An Exploratory M.A. Program?

[rococo_realism]

Hi, all.

 

Does anyone know of any good terminal M.A. programs? Or, better yet, programs that do have doctorate degrees, but where it's acceptable to get the M.A., and perhaps do the Ph.D. somewhere down the line?

 

Thanks.

[theartman1193]

Williams, UW-Madison, Tulane, UMass-Amherst, some of my friends have had good luck with UC-Davis.  

[rococo_realism]

Hey, thanks! I'm already looking into UMass-Amherst, but I had no idea that UW-Madison's AH department was okay with students looking to get the M.A. as a stepping stone the the Ph.D. at a later time. I considered asking my POI from there, but I got worried that the person wouldn't take me seriously.

 

Williams is a bit rich for my blood, and, as it stands right now, I'm only looking at schools in the NE and Midwest. (And Canada, too.)

[random_grad]

I would imagine that getting an MA from a program which typically does not offer MA and then applying for PhD would make the prospective PhD committee think twice and see you as non committed or having issues with previous school. At the same time, getting away with an MA or MPhil from a program which usually offers PhD in order to leave the academia should not be a problem at any uni. People leave for a variety of reasons and unis will probably be "OK" with you not finishing although funding conditions might change.

Therefore: imo it s better to apply to programs where a terminal MA is explicitly offered. Such programs are available in the UK and Canada and hey, if you do it in Germany, how cool is that! Aim high so that you can apply ever higher for PhD.

The main issue with applying for PhD in you state of mind is that you are currently clearly not committed enough to work as hard as it gets to do an awesome PhD application. Desire to do it is important.

Edited July 11, 2015 by random_grad

[HerculePoirot]

My understanding is that Williams and Tufts are considered the most prestigious terminal MA programs in the U.S. They both have funding available for top candidates. Delaware is pretty good, too (esp. for material culture, where it is considered the best), as are some of the other programs listed above. You can also consider going abroad for the MA (I have met lots of successful people from the Courtauld, which is only 1 year long and so is a $$ saver). One thing that my various advisors have always stressed to me is that one shouldn't do a terminal MA without funding - most of the time you are just helping to fund the department's doctoral students, and those programs are generally held in lower regard, even if they are part of otherwise prestigious institutions. No to poopoo those who can afford it/have gone that route, but if you don't have independent means it isn't worth it, IMO, to go deep into debt just so you can get a low-paying museum job or get paid ~$20k/year as a PhD. student. Perhaps better to gain more work, research, or language experience and try to go straight for the PhD. I did that and it has worked out great, though of course there are multiple paths to success. Just a word to the wise/my 2 cents.

[rbakshi]

Have you thought of Canadian schools?

 

Most good schools here offer terminal MA's. I can speak for Toronto's program, which is both methodologically challenging and in recent years geographically diverse as well. Sadly, Toronto does not offer scholarships to international students (but at $16,500 for a one year M.A. it is considerably cheaper than schools like Williams, not to mention the kind of international exposure it gives you). There are OGS (Ontario Graduate Scholarship) and SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) grants but the latter is open only to Canadians, the OGS, on the other hand, is open to international students as well.

 

Here's a list of some terminal M.A. programs in Canada (most have some form of funding available for students either as entering fellowships or TA/RA positions):

 

University of Toronto, Department of Fine Art, Toronto, ON 

McGill University, Department of Art History and Communications Studies, Montreal, QC

University of British Columbia, Department of Art History and Visual Art, Vancouver, BC (an interesting Alumni profile page exists as well)

University of Victoria, Department of Art History & Visual Studies, Victoria, BC

Queen's University, Department of Art History & Art Conservation, Kingston, ON (least diverse of the six, no faculty specializing in non-western areas, such as East Asian, South/east Asian, or Islamic art)

University of Montreal, Department d'histoire de l'art et d'etudes cinematographiques, Montreal, QC (French)

 

There are other programs at Concordia, Carleton, Alberta, and York, but they're fairly provincial and as international students that might not be the best environment.

Edited July 12, 2015 by rbakshi

[condivi]

 

 

Williams is a bit rich for my blood, and, as it stands right now, I'm only looking at schools in the NE and Midwest. (And Canada, too.)

 

 

Uh, Williams is in the NE! And I wouldn't discount it out of hand, because, as has been mentioned, they do offer some funding. I'm afraid you'll have a hard time finding programs that will let you enroll in an MA program and, then, if you feel like it, continue to the PhD; some of the less prestigious programs require you earn an MA first and then require you to apply to the PhD program after. That might be one route--though I'm not sure how competitive it is. Make sure you think long and hard about why you want an MA and what you hope to do with it. If you're not totally committed and highly talented, you shouldn't even be considered a PhD for all the reasons you can read about in the chronicle of higher ed, etc.

