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[matthewmckinley]

all of the good humanities/museum jobs in austin require masters degrees. after a night of anxious soul searching i have reached the tentative conclusion that i must attend grad school. I want to attend to and exhibit historical collections, and UT has one of the best collection and preservation masters programs in the country, thanks in no small

Comments

[1koolspud]

you never did museum studies at MSU, did you? Every museum nowadays wants a masters and 5-10 years experience. anyway, you could try someone at MSU

[jhrtirjfgfjkcfh]

he did, actually
and--take "experience" requirements with a grain of salt.

[1koolspud]

I never ran into other mason abbot people in my MSP classes. Sad. Anyway, I was going to suggest asking Kris or Gene for some guidance.

[matthewmckinley]

i think you were in most of them a year earlier than me.

and i read on the website that kris is going to washington university. sad, she was great.

Do it, I dare you.

[greedisgood]

money: there are scholarships out there, but that is the easy and vague answer. For me, the answer was student loans. I've got 20,000 dollars worth of them now, but even if I'm paying for them the next ten years, they are a decent option if going to grad school will get you the life you want

Re: Do it, I dare you.

[matthewmckinley]

thanks for the advice. i may take you up on the referral.

[jhrtirjfgfjkcfh]

museum studies is part of my program, though they don't have a helluva lot of classes for it. we talk about museums, albeit briefly, in almost all my classes though. my favorite prof., dr. galloway, is more or less in charge of it [i think. she at least teaches all the classes i've seen]. she is the sassiest of the sassy.

the preservation program is different from the regular program--it's very very competitive and requires lots of chemistry. like, h2o chemistry, not wink wink chemistry.

money: UT is the cheapest grad program in the country. you will get loans; UT will give you at least a little money.

professional advice: of course they'll help you! you're a prospective student, and therefore prospective $$. it's their job.

re: the application process...i have many insights to share. we should probably talk about all of this in person. i could write NOVELS about all this.

[jhrtirjfgfjkcfh]

for example:
check out the spring course list here

[matthewmckinley]

yah i was confused because there doesn't seem to be any mention of a museum studies program or courses at UT. however, there is a description of a "librarian of public record" program on the information science website that sounds similar to historic collections.

i'm not keen on preservation specifically but i realize my specific concentration requires at least a basic knowledge of it. maybe i can get laura to help me with all the chemistry mumbo jumbo.

i realize i will have to get loans. i will try to get scholarships or something but i feel with my distance from undergrad and lackadaisical attitude toward volunteering i may not seem the best candidate.

i do want to talk about this, and soon. i don't have a day off until monday-- perhaps we can meet up tommorow night? or this weekend if yer not too busy with maker faire and homework.

[jhrtirjfgfjkcfh]

UT gives me $800 a semester [about one free class] just for the hell of it. especially since you'll be in-state, i think it will be a lot more affordable than you think.

also, re: preservation--they have basic preservation classes for non-preservationists that don't involve chemistry. i'm takin' one right now. we cover archives, libraries and museums [paper, A/V, books, and artifacts]. may be one of the most worthwhile/bullshit-less classes i've taken yet [only been assigned ONE piece of theory so far! hurrah!].

i will be rather busy with projects & crafting, but i can certainly take some time out to talk to you. especially if beer is involved, as i will be NEEDING a break. i can't decide if tomorrow or friday would work better for me. they're probably equal, and i'm trying too hard. either one, i guess. thoughts?

[canadawhom]

http://soa.utexas.edu/hp/courses This might be interesting too. And you can usually mix and match classes to make the program fit to what you're most interested in.

And the advisors will definitely talk to you.

There might also be a designated student/recent graduate on staff that can give you a better idea of the program (we have one for ADV and she's helpful).

[matthewmckinley]

yeah i looked at that too. i can't decide if my career track is leaning more toward preservation or collection's management. another question, i suppose, for a professional.

[couchinthesun]

go matthew go!
this is me adding encouragement, even though i don't have any actual advice. erp. but i've got faith in ya. :)

[matthewmckinley]

thank you laura.

maybe you can write me a letter of rec. in german.

[couchinthesun]

matthew ist ausgezeichnet!!