply, I'll try to find the resources to visit all programs during the fall semester next year.

And I'm also beginning to think about Plan A, B and C if this whole grad school thing doesn't work out. What are you guys gonna do if you get rejected from everywhere? Try again next year or figure out a different career path? I've been on a totally different career path for the last 5 years and I hate it, which has prompted me to finally apply this year (after 5 years of thinking "I'll apply next year.")

I'm finishing my MA this semester and teaching at a local community college. I've already sent in resumes to other area community colleges, so my plan if I don't get in is to ratchet up my teaching load for the next year. Since I will also finish up my MA thesis this semester, I'll work on getting that (or part of that) published, and maybe do some additional research and try to write another article for publication. I will also get a puppy. I'm determined enough to keep applying until I get in, even if that means I won't enter a Ph.D. program until age 91.

Man, waiting it out is the absolute pits. :\

No kidding. I'm going crazy.

[veroordeeld]

I will also get a puppy.

What kind of puppy?! May I suggest a cockapoo or French Bulldog?

Back to the topic at hand: yes, this waiting stinks, but if we DO get in there will be years of more applying/waiting for things such as grants, fellowships, journal submissions, and jobs (should there be any left by the end of the decade, let alone those of the tenure-track variety). Somehow we must learn to cope...and by cope I mean drink heavily

With regard to campus visits, I was told by several departments that faculty will not meet with students during the application review period, unless your potential advisor is on leave but still around town and nice enough to schlep in for a tête-à-tête. Definitely worth confirming before making plans. Also, to the person fretting over chances of acceptance when preferred faculty members are away: one professor told me that since virtually all applications are online (with the exception of UCLA! what is their damage?!), it's quite easy to transmit information between the admissions committee and an absent advisor if there's a strong application, so it won't necessarily hurt your chances. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to get in touch with said advisor and chat a bit so they know to look out for you.

Well, here's to another 4-6 weeks of unbridled ecstasy!

Oh, right, for the record, I'm just adding to the glut of wannabe modernists. Applying to UDel, Princeton, Penn, UChicago, UCLA, and Columbia.

[jmb04]

OK I'm making plans to visit a school in the first week of February. I have two appointments lined up with potential advisors. Super excited. Any advice on what to say/what not to say?

I'm also going to try to meet with a grad student there, at the recommendation of one of the profs.

Another query: I don't have an MA, but I've been out of undergrad doing something unrelated for 5 years. Do schools actually expect someone like me to have published? If so, how do I go about doing this? Submit my old seminar papers to art history journals?

PS - I haven't checked any of the schools for decisions today. (YET!!) Quite an accomplishment, I'd say!

[RedPotato]

Oomph. This waiting is making me nervous. When do we actually hear back from these places? The application deadlines I did so far were Dec 1, Jan 15, Feb 1st and rolling. I wish the told us you will hear back by xyz.

With everyone else waiting, I commiserate.

[watersnake]

In the hopes of preventing for others the tiny heartattack I had this afternoon:

I received a manila envelope from the History of Art dept. @ Berkeley. Preparing myself for the worst I opened it to find...

a newsletter for "friends of the department!" Argh.

Anyway, stay calm if you're waiting to hear from Cal and you get an envelope...

[policysecond]

In the hopes of preventing for others the tiny heartattack I had this afternoon:

I received a manila envelope from the History of Art dept. @ Berkeley. Preparing myself for the worst I opened it to find...

a newsletter for "friends of the department!" Argh.

Anyway, stay calm if you're waiting to hear from Cal and you get an envelope...

That's completely evil! I feel like departments need to be aware of the connotations of large envelopes, especially to applicants of their graduate program. I would have had a heart attack too.

I got the same kind of thing from Bryn Mawr, but it was 2 weeks after I submitted my materials, so I was fairly certain it wasn't any kind of decision. If I get anything in the mail in February, however, I may take a shot before opening anything up...

[jmb04]

Congrats to the shortlisted person for Northwestern (per the results page)! What is your focus?

[watersnake]

Congrats to the shortlisted person for Northwestern (per the results page)! What is your focus?

Yes, congratulations! I think Art History is starved for info!!

[fullofpink]

Yes, congratulations! I think Art History is starved for info!!

Who got the interview with Duke?! Congrats! [Especially with all expenses paid]

[starfish]

What kind of puppy?! May I suggest a cockapoo or French Bulldog?

Those are both awesome dogs, but I think I've got my heart set on a Newfoundland landseer. Mostly, I just want a dog that's big enough to ride.

[jmb04]

To watersnake - thought I'd be diplomatic and move the conversation over here, lest those HISTORIANS get snippy again haha! We've co-opted their name already, and I didn't want to rub it in and invade their forum too

Anyway, my faculty of choice at NW is on leave and I'm not sure if she's taking in any students. I'll just have to wait I guess.

The anticipation is killing me right now, and with nothing academic to do in the meanwhile, I'm already thinking of ways to improve my SOP for next year. :\

[watersnake]

To watersnake - thought I'd be diplomatic and move the conversation over here, lest those HISTORIANS get snippy again haha! We've co-opted their name already, and I didn't want to rub it in and invade their forum too

Anyway, my faculty of choice at NW is on leave and I'm not sure if she's taking in any students. I'll just have to wait I guess.

The anticipation is killing me right now, and with nothing academic to do in the meanwhile, I'm already thinking of ways to improve my SOP for next year. :\

Yes, very diplomatic. Next step, think of a new name for the field!

I also applied at NW. There are two people there who I would love to work with. And I wouldn't worry too much about your potential advisor being on leave, I'm sure she'll be consulted.

