Deciding Between Potential Second Master Degree Programs

[Rin]

I'm having a bit of a dilemma with my pursuit of a second Master of Arts degree. Let me preface this by saying that while a second Master's degree may not seem like a good idea to some, since my first Master of Arts degree is in Museum Studies, the second degree would be complimentary to it in some way. My issue is that I need to attend my second Master of Arts degree as a distance learning/online program, as I do not have access to these programs at the local university and cannot afford to move at this moment and am working a full-time job now. Therefore, the dilemma I face is the following: do I apply to multiple graduate schools in the different fields I am considering as my second Master of Arts and attend the one that I feel is best suited to my goals, or should I focus solely on what I know will help the end goal the most?

The issue is this: my local university does not have Classics, Classical archaeology, ancient history, or art history offered at the graduate level here, and those are the areas in which I desire to combine into an interdisciplinary PhD (such as the NYU ISAW or UPenn's AAMW program), but I am seeking out a terminal MA at the moment because I am not able to move yet. I have found that Villanova University offers their Classical Studies MA online but it's synchronous, so I would have to attend at the offered course time, which is doable but challenging. Thus far, that is the only university that I have found that offers a program that would be competitive enough to gain me entry into an eventual PhD. 

My question is: Should I apply to the Classical Studies by itself or should I apply to Villanova, but also for the second MA programs I am considering, such as Art History, History, Library Sciences (which would help as I work in a museum and often collaborate with the research library, so it would be relevant but not to my end goal of a PhD), and/or English/Creative Writing MFA - it's a hard call because I know it makes me look like I don't have one concentration or focus, but as I will have a Master's in Museum Studies soon, any of these degrees would pair well (I know many will tell me to take the MFA out, which I have considered anyway, since I could always pursue that later if I felt like it). 

The issue with the art history and history options, is, of course, not many online programs will allow you to focus on ancient history. I know that there are a decent schools in the UK that would be able to offer this (such as the University of Wales Trinity Saint David), but I cannot afford to pay that much out of pocket, so for now I am looking into American schools only. I think the root of my issue is worrying that I won't get into Villanova and then not know what to do with myself if I don't, since there's not that many other options.

Help?

[Sigaba]

9 minutes ago, Rin said:

I'm having a bit of a dilemma with my pursuit of a second Master of Arts degree. Let me preface this by saying that while a second Master's degree may not seem like a good idea to some, since my first Master of Arts degree is in Museum Studies, the second degree would be complimentary to it in some way. My issue is that I need to attend my second Master of Arts degree as a distance learning/online program, as I do not have access to these programs at the local university and cannot afford to move at this moment and am working a full-time job now. Therefore, the dilemma I face is the following: do I apply to multiple graduate schools in the different fields I am considering as my second Master of Arts and attend the one that I feel is best suited to my goals, or should I focus solely on what I know will help the end goal the most?

The issue is this: my local university does not have Classics, Classical archaeology, ancient history, or art history offered at the graduate level here, and those are the areas in which I desire to combine into an interdisciplinary PhD (such as the NYU ISAW or UPenn's AAMW program), but I am seeking out a terminal MA at the moment because I am not able to move yet. I have found that Villanova University offers their Classical Studies MA online but it's synchronous, so I would have to attend at the offered course time, which is doable but challenging. Thus far, that is the only university that I have found that offers a program that would be competitive enough to gain me entry into an eventual PhD. 

My question is: Should I apply to the Classical Studies by itself or should I apply to Villanova, but also for the second MA programs I am considering, such as Art History, History, Library Sciences (which would help as I work in a museum and often collaborate with the research library, so it would be relevant but not to my end goal of a PhD), and/or English/Creative Writing MFA - it's a hard call because I know it makes me look like I don't have one concentration or focus, but as I will have a Master's in Museum Studies soon, any of these degrees would pair well (I know many will tell me to take the MFA out, which I have considered anyway, since I could always pursue that later if I felt like it). 

The issue with the art history and history options, is, of course, not many online programs will allow you to focus on ancient history. I know that there are a decent schools in the UK that would be able to offer this (such as the University of Wales Trinity Saint David), but I cannot afford to pay that much out of pocket, so for now I am looking into American schools only. I think the root of my issue is worrying that I won't get into Villanova and then not know what to do with myself if I don't, since there's not that many other options.

Help?

@Rin I may have missed the answers in your OP as well as your posts in other threads. I apologize if my questions fall into the "asked and answered" category.

 In what field do you want to earn a Ph.D.? Where do you want to study? What do you want to do for a living after you've earned your doctorate?

 

[Rin]

13 minutes ago, Rin said:

The issue is this: my local university does not have Classics, Classical archaeology, ancient history, or art history offered at the graduate level here, and those are the areas in which I desire to combine into an interdisciplinary PhD (such as the NYU ISAW or UPenn's AAMW program), but I am seeking out a terminal MA at the moment because I am not able to move yet. I have found that Villanova University offers their Classical Studies MA online but it's synchronous, so I would have to attend at the offered course time, which is doable but challenging. Thus far, that is the only university that I have found that offers a program that would be competitive enough to gain me entry into an eventual PhD. 

