I’m a current sophomore at Sweet Briar College and it is supposedly closing at the end of this summer so I need to find a school to transfer to. I’ve applied to Mary Baldwin, Salem College in NC, and Hollins U. All of these are partner schools so my credits and gpa will transfer. I’ve been looking at Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, Wesleyan in GA, and Mt. Holyoke.
I’m an Art History major, Medieval and Renaissance Studies minor, with an Arts Management certificate, and I’m in the Honors program. I’m currently leaning towards Salem because they have a Design major/minor and that is closer to something that I would like to pair with my AH major as a minor maybe. Would dropping the Arts Management/Nonprofit mgt thing be a bad idea? I feel like that is wrapped into the Design minor in a way plus, I still have the classes I have taken in AM under my belt for the resume’. Now, Salem’s AH dept is good but I think the profs are more geared towards the art side of the major and my SBC profs are more for the historical context of the major. As a possible graduate student in AH, should I lean towards schools that are more in the history section, like Mary Baldwin, and that one I could keep my Med & Ren Studies minor possibly.
As careers go, I would enjoy working where I have archival duties, historic preservation responsibilities, in museums, or galleries, teaching at a college, Art Librarian, rare books specialists, editor at a magazine, art director, graphic designer, or in a media field like tv and whole gamut of things related to this list. I just don’t know which combo of majors/etc I should go for. This is why I’m limiting my search to Liberal Arts schools that are smaller in size. Eventually, I would also like to do Peace Corps.
Basically,
Where has the best Art History program?
Should I lean towards schools with a focus on the artsy side of things or historical and academic side?
Would a design major/minor help me in what I want to do?
Why did my school have to do this to us? Gr…Our school is a family. You don’t have to answer that one.
For Art History, I highly recommend Bryn Mawr. They have an excellent program, and offer M.A. and Ph.D. degrees as well. Philadelphia also offers many opportunities to visit and study at major art museums. I believe BMC is very strong in Med & Ren studies as well. It is a very academic place, with very serious students and scholars.
However, the culture at BMC will be MUCH different than southern women’s colleges. You would need to feel comfortable in that different environment.
Best of luck to you. Let us know how it turns out.
First, I am so sorry for what is happening at Sweet Briar. I cannot imagine how difficult this must be for you. I can’t answer all your questions, but here’s what I know:
Salem offers excellent resources for internships and study with MESDA and Old Salem right there and Reynolda House a ten-minute drive, particularly if your interests include American art & history.
Hollins has a strong AH department with good track record of sending graduates directly to PhD programs. Small museum on campus and a number of museums in downtown Roanoke for internships, although none as strong as those in Winston-Salem. Hollins has sent Short Term interns to SECCA and Reynolda House.
Wesleyan College & Mary Baldwin College do not have good access to art museums, although Staunton is a charming and historic small town. If you want to stay in the south, I’d give Hollins & Salem the edge over Wesleyan and MBC.
I know transfer admission at Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke, and Bryn Mawr isn’t guaranteed in the same way as at the teach-out schools, but all have excellent departments and better “name recognition” nationally. You can hop on a shuttle at Wellesley and be in the world-class museums of Boston/Cambridge in 20 minutes. Bryn Mawr’s proximity to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Barnes Collection would also be a plus. MoHo is part of a 5 college consortium, which would give you opportunities to cross-register at the other members of the consortium, and has a first-rate museum.
Hollins probably would be the closest in overall campus feeling to SBC, for what it’s worth. Wellesley, BMC, and MoHo would be considered the highest ranked. Good luck, and please keep us posted.
I echo @4kids4colleges. Bryn Mawr also offers a combined degree program, so you could begin graduate coursework as an undergrad and complete both degrees in 5 years without having to take the GRE (although you still need to apply to the Graduate School). BMC also offers internship funding, which can be a big help if living away from home to work at a museum, etc. You can also do work study in the college archives and special collections. The faculty is outstanding, although heavily errs on the side of academia. They are building a museum studies program with some curatorial offerings. My best advice is to participate in hands-on internships and bolster with strong academics. You can also take courses at Haverford, Swarthmore, and UPenn.
I think given most of your career choices, a more historical and academic lean is probably best. The exceptions are if you wanted to be an art director, graphic designer, or go into the media arts; those will require a more artsy touch, but the first list of jobs on your list would require a stronger grasp of history and academics. Many high-level museum staff have PhDs (or at least MAs).
Bryn Mawr is a great suggestion. If you wanted to go to a Southern women’s college, a lot of people have suggested Agnes Scott as an alternative to Sweet Briar, and I think it’s a good one. It’s not as rural and isolated, but it is small (like SBC) and the campus is lovely (like SBC’s). However, it’s location in Atlanta does provide access to the museums and historical attractions in Atlanta - Atlanta’s a city with a penchant for history. And it seems that students there do intern at museums quite often. Their art history major is located in their art department, too. Close proximity to Emory means you can cross-register for classes there, too. Take a look.
I agree that Mary Baldwin and Hollins will probably have the most similar feel to SBC; Wesleyan might also capture that feel a little bit too, although I’ve heard it’s more conservative than SBC. Salem College will give you that, too. BMC and Mount Holyoke are higher-ranked but also in the Northeast and so a bit different in feel/personality.
I’m currently, and strongly, leaning towards Salem College because it is what is working out the best right now. Agnes Scott is my number two. Could you guys tell me which of those two would be best? Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Wesleyan, and Mt. Holyoke are mostly out of the running for various reasons.
My D was seriously considering Agnes Scott, and we visited recently. I think it is a wonderful school.
I would also say proximity to Atlanta art museums and internships and to Emory - with ability to cross-register for classes, as mentioned above, is a huge plus for ASC.
I believe ASC has a large endowment and is higher ranked than Salem College - it is the highest ranked women’s college after the Seven Sisters, in the top 80-ish for USNWR. Plus the campus is beautiful and in a great setting - Decatur is a nice neighborhood with lots of good restaurants and shops, a little more “hipster” maybe but also a safe, family-oriented neighborhood.
That said, I just don’t know much about Salem College.