[rococo_realism]

Uh, Williams is in the NE! And I wouldn't discount it out of hand, because, as has been mentioned, they do offer some funding. I'm afraid you'll have a hard time finding programs that will let you enroll in an MA program and, then, if you feel like it, continue to the PhD; some of the less prestigious programs require you earn an MA first and then require you to apply to the PhD program after. That might be one route--though I'm not sure how competitive it is. Make sure you think long and hard about why you want an MA and what you hope to do with it. If you're not totally committed and highly talented, you shouldn't even be considered a PhD for all the reasons you can read about in the chronicle of higher ed, etc.

Yeah...I totally didn't read over that before I wrote it--my gaffe! It's as New England-y as it gets! I think I was just mentioning my (ideal) geographic parameters as an aside.

 

I'm plenty committed to this. I suppose that I'm a bit insecure about the fact that my undergraduate degree isn't in Art History. It just seems like a foundational MA would be good for me before deciding, through and through, that I want to pursue the Ph.D immediately. (Though the Ph.D. has been THE goal.) Self-doubt is awful in situations like these.

 

Trust me, though, I'm not being flippant about this.

 

My understanding is that Williams and Tufts are considered the most prestigious terminal MA programs in the U.S. They both have funding available for top candidates. Delaware is pretty good, too (esp. for material culture, where it is considered the best), as are some of the other programs listed above. You can also consider going abroad for the MA (I have met lots of successful people from the Courtauld, which is only 1 year long and so is a $$ saver). One thing that my various advisors have always stressed to me is that one shouldn't do a terminal MA without funding - most of the time you are just helping to fund the department's doctoral students, and those programs are generally held in lower regard, even if they are part of otherwise prestigious institutions. No to poopoo those who can afford it/have gone that route, but if you don't have independent means it isn't worth it, IMO, to go deep into debt just so you can get a low-paying museum job or get paid ~$20k/year as a PhD. student. Perhaps better to gain more work, research, or language experience and try to go straight for the PhD. I did that and it has worked out great, though of course there are multiple paths to success. Just a word to the wise/my 2 cents.

Oh, trust, I've been through all of that: if there's no funding, I'm not going anywhere! That's why I've been trying to locate schools that fund M.A.s with no strings attached.

 

I would imagine that getting an MA from a program which typically does not offer MA and then applying for PhD would make the prospective PhD committee think twice and see you as non committed or having issues with previous school. At the same time, getting away with an MA or MPhil from a program which usually offers PhD in order to leave the academia should not be a problem at any uni. People leave for a variety of reasons and unis will probably be "OK" with you not finishing although funding conditions might change.

Therefore: imo it s better to apply to programs where a terminal MA is explicitly offered. Such programs are available in the UK and Canada and hey, if you do it in Germany, how cool is that! Aim high so that you can apply ever higher for PhD.

The main issue with applying for PhD in you state of mind is that you are currently clearly not committed enough to work as hard as it gets to do an awesome PhD application. Desire to do it is important.

Yes, definitely. An old professor who's been advising me mentioned this, and while the professor does support my endeavor of finding M.A. programs, this professor has also told me to focus on Ph.D. programs first. I'm just soliciting advice from those of you who know about any funded M.A. programs.

 

Have you thought of Canadian schools?

 

Most good schools here offer terminal MA's. I can speak for Toronto's program, which is both methodologically challenging and in recent years geographically diverse as well. Sadly, Toronto does not offer scholarships to international students (but at $16,500 for a one year M.A. it is considerably cheaper than schools like Williams, not to mention the kind of international exposure it gives you). There are OGS (Ontario Graduate Scholarship) and SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) grants but the latter is open only to Canadians, the OGS, on the other hand, is open to international students as well.

 

Here's a list of some terminal M.A. programs in Canada (most have some form of funding available for students either as entering fellowships or TA/RA positions):

 

University of Toronto, Department of Fine Art, Toronto, ON 

McGill University, Department of Art History and Communications Studies, Montreal, QC

University of British Columbia, Department of Art History and Visual Art, Vancouver, BC (an interesting Alumni profile page exists as well)

University of Victoria, Department of Art History & Visual Studies, Victoria, BC

Queen's University, Department of Art History & Art Conservation, Kingston, ON (least diverse of the six, no faculty specializing in non-western areas, such as East Asian, South/east Asian, or Islamic art)

University of Montreal, Department d'histoire de l'art et d'etudes cinematographiques, Montreal, QC (French)

 

There are other programs at Concordia, Carleton, Alberta, and York, but they're fairly provincial and as international students that might not be the best environment.

Yes! I'm definitely considering Canadian schools.

 

Thank you for that information and that list; it'll be very helpful this summer!

 

 

Thank you all for your advice--you all sound like my advisor! (Because I've spoken to with that advisor recently since I last posted here.)

Edited July 13, 2015 by rococo_realism86