History of Art 2012

Hi, I'm currently a History of Art student at Aberystwyth and I have to say its a really good course I would definitely recommend the course, especially as Aberystwyth University is a great place to study. You have the Thomas Parry Library, The Huw Owen Library and the National Library of Wales which are all great to aid your studying. I think any History based subject taught in Aber is great, because the town itself is very inspiring; with its Castle ruins, old architecture and Old College, it just has a lovely feel to it (plus you're by the sea).
Also, you are taught by some great lecturers and Seminar tutors who really know their stuff. There's not a big group of us, maybe only 20 doing the subject, but it makes everything very close knit and we're all good friends now.
There is a great emphasis on Art in Aber too, with the Arts Centre holding exhibitions regularly and the School of Art doing the same. They even have futuristic looking workshops on campus which visiting artists can stay in to work on their art. Also, we have some mature students on the course this year, I get the impression it is popular with mature students.
As you mentioned that you don't feel you should aim high, I would put York and Oxford Brooks as options, but Aber is ideal as you only need 240 UCAS points to get on the course, which is actually quite easily achievable. Also, we do have a lot of foreign students on the Art courses and in the University in general, so you would honestly fit right in. I have friends on both the Art History and the Fine art course (the 2 subjects share some classes together), who are Polish, Latvian, Spanish, American, Finnish, Bulgarian and English of course. Art and Art History in Aber do seem to be popular subjects with oversees students.
If you need any help with paperwork, details etc. and accommodation, I'd be more than willing to help you out as best I can

I have just received a rejection from ucl regarding my MA in art history!!!!! i thought the interview went well...any ways being a foreign student i wished to ask a few things :
what exactly is the pgdip in art history that they are offering me in place of an offer?
also can you name a few universitites in uk which have an equally good art history deptt.???

Thanks !! so tell me which has a better department of art history :
ucl vs university of edinburgh????

I'm actually 2nd year at Warwick, doing HoA. The modules are great - there are core modules in 1st & 2nd year which cover everything including technique, sculpture, portraits, altarpiece, devotion etc.... The lectureres are absolutely lovely and know everyone by name - it is really easy to build up a good relationship with lecturers/tutors. I know someone mentioned you had to do Italian if you want to go to Venice - as of last year they changed this, so this is no longer compulsary, which is good because it is a really dificult and very intense course that takes up twice as much time as other modules and about 2 hours of homework per night!! Plus the lecturer is a cow!
In the 2nd year you also have the oppotunity of chooosing an outside module, I chose Italian but others do classics, philosophy or history modules.
The opportunity to study in Venice is simply excellent, but if you are not interested in Venetian art you can choose to stay in Warwick for the Autumn term and study the modern stream.
Also, there are some great work experience opportunities - I'm about to do a funded undergrad research project on the architecture of Elizabethan homes with one of the course lecturers which pays a grant and also gives you the opportunity to present your paper at a conference, which looks great if you decide you want to do post grad.
Workload is really easy - it works out approx 8 hrs per week (including seminars) and last year I was only in for 2 days per week, which means loads of free time for work/work experience/sleep/su/etc..
Let me know if anyone wants to know anything else about HoA at Warwick

Got an offer from Reading!

I'm looking at open days and history of art for 2013 entry. I got all A*'s at GCSE and want A's for a-levels

WHERE SHOULD I BE LOOKING? WHERE IS BEST ?????? could anyone give me a top ten or fifteen or something?

I've already seen this - problem is , is that it blends practical art and theory based departments.

Anybody know where the top galleries get their graduates from/ where is deemed prestigious and respected in the art history world and also where NOT to go?

I've already seen this - problem is , is that it blends practical art and theory based departments.

Hi guys!

Sorry I've seen all you guys posting about applying for HofA for entry in September and I've seen a couple of people talking about Leeds uni.

Anyway, I'm currently in my first year of HofA at Leeds and it isn't what I was expecting! Basically we have 4 core modules, one of which involves no lectures, just seminars, and the other is pretty brief. The rest of your credits are made up from optional modules that can stem from outside of the department which is a good option for exploring new fields as it won't count towards your final grade!

The lectures for the Story of Art module vary depending upon interest as, generally, we look at a new topic each week and as is expected some of the lectures are fascinating whilst others are not so (personally I found the lecture of Anglo-Saxon stone crosses mind-numbing). There's no need to worry about the exams either as they're multiple choice and the majority of people tend to get at least a 2:1 on these.

If you're interested in going to Leeds don't expect to be at uni much! I'm in for around 8-10 hours (including elective modules) a week and the staff tend to give a lot of reading in order to inform discussions in seminars.

Overall, it has been a good experience and if you do choose Leeds then you'll get some fabulous lecturers (namely Griselda Pollock, Will Rea, Abigail Harrison and Gail Day) and not too much work. From personal experience I have found the people on the course somewhat "cliquey" and "exclusive" but there's plenty of other places to meet new people and if anything I've found that it's better to have friends studying other subjects so that you can relax and don't have that added pressure from competition amongst others.

Anyway, hope this helps anyone looking to go Leeds in September and good luck to everyone else! If you have any queries don't hesitate to ask!

Rebecca

P.S: If you do go to Leeds DO NOT choose the module "An Introduction to Museum Studies", led by a guy named Nick Cass. The material has potential to be really interesting, however his lectures are a tad dull and he doesn't really give you that much to play with!

Wow, thank you for writing all this it's really useful to hear from a current student . I'm definitely close to choosing Warwick as my firm- it sounds great.