Top Tips for New Postgraduates
We've put together a few words of wisdom from our current postgraduates about studying History of Art. We hope these tips will help you as you get ready to begin your programme. If you have specific questions about the course, contact the Postgraduate Administrator. You can also get in touch with our current students through Facebook.
"Attend as many of the seminars, workshops and talks arranged by the Dept as possible. These help expand your knowledge beyond the modules you have chosen and help with developing ideas as well as being interesting in seeing differing styles of academic presentation."
Barbara, current part-time MA student
"It's great to get into the habit of checking not only the History of Art department news and events pages but also those for History, English, CREMS, CECS and CMODs at the start of each semester or even week. This allows you to plan out what seminars, conferences or workshops you might be interested in attending and gives you time to fit them around your own schedule and check whether you need to register by a certain date to go. These events are often listed in emails that you will recieve from the Humanities Research Centre but they are almost always advertised earlier on departmental websites. Checking these pages regularly gives you time to plan your attendence which is especially useful for those who work, live outside of York or simply have a busy schedule."
Tessa, current full-time MA student
"Explore the possibilities of using different libraries and archives. Each library has a very different feel and different systems can lead you to new material. Plus research trips can be scheduled alongside exhibition visits. With a sconul access card (available from your home institution) you can use most other academic libraries. Use copac (it includes over 70 library and archive catalogues) http://copac.ac.uk/ to see whats out there and where, its also great to perform general searches on your subject. If you can't travel, the University of York library may be able to get it on inter-library loan. For international searches try WoldCat, http://www.worldcat.org/."
Amy, current full-time PhD student
"As a part-time MA student I've had an awesome two years. However, expect that you might have 'a down moment' at some stage. Don't for a minute think it's just you. Talk to others - both staff and students. The reassurance you will receive will soon have you up and away."
Jackie, recent part-time MA graduate
"As an MA student I would recommend getting to know everyone on your course by arranging meet-ups from the start; this creates a good atmosphere for the rest of the year. Also connecting via social media is a great way to get in touch at the beginning of the course and to keep in touch during the course, especially when essay and dissertation deadlines are looming."
Emma, recent MA graduate
"Attend conferences and symposiums. They can inspire your research in more ways than you might at first think and offer great opportunities to meet people, both peers and professionals."
Alexandra, recent MA graduate
"Get to know what courses are going as soon as possible - great way to meet other students and feel more at home."
Dorothy, current part-time PhD student
"Go to as many galleries, museums and exhibitions as possible - so many collections are free to enter, and it's a fantastic way of becoming familiar and confident not only with individual works but with collections and curatorial approaches.
Keep a notebook with you at all times (but especially when visiting museums and galleries) and make a note of all your ideas and moments of inspiration - you never know when they'll strike.
Start going to conferences and symposiums - they may feel a bit intimidating at first but they are really good ways of finding out about current research and meeting people."
Catherine, recent full-time PhD graduate
"Buy an external hard-drive or large-capacity memory stick to back-up your work. This way you will never have a panic about those inevitable computer hiccups."
Fran, recent PhD graduate
"Don't forget to regularly check your university email account. The department host a lot of great events throughout the year, and information about them is communicated via email. You can set a diversion to your personal inbox to save time on checking two accounts.
Communicate with as many academics and students at the university as possible. Networking is a great opportunity to utilise intellectual resources of the departments and increase your knowledge in the area.
If you don't understand - ask! A question not asked is the question not answered and a topic misunderstood. Don't feel intimidated if you're the only person in the room who has questions - most probably, you're the bravest one."
Nina, recent MA graduate