History of Art at York?

I've been given a place to study history of art at york and I was wondering if anyone here either does this course or have friends who do it. I'm seriously considering taking the place but as I know little about the university I need some re-assurance.
Also I saw on the website that there is an art society that has access to printmaking and paintings studios and as i'm doing an art foundation course at the moment this is a major draw but how good are the facilities in reality?

Thanks
Cicely
xx

Reply 1

Tyler Durden

Hi, I'm living in a house with three art historians at the moment (and am fairly interested in the subject). From what I can see, the course is fantastic. The modules range from your fairly standard Italian Renaissance stuff to a far less well-known set of modules. You will have very few contact hours (ranging from about 8 at most to 4 or, possibly, 2) per week. This means you will need to be motivated and use the library to do your own background reading etc. The art facilities I don't know much about... but one of my housemates paints in our sitting room. The course I can vouch for seeing as I am learning most of it vicariously! Where else do you have offers from out of interest?

University of York

York

Reply 2

peachmelba

hey i'm doing hoa at york.

so far, I'm really enjoying it. As englishstudent said, you have to be pretty self-motivated - there is masses of reading, but the more you do the more you get out your seminars & lectures.

the department is i think one of the few in the uk that is growing in terms of students & staff, which creates a very lively atmosphere. my tutor spent the last 5 years at cambridge & reckons we get a much better deal. after the first year, when modules are all compulsory, you get a very good range to choose from. the uni actually pays for you to go on trips to relevant destinations to see the work in the flesh e.g leningrad, istanbul, rome, new york. obviously, you won't get to do all of them! this term the trips have been much more local but still enjoyable.

i think york now rates as no 2 after the courtauld in the times league tables. not that league tables are all that reliable but still nice to know.

i haven't signed up for the practical art though lots of people do: you pay £75a year. can't vouch the facilities from first hand but have heard no complaints. you can also study a language in your "spare" time (including italian for art historians from scratch).

socially, york has been fantastic (i was a bit worried that the city might be too small & dull before i came). the campus itself is not great in terms of architecture but the lake & proximity to the beautiful city centre mean that it isn't a big issue.

where else have you applied to/offers from? i visited lots of open days so can give you my opinion on how they compare to york for hoa.

congratulations on the offer

Reply 3

cicely87

Well so far I've got places at York and Sussex and I've also applied to Edinburgh, UCL, Leeds and Birmingham.
I did really want to go to Sussex before I'd got any offers but that was simply because I didn't think that I'd get into York, Edinburgh or UCL. As i still haven't heard from 4 of my unis i've got quite a lot of time to decide but IF i get into edinburgh i'm going to have a tough decision because i absolutely love edinburgh as a city....Do you know much about the department there?
Do you think it will be a bit of a shock coming from london to such a small university?
Also do you know if many people took gap years?

Reply 4

KerriT

In answer to your London and gap year questions: the majority of people come straight from school but there are also plenty of people who have taken one or even two gap years. As for coming from London, I've met several people from London and they are coping fine with York and to be honest how many different places do you go to in London anyway? Yes there are more clubs and much better ones but you have more than enough pubs in York to satisfy you and you can always go to the theatre when you are at home.

Reply 5

peachmelba

Don't know much about Sussex - it was too far away for me.

Edinburgh's department has a good reputation although several people who I met on open days said they had not been impressed by the course at all. I know someone who has re-started their hoa degree here after a year in Edinburgh. One of the main reasons was the 4 year structure where you take modules in other departments in your first year. Lots of contact hours and quite like A levels in how it was taught: unchallenging. Edinburgh is also freezing in winter (people from the south moan about how cold York is, but it is tropical compared to the granite city).

Birmingham: I quite liked the uni and the city (well the shops anyway, how shallow am I?). The department seemed very small with few lecturers which will severely restrict your options in year 2 & 3. It just didn't seem as dynamic as the department at york.

Leeds has a reputation for a feminist interpretation of art history. One unusual thing that might attract you is that the uni offers fine art, so you might find yourself along practising artists in your classes. I have to say that in overall terms I think Leeds uni hasn't got the reputation of York, UCL or Edinburgh, which might make a difference after your degree.

UCL is I think a very good department (perhaps a bit more traditional in its approach than York?). the advantage of being in london in terms of galleries & exhibitions is obvious. But if you live there anyway, it's easy to visit ithem in the holidays.

I know lots of people from London who are loving it here. Of your choices, I think York is by far the best but then I am biased. You need to work out where is best for you. Visit as many as you can on open days and you'll get a feel for the place and the department's style.

good luck

Reply 6

cicely87

Thank you so much that was really helpful.
I only really applied to UCL because i knew it was a good department but although i love london i can't wait to get away because i have lived her forever and would quite like to live in another city.
I know what you mean about edinburgh when I've been in the summer I've had to wear my winter coats so I can't imagine what its like in the winter....
I guess thats my problem with Sussex because it is very near to london so convenient for going home and galleries and the nightlife is good but the department at York is supposed to be much better so i'm slightly torn between the more accademic side of myself and the social aspect....

Reply 7

peachmelba

i had the same conflict between social (manchester) and academic (york).

although i thought i'd prefer a large metropolitan city (coming from a hick market town), in the end i was severely under-impressed by the lack of enthusiasm from the department at the manchester open day. so i chose york and hoped it wouldn't be too boring. actually, in the end i felt i didn't have a choice at all: I'd eliminated the others for one reason or another (well, oxford eliminated me to be accurate)

for me, it was absolutely the right decision. so far. the social life has been awesome. york's size means that it isn't the best for clubbing (theoretically, you could get to leeds in 20 minutes but in practice few people feel the need). but there are masses of pubs, bars and restaurants. it's not on the tour circuit for bands, but leeds is. i haven't been to Brighton, but my guess is that is more cosmopolitan (am i using that as a euphemism for gay??). it depends how you like to enjoy yourself.

really, it's all about the people. maybe because york's entry standards are generally high, i've found that people I meet are bright, interesting and friendly. it has a better mix of school backgrounds than some of the top unis (a third at Edinburgh are from private school i seem to remember), and so most people are very open. maybe everyone would say that about their uni though.

york is under 2 hours by train from kings cross. depending where in london you live, it's easy to go home for the odd weekend and affordable with a student railcard.

anyway, i don't want to sell york to you. you need to work out what's best for you. i'm sure you'll have a good time at sussex or york.