History of Art MA/PhD 2008

[lxs]

thanks everyone! so, where is everyone sending letters to today?

[mew27]

wow, lxs....that's fantastic news!! congrats!

[Renaissance08]

A sudden lull in posts! What happened to everyone? What did you end up deciding, the17thscream?

[charis]

A sudden lull in posts! What happened to everyone? What did you end up deciding, the17thscream?

I was wondering the same thing...!

[lxs]

.

[smellie]

I wonder if anybody would be willing to create some sort of network for gradacfe alumnae - exchanging ideas, reading papers, or just saying hello when going to the same conference.

suddenly the world of academia seems so big and scary..

[vangogh08]

I finally got funding for UNC. This is such a load off. Now, the fun part of trying to pack up and move. Congrats to everyone!

[smellie]

I finally got funding for UNC. This is such a load off. Now, the fun part of trying to pack up and move. Congrats to everyone!

WOOHOO! That's awesome!

So I guess I will see you in August, then?

[vangogh08]

WOOHOO! That's awesome!

So I guess I will see you in August, then?

Most definitely. I just have to find a place to live!

[Renaissance08]

who, in the end, has decided on nyu?

[Ana20]

I got an extension from NYU until the 30th--i got my scholarship and am just waiting to see if additional resources from them become available.

[the17thscream]

Ana (or anyone else in need of funding for NYU),

I declined my acceptance, so hopefully, my scholarship $$ will go to you!

That's right, guys, I ended up deciding to go to Bryn Mawr! I got to campus, and everything just clicked. Hertel and I spent the first 45 minutes of our 1.5 hour meeting talking exclusively about our research, and I've never met anyone whose research interests match mine so perfectly. The grad students I met with were awesome, in that I actually thought, "hey, I'd totally be friends with these people outside of school", and my field is very represented between Hertel and Saltzman. Other notes:

--lots of academic freedom in that students choose not only their committee (profs on the committee can also come from outside the dept and from any affiliated institution including upenn) but also their pre-lim topics (must fit distribution reqs but can be any topic)

--the speakers at the visual culture colloquia, held once a week, are typically chosen by the students (as in, you are researching, and you find someone whose work you're really into...you tell the colloquia programmers and they basically pay that person to come in, give a lecture, and have dinner with you)

--no grades! Instead: written evaluations for every class that will actually help profs to write better and more substantive LORs (which are second most important to search committees after the dissertation)

So, all in all, I'm really psyched. I love the IFA, and declining that acceptance was absolutely devastating, but BMC is a much better fit for me. I know that between being happier with the fit, not having to work, and studying under two people in my (generally underrepresented) field, I will turn out a better dissertation at BMC than at NYU, and that's what I based my decision on. (I'm totally going to be living in Philly though...the campus is beautiful, but if I had to live in the suburbs I'd go crazy!)

Congrats to everyone else on their decision! I hope lots of late money is coming everyone's way!

[rising_star]

Hahaha, congrats 17thscream. I'd try to take SEPTA out to Bryn Mawr if you can. That way you can read on the train.

[Renaissance08]

the17thscream--I'm really glad that things worked out for you. sounds like you made the right decision, and that you will have an awesome experience at bryn mawr.

Ana--I hope everything works out for you!! Where are you coming from? What's your field?

I'm going to start a thread in the "Meet and Greet" forum for all who decided on the IFA... would love to hear from anyone else who's planning to go there, and of course I'll continue to check here...

I hope the relative silence on this board means that everyone is super happy and celebrating :-)

[travelingartmuse]

Hi people. I'm not sure if any of you are checking this forum anymore but I need some help. Does anyone know anything about NYU's Draper Interdisciplinary MA program in Humanities and Social Thought? After just starting to get over that I've been rejected for the third time to all PhD programs in Art History, I received a letter today from NYU saying that I've been selected as a possible candidate to the Draper program. I've searched in the grad cafe and last year someone posted two questions about the program and a link to a Livejournal chat about it. It seems that if you are identified as a highly potential candidate in one of the specialty Humanities disciplines (yeah me if that was the case:( and don't make the final cut you are referred to this program. The website contains some general info about alumi profiles being varied since the program has mass appeal. Some go on to PhD programs at Ivy schools etc...So my question is has anyone heard anything about the program and why would I consider it when I already have a MA in Humanities from one of these types of programs? Is it just a ploy to get those like me with high intellectual interests across the liberal arts to spend more money and have no practical use in the world of academia? Or is it a prestigious enough program that would bolster my chances later with two MA's in the same field to get into a PhD program through NYU's infinite network? Thanks.

[hardkore]

Hi Muse- I still check this forum! I am going to NYU's steinhardt school in the fall and although I'm in the midst of realizing my career goals as cultural studies with an art history focus rather than art history itself, I still have my background in art history so my opinion is

A: I don't think you should get two masters degrees. Especially unfunded. NYU is so damn expensive...and they are not forgiving. I will be getting about 7k from them for scholarship leaving 23k in tuition, which I am paying with outside scholarships and loans. I will also have a part time job to pay rent.