^So, basically, I eventually want to get a PhD in one of the programs in Classics which combine art history, archaeology, Classical languages, history, etc. So, Classical studies is what I'm aiming for, eventually.

4 minutes ago, Sigaba said:

@Rin I may have missed the answers in your OP as well as your posts in other threads. I apologize if my questions fall into the "asked and answered" category.

 In what field do you want to earn a Ph.D.? Where do you want to study? What do you want to do for a living after you've earned your doctorate?

 

Where I want to study for my PhD? Or in general, because for the MA is I'm limited to options of things offered as distance/online programs. For my PhD, I will most likely end up back on the east coast, ideally at UPenn, but I have also considered NYU and a few other schools, but those are my top two. Working in a museum is the end goal. Having my MA in Museum Studies allows me to get museum experience right now but again, I'm kinda...stuck? In Las Vegas, where I live now, and they do not have any Classics anything here, but the end game has always been museums, and preferably in a curatorial position and preferably dealing with the Classical world.

[Sigaba]

12 minutes ago, Rin said:

^So, basically, I eventually want to get a PhD in one of the programs in Classics which combine art history, archaeology, Classical languages, history, etc. So, Classical studies is what I'm aiming for, eventually.

Where I want to study for my PhD? Or in general, because for the MA is I'm limited to options of things offered as distance/online programs. For my PhD, I will most likely end up back on the east coast, ideally at UPenn, but I have also considered NYU and a few other schools, but those are my top two. Working in a museum is the end goal. Having my MA in Museum Studies allows me to get museum experience right now but again, I'm kinda...stuck? In Las Vegas, where I live now, and they do not have any Classics anything here, but the end game has always been museums, and preferably in a curatorial position and preferably dealing with the Classical world.

Have you communicated with Andrew Bell in the history department at UNLV?

Have you had the opportunity to develop a check list of the requirements  at Penn and other schools?

Is working on your language skills now a viable option or must you pursue a MA?

 

[Rin]

5 minutes ago, Sigaba said:

Have you communicated with Andrew Bell in the history department at UNLV?

Have you had the opportunity to develop a check list of the requirements  at Penn and other schools?

Is working on your language skills now a viable option or must you pursue a MA?

 

I have not contacted Andrew Bell, no. But I have looked into UNLV and I am not impressed with its program(s). Additionally, many students I have talked to from the university have difficulty getting the courses they need to graduate in a timely manner, which didn't bode well, either. 

A list of requirements for the PhD program at the schools? Yes, I have. 

Language skills as in Ancient languages or the modern ones I need? I could always brush up on my French and/or Italian and/or learn German, but there is no way I can go about learning ancient languages in person here. The Latin courses offered at CSN are lower than the ones I have taken as an undergraduate and they are all offered during my work day, regardless.

[Sigaba]

4 minutes ago, Rin said:

I have not contacted Andrew Bell, no. But I have looked into UNLV and I am not impressed with its program(s). Additionally, many students I have talked to from the university have difficulty getting the courses they need to graduate in a timely manner, which didn't bode well, either. 

A list of requirements for the PhD program at the schools? Yes, I have. 

Language skills as in Ancient languages or the modern ones I need? I could always brush up on my French and/or Italian and/or learn German, but there is no way I can go about learning ancient languages in person here. The Latin courses offered at CSN are lower than the ones I have taken as an undergraduate and they are all offered during my work day, regardless.

Communicating with Bell ≠ applying to UNLV. Communicating with Bell is asking for help from a BTDT.

IRT to being "impressed" I think you should take a step back from those kinds of judgments. You're stuck on the side of the road with limited resources. Is it prudent evaluate the help being offered by the make and model of the vehicle that pulls over to help?

(At the very least, have the good sense to keep those opinions to yourself when you're offering identifying information on a BB where faculty are known to come and lurk. Who knows. Maybe someone at Penn isn't impressed by the schools you've attended.)

[ploutarchos]

On 8/2/2017 at 7:50 PM, Rin said:

Language skills as in Ancient languages or the modern ones I need? I could always brush up on my French and/or Italian and/or learn German, but there is no way I can go about learning ancient languages in person here. The Latin courses offered at CSN are lower than the ones I have taken as an undergraduate and they are all offered during my work day, regardless.

Have you considered the Paideia Institute's online classes? It's certainly not ideal, primarily because they don't offer undergraduate or graduate credit. On the other hand, the absence of credit keeps the cost down, and they do offer "Continuing Education Units" (CEUs), which would give you a way to demonstrate your continued study. If the instructor has a PhD, your application might benefit from a letter of recommendation from him or her attesting to your language skills (depending on the particular instructor and the rest of your application, that may or may not be a good strategy; I mention it only as a possibility).