Ugh, the waiting is far worse than I anticipated. I'm supposed to be working on a symposium paper (to be given at the end of Feb!) and I haven't been able to concentrate long enough to even start writing it...

Well, hopefully things will start picking up soon- then we'll really become the bane of the historians!

[fullofpink]

To watersnake - thought I'd be diplomatic and move the conversation over here, lest those HISTORIANS get snippy again haha! We've co-opted their name already, and I didn't want to rub it in and invade their forum too

Anyway, my faculty of choice at NW is on leave and I'm not sure if she's taking in any students. I'll just have to wait I guess.

The anticipation is killing me right now, and with nothing academic to do in the meanwhile, I'm already thinking of ways to improve my SOP for next year. :\

Are you thinking of Clayson? She's currently a fellow at the Clark Institute and will, no doubt, be back next term.

[thomasjnh]

Congrats to the shortlisted person for Northwestern (per the results page)! What is your focus?

Thanks! Nothing for sure yet so I'm still on pins and needles. My focus is on Tibetan Buddhist visual culture from the Northern Himalayan region. The prof I want to work with is new to the department, which could either hurt or help me. Fingers crossed it's the latter.

[RedPotato]

@thomasjnh, Congrats!

At least one of us has some feedback, and positive feedback too!

[artschoolhopeful]

Hey everyone,

I've been lurking forever and have feverishly been reading past posts, so now that my apps are in and February (the month of REAL waiting has begun) I figured I'd join into the conversation. I know I'm not actually applying to "art school" but this name seemed so much more poetic than "arthistoryphdhopeful."

First off--congrats to the UChicago admit!

Also, I was wondering if anyone is in the same position as me where their specialty/interest is just not represented by art history faculty in the United States and had to cobble together groups of potential advisors at each school as oppose to one "omg this person fits me PERFECTLY" as I have. Even in this instance, my actual area of interest is not represented--I will have to rely on faculty members in the history and anthropology department to supplement my work. Since fit is so, so important for graduate school, I'm worried that this is what will keep me out. While I've been in contact with all potential advisors and they have assured me that they are looking to support students whose interest may be geographically outside of faculty expertise, the more I read these boards, the more concerned I become.

Also, has any other art historians considered applying for anthropology programs? I figure if I get rejected across the board, there's a couple of juicy anthropologists I'd be interested in working with during my second round of apps, but as my background is art history, I wonder how I would manipulate my application.

[mitzydoodle]

Hello! I too have been lurking for some time and finally bit the bullet and registered (I've been trying to stay anonymous...the paranoia is getting to me!). @Fullofpink- I posted the Duke interview. I think (and hope) it is the only program I applied to that holds interviews, as I haven't heard back from anywhere else yet- though I did meet with potential advisors before the due date. (It seems this is the case based on the results search of years past.) My area of concentration is Medieval.

[Ardea]

Also, I was wondering if anyone is in the same position as me where their specialty/interest is just not represented by art history faculty in the United States and had to cobble together groups of potential advisors at each school as oppose to one "omg this person fits me PERFECTLY" as I have. Even in this instance, my actual area of interest is not represented--I will have to rely on faculty members in the history and anthropology department to supplement my work.

That's fairly common in ancient fields. A lot of universities don't quite know what to do with ancient art, I think - a lot of times you have the option of studying ancient art and archaeology in classics, art history, near eastern studies, or archaeology/anthropology, all at the same university. That's one reason some universities (Penn, Berkeley, Brown) have been leaning towards interdisciplinary programs that draw on faculty from multiple fields. I was in somewhat the same situation as you last year; I study the artistic interactions between the Aegean, Egypt, and the Near East, and finding any graduate program with faculty in all three areas is virtually impossible.

Congrats on the Duke interview, mitzydoodle! I had classes with Bruzelius and Wharton as an undergrad, and they're both really awesome.

Edited January 31, 2010 by kemet

[mitzydoodle]

@kemet: Thanks! I'm late medieval, so I'd be working with Bruzelius-- haven't met her, but have communicated with her over email and she seems wonderful. I only applied to five schools this round-my first for PhD. I go back and forth between optimism and pessimism- I'm just hoping I get in somewhere. I only applied to programs that I'd be happy to go to--so I just need one place to take me :-) For that reason, I'm trying hard *not* to rank my programs, but I have to admit that Duke is up there for me.

[jmb04]

Are you thinking of Clayson? She's currently a fellow at the Clark Institute and will, no doubt, be back next term.

Yes I'm thinking of Clayson. Since she will be back next term hopefully they'll send her my app for review (assuming I make it past the first round of cuts).

To the UChicago admit, congrats!

[AModernAncient]

Hello American Scholars

I just wanted to say I'm in the same boat with having a weird, varied research field. So I'm applying to an Art History program and a History program that has strong ties to 'material culture' (read art + some other things). I spoke with a few professors about my interests and it seems like having a co-supervisor-ship is the way to go. Basically you have one person for one side of things (ancient art for me) and then another either from your department or another to cover the other aspect (the modern art part for me). It does make it difficult to sell yourself sometimes though, I feel like a lot of supervisors really just want someone who's working in something closely related to what they do. I guess it makes their job easier, but it would make our research more boring.

.....trying not to hold my breath until Feb-March....

That's fairly common in ancient fields. A lot of universities don't quite know what to do with ancient art, I think - a lot of times you have the option of studying ancient art and archaeology in classics, art history, near eastern studies, or archaeology/anthropology, all at the same university. That's one reason some universities (Penn, Berkeley, Brown) have been leaning towards interdisciplinary programs that draw on faculty from multiple fields. I was in somewhat the same situation as you last year; I study the artistic interactions between the Aegean, Egypt, and the Near East, and finding any graduate program with faculty in all three areas is virtually impossible.