Reputation of Christie's Education in the US

[ldesully]

Hi everyone, I have been accepted to Masters programmes at Christie's Education, London and several universities in London for Fall 2016 admission. My undergraduate degree is from a British university and I will stay in London for my Masters. I am hoping to do a second Masters in the US (Fall 2017 entry) and am wondering what the reputation of a Masters degree from Christie's Education (or Sotheby's Institute) is in the US? I currently have no plans on doing a PhD and have researched into existing free-standing Masters programmes. How would US graduate admissions view my application if I applied with a Masters from Christie's Education as compared to a Masters from, for example, the Courtauld Institute, UCL or SOAS? I will be applying to a few top universities for 2017 so I'd gladly appreciate any thoughts or advice!

Thanks.

[GhostsBeforeBreakfast]

Both Christie's and Sotheby's Education programs have alumni at major galleries, such as Pace, Gagosian, and David Zwirner. Plenty of graduates from these programs also work in auction houses, although I'm pretty sure they only choose a small selection of people from each cohort to work directly at the affiliated auction house right after graduation. The point is, if you're exclusively interested in art market-related work, they are respected enough to get you these positions. That being said, as you probably know, their tuition is extremely high. If you're interested in working outside of for-profit, then these degrees are not for you.

UCL and Courtauld are technically better programs, no matter what, and will lead to more job opportunities. Also, I'm pretty sure they're less expensive.
 

[poliscar]

Christie's generally isn't very reputable, especially in academic contexts, because the commercial focus of its programs is considered to supersede academic rigour. While there are some decent faculty members there, this is more less true; they prepare you for the art market, not for other prospects. 

I'm not really sure how to answer your other questions though. An MA from UCL, SOAS, or the Courtauld is completely on par—if not superior—to comparable American programs. If you were to apply to American programs with a degree from one of these schools, they would probably be somewhat confused, and you would have to explain your reasoning quite carefully. I'd say it would be somewhat akin to applying for a job that you're overqualified for. 

The funny flip-side to this is that a degree from Christies might be more appropriate, based on your goals. Because it is more commercially focused, you could argue in your applications to American programs that you're looking for a more academic or scholarly program, after completing Christies' more market-centric degree. It seems like a more logical step than completing two similar MAs. 

I do wonder how much you know about American programs though. There are not many terminal MA programs, especially at top schools, and they're generally seen as profit centres for the more prestigious PhD stream. What do you hope to gain from a second masters, and why do you want to do it in the US? I'm having trouble extrapolating here towards some larger logic, because your goals seem somewhat confusing and contradictory to me without more context.

[welshforjohn]

@GhostsBeforeBreakfast @poliscar I've been accepted into both Christie's MA in Modern and Contemporary Art and the Market in New York and the IFA's MA in the History of Art and Archaeology. I'm not sure whether I'd like to work at an auction house or be a museum curator, but I do know that I'm NOT interested in academia and being a professor. I just turned 26 on Friday and I've been told that I should be able to decide by now whether I want to work at an auction house (or other for-profit work) or be a curator, but I'm really just not sure yet. Although I've taken a lot of art history classes, interned as an appraiser and interned at a couple of museums, I still don't feel like I have enough experience to make an informed decision and choose a path. I don't want to limit myself. I'd like to keep my options open, if possible. Would I have trouble getting a curatorial job with an MA from Christie's if I decide that's what I want to pursue? And if I decide to get my PhD at some point, would I be able to get into prestigious/top ten PhD programs with an MA from Christie's, or would it hurt my chances because universities don't consider it academic enough? I have enough money in savings to afford the MA program at NYU, although I've heard it's a cash cow program and that I won't get much attention because it's large compared to other MA programs. Which program would you advise me to pick? I'd greatly appreciate your help. Thanks.

[A R]

Hi all, I'm currently a student at Christie's Education and even though I might sound biased, it is a very reputable program. The coursework is just as rigorous as a traditional graduate school program. If you are looking to get a job teaching at a university, then a traditional program is probably for you. However, if you're looking to work in the art world in an auction house, gallery, in art insurance, in appraisals, or as an advisor etc., then this is the program for you. We have many guest lecturers and professionals who come directly from their fields to speak to us about the current art market and the art world in general. We go to Christie's every week for private walk-throughs and also participate in gallery crawls and museum visits. The program really prepares you for the professional art world and is right in New York City, one of the major art capitals of the world, with easy access to everything mentioned above. Every person that we have had come to speak to us says they would rather hire a Christie's EDU grad than someone coming from a traditional program because we know what to expect in the real world and have had hands-on experience and insider knowledge (basically). I'd definitely advise that people take advantage of an opportunity to attend a program like this. Eighty percent of graduates have a job within 6 months of graduation whereas you will be looking for employment for who knows how long after graduating from somewhere else. It's honestly super important to know about art from the commercial sense and not just from the formal analysis side of artworks because, in the end, all artists were and are trying to sell their works, whether on commision, at the salon in Paris, or through dealers. Understanding the other side of the history of art while also continuing the scholarly aspect is the perfect balance.