International Studies Major...Ph.D. in Art History

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
1

HI! Thank you in advance to any replies!

A little bit of background, I am a first generation student, 3.7 GPA, International Studies major with an undeclared minor in Spanish and Curatorial Studies. I’ve completed internships at a gallery and major museum and will (hopefully) be conducting art history research this summer. My curatorial interests are discussing international topics, bringing international artists into domestic art spaces, and taking domestic artists into international spaces. I’m in my second year of undergrad and am considering graduating a year early. Also, I’m super into African American abstraction, especially from the 1960s-1980s! I’m considering a few options and appreciate any advice!:

  1. Graduate early and spend a year gaining experience in the art world through externships, internships, and or fellowships. I'm interested in working as a curator but I want to know what other options are out there-potentially art consulting, managing galleries/artists, or working for an arts-based non-profit. After that year is up, I would make the decision to continue with grad school or to focus on a career.
  2. Traveling the world to gain experience with the international art community and to see new things. Pretty much #2, but abroad!
  3. Not graduate early and spend that extra time on an Art History minor then head straight into a graduate school program on a Ph.D. track. If I decide to stay in academia, I want to go all in and get a Ph.D. in Art History. I'm very interested in African American abstraction as a research topic and want to spend time gaining a better understanding of Art History, in general, to make my curatorial experiences better. I've only had experiences with Spanish, should I pursue another language? If so, which languages? What are good Ph.D. programs on the west coast (I want to be warm for grad school)?
  4. Graduate early and get a jump start on a Ph.D. #3 without staying in undergrad for another year.

In short, I’m young, scared about the future, have a lot of options and I don’t know what I should do. If you were in my shoes, and money to continue undergrad wasn’t an issue, what would you do?

2

My advice is option 3 and make sure you get a lot of upper level art history courses under your belt. Is it not possible to major in AH where you are?

Also, talk to one of your art history profs and ask their advice. Their LOR will be important for getting into grad school.

1 and 2 would need connections and money.