A1: Its still a 2 year program and I think, due to the interdiscplinary aspect of the program, its much too "liberal arts college". I glanced at the website and it just seems so general...perhaps in future you should apply for your PhD at different art history schools or look abroad? What about UCL? (I dont know your focus though..)

B: I've never heard of this program. That doesn't necessarily mean its not prestigious..and Heather Lukes is kinda cool, but I honestly dont think it matters. You'll be paying out tons of money for a degree you already have and I honestly think that due to the broad scope of the program, it isnt a guarantee that you will even connect with any of your professors in a meaningful way for that to transfer to the IFA. And I personally dont think that NYU cares if you went to another school at NYU...its such a huge school.

Where did you apply in the past? I wish you so much luck but maybe your scope is a bit too narrow in where you're looking...There are options that maybe you haven't considered for a PhD...

Hi people. I'm not sure if any of you are checking this forum anymore but I need some help. Does anyone know anything about NYU's Draper Interdisciplinary MA program in Humanities and Social Thought? After just starting to get over that I've been rejected for the third time to all PhD programs in Art History, I received a letter today from NYU saying that I've been selected as a possible candidate to the Draper program. I've searched in the grad cafe and last year someone posted two questions about the program and a link to a Livejournal chat about it. It seems that if you are identified as a highly potential candidate in one of the specialty Humanities disciplines (yeah me if that was the case:( and don't make the final cut you are referred to this program. The website contains some general info about alumi profiles being varied since the program has mass appeal. Some go on to PhD programs at Ivy schools etc...So my question is has anyone heard anything about the program and why would I consider it when I already have a MA in Humanities from one of these types of programs? Is it just a ploy to get those like me with high intellectual interests across the liberal arts to spend more money and have no practical use in the world of academia? Or is it a prestigious enough program that would bolster my chances later with two MA's in the same field to get into a PhD program through NYU's infinite network? Thanks.

[travelingartmuse]

Hi Hardkore,

Thank you. That's what I thought but wanted to make sure. It's so nice to get a letter wanting you to do anything after all the rejections.

[Ana20]

Hi everyone,

I decided on the University of London over NYU (my 4-year Canadian funding will actually last for the duration of the program + London has better advisors for my specific interests). I just couldn't rationalize having to re-do my Master's and being in school for another 7 years with everything being so uncertain--I had no idea if the supervisor of my choice would end up working with me, or if they would ever provide adequate funding. I know that this forum is mostly American, but are there any other Canadians going to England? Good luck to everyone

[smellie]

Hi everyone,

I decided on the University of London over NYU (my 4-year Canadian funding will actually last for the duration of the program + London has better advisors for my specific interests). I just couldn't rationalize having to re-do my Master's and being in school for another 7 years with everything being so uncertain--I had no idea if the supervisor of my choice would end up working with me, or if they would ever provide adequate funding. I know that this forum is mostly American, but are there any other Canadians going to England? Good luck to everyone

I have few friends who were accepted to schools in UK but they decided to stay.. but two of my professors are from UCL, one of them being Canadian. She said she really loved it. I think Canadian schools have a lot more openings for ppl with UK ph.Ds (3 professors in my department earned their Ph.Ds in UK). Good luck with your future edndeavors in London

[Quarex]

Thank you. That's what I thought but wanted to make sure. It's so nice to get a letter wanting you to do anything after all the rejections.

TravelingArtMuse, just in case you were having any second thoughts about taking this acceptance, it might help to get another random outside perspective on this.

Basically, unless you did terribly in your master's program and that is why you did not get accepted anywhere, there really does seem to be no reason to accept this offer. The descriptions of the program make it sound like it is specifically geared towards someone who regrets his/her choice of undergraduate major and was subsequently rejected for graduate studies in the field that he/she wants to enter. This is hardly to say that it is a bad thing; indeed, that program might have made more sense for my own situation than the path I ended up following. But as mentioned, you do already have a master's degree, and likely expanding your search and honing what parts of your application you can (Statement? GRE [do you have to take it?]? Recommendations?) will be better in the long run than spending what would surely be an enormous amount of money for two more years of school.

That said, the Draper program may well have excellent contacts in your field for all I know. The deadline is not until July 1; might as well take that time to figure out if this is the case!

[tomorrow never die]

Dear the17thscream,

That's terrible news! I adore Rosalind Krauss and would have applied to Columbia had I thought there was a chance of working with her! I assumed that she would be retiring.

Dear Ana20 and everyone

Will Rosalind Krauss retire from Columbia?

Is it fact?

By the way I am interested in Columbia's MA Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies.

How about this program?

Affiliated to MOMA and Whitney museums but no fund to students...

Is there anyone to study in the program now?

[curatorcritic]

Dear Ana20 and everyone

Will Rosalind Krauss retire from Columbia?

Is it fact?

By the way I am interested in Columbia's MA Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies.

How about this program?

Affiliated to MOMA and Whitney museums but no fund to students...

Is there anyone to study in the program now?

This reply is about a year late, but Columbia's Critical and Curatorial Studies program is very good if you want to study theory and art history in a rigorously academic environment. But if you want to "learn" how to curate, I would recommend Bard's program, which is more practical and less art historical (at least that is what I've heard). Columbia's program is basically an art history MA with an added curatorial study component.