Art History PhD programs on African and Diaspora Art

[BlackArtLove]

Hey everyone, 

I recently discovered this website and have found it extremely helpful in answering my grad school inquires but I would like to connect with other students interested in my field of study (because I have yet to find any). I am a currently Art History BA (at top public university) applying to PhD programs in the fall 2017 (to begin in Fall 2018). I am interested in African Diaspora Art History broadly.

If you are in a similar field of study or currently in a Art History PhD program, pleaseee comment! I would love to speak with you about the field and talk through some of my worries. 

Best of luck. 

[mald'archive]

Northwestern for Krista Thompson and Huey Copeland! Rebecca Zorach is also working on Black Arts Movement stuff

[MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou]

26 minutes ago, BlackArtLove said:

Hey everyone, 

I recently discovered this website and have found it extremely helpful in answering my grad school inquires but I would like to connect with other students interested in my field of study (because I have yet to find any). I am a currently Art History BA (at top public university) applying to PhD programs in the fall 2017 (to begin in Fall 2018). I am interested in African Diaspora Art History broadly.

If you are in a similar field of study or currently in a Art History PhD program, pleaseee comment! I would love to speak with you about the field and talk through some of my worries. 

Best of luck. 

Hi there! my field is slightly different (thus far I've studied mainly contemporary Jewish art and identity), but I've applied to work with a lot of African American/Diaspora scholars due to theory/approach overlap. I would recommend you look into Cornell (Cheryl Finley and Salah Hassan), Yale (Kobena Mercer), UChicago (Darby English), UC Santa Cruz (Derek Conrad Murray), Northwestern (Huey Copeland), and Steven Nelson (UCLA), 

I know there are others, but these are the first that come to mind!

[mxborder]

Also Sarah Lewis at Harvard!

[BlackArtLove]

Thanks for replying everyone. As a first generation college student, I don't have many people to reach out to in terms of academic advice and getting into a PhD program often seems like a distant dream lol. 

I'm currently interested in applying to these schools with these POI 

Columbia (Kellie Jones), Northwestern (Krista Thompson), UCLA (Steven Nelson), UT (Cherise Smith), NYU (Deborah Willis), Cornell (Cheryl Finely), Yale (Kobena Mercer), Derek Conrad Murray (UC Santa Cruz) 

A few questions... when is a good time to reach out to faculty of interest (plan on applying in Fall 2017)?

What are the benefits of a Visual Studies PhD as opposed to Art History?

Are there any good MA programs in Diaspora Art (and by good I mean funded/partially funded...)?

Is there any helpful specific ways you studied for the GRE?

I'm an artist, is that something that I should even mention in application or to POI's?

How important is the recommender? Many of my Africana studies professors I have personal relationships with, but there are also extremely notable Art History professors at my University that know me decently well... 

Does being an undergraduate lower my chances of acceptance? I'm an Art History major, Africana Studies minor (at top public university), Maintained good grades (3.7 CGPA, 4.0 GPA), conducted interdisciplinary research (art history/africana studies) this past summer with a SURF. Presented at two conferences at my institution and work in an art gallery on campus. 

However, I have never been published, did not complete an honors senior thesis, not extremely proficient in another language, and have not attended any conferences outside of the two I presented at,. Most worried about not being published because I feel like many applicants with MA prob are 

Like I said.. graduate school seems like a distant dream, any advice is much appreciated!!!!  Also feel free to msg me personally. 

 

 

[roving99]

On 2/19/2017 at 5:43 PM, BlackArtLove said:

Thanks for replying everyone. As a first generation college student, I don't have many people to reach out to in terms of academic advice and getting into a PhD program often seems like a distant dream lol. 

I'm currently interested in applying to these schools with these POI 

Columbia (Kellie Jones), Northwestern (Krista Thompson), UCLA (Steven Nelson), UT (Cherise Smith), NYU (Deborah Willis), Cornell (Cheryl Finely), Yale (Kobena Mercer), Derek Conrad Murray (UC Santa Cruz) 

A few questions... when is a good time to reach out to faculty of interest (plan on applying in Fall 2017)?

What are the benefits of a Visual Studies PhD as opposed to Art History?

Are there any good MA programs in Diaspora Art (and by good I mean funded/partially funded...)?

Is there any helpful specific ways you studied for the GRE?

I'm an artist, is that something that I should even mention in application or to POI's?

How important is the recommender? Many of my Africana studies professors I have personal relationships with, but there are also extremely notable Art History professors at my University that know me decently well... 

Does being an undergraduate lower my chances of acceptance? I'm an Art History major, Africana Studies minor (at top public university), Maintained good grades (3.7 CGPA, 4.0 GPA), conducted interdisciplinary research (art history/africana studies) this past summer with a SURF. Presented at two conferences at my institution and work in an art gallery on campus. 

However, I have never been published, did not complete an honors senior thesis, not extremely proficient in another language, and have not attended any conferences outside of the two I presented at,. Most worried about not being published because I feel like many applicants with MA prob are 

Like I said.. graduate school seems like a distant dream, any advice is much appreciated!!!!  Also feel free to msg me personally. 

 

 

 

We seem to be in an INSANELY similar place in both background and future goals!  I am graduating with a BFA and a BA (public university) and am looking into applying for Latin American Art programs for PhDs or funded MAs.  Can we chat? I'd really love to have a friend to discuss this strange place we are both coming from!

[artsyrobot]

Hello there!

 

There are not so many people here but I still hope that may be you can give some useful general advice regarding PhD programs on African American art.

 

My biggest concern for now is my background. So I have a B.A. in Sociology, and now I’m finishing my M.A. in North American studies at the Freie Universität in Berlin. During my Master’s I focused on culture and visual studies, attended some courses in Art History, but I don’t have a solid degree in Art History. However, I worked in a museum of contemporary art and volunteered at some European biennials of contemporary art. 

During my Master’s I did some research and wrote papers about African American art and photography, and I’m going to write my Master’s thesis on Kerry James Marshall. So at some point it looks consistent for me, but I worry that it is not enough for applying for PhD in Art History, because of the lack of a degree in Art History. 

Though I found many combined programs, such as African American studies and Art History in Yale, or African American studies at Princeton, I can not understand what are my chances as a European student with such a background. I will be happy to get your opinion, whether I should try to apply for Art History or stay in the field of American studies.

 

Also, since I’ve never studies in the US, I’m curious if I can write directly to OPI, and if so, is there any better way to do that? I guess they receive so many emails from potential candidates, don’t want to look dumb and make a bad impression. If somebody can share you experience in PM, that would be cool.

I would love to speak to any of you. Thanks!