Workload for Cambridge arch and anth?

grumballcake

How much work do arch & anth students do on average at Cambridge? Is it similar to other arts degrees (i.e. 2-3 books per week)? Or is it better/worse because of the three different sub-sections of the course?

Ahem, 5-8 books per week for the average Cambridge arts student. But you don't read them cover to cover.

Reply 4

musicbloke

17

Ticki

Ahem, 5-8 books per week for the average Cambridge arts student. But you don't read them cover to cover.

although some of us geeks who don't have livees do read them cover to cover (I only realised you didn't have to two weeks before the end of last term.

MB

Reply 5

Oh you poor thing, Jacob. At least you know better now - and I'm sure you'll have benefited from all the extra reading (if not the extra stress!).

Reply 6

OP

Ticki

Ahem, 5-8 books per week for the average Cambridge arts student. But you don't read them cover to cover.

So roughly how much of them do you read? If you had to put it as an equivalent in full books, what would it be? Or, if you prefer, how many hours a week do you spend reading for the course?

I'm trying to get a feel for this - it's not for me but for #2 son. He's very bright but he's not that keen on reading books at present, although he reads magazines & newspapers. Since he wants to study Anthropology, I've told him that it's probably similar at Durham or Manchester.

Having had a first degree in the sciences, I was taken aback with the change when I took an MA last year. It was "read this" and then prepare to discuss it next week. I worked much harder than I did when attending 9-5 lectures. Mind you, I'm a bit older now. :smile:

Reply 7

grumballcake

So roughly how much of them do you read? If you had to put it as an equivalent in full books, what would it be? Or, if you prefer, how many hours a week do you spend reading for the course?

I'm trying to get a feel for this - it's not for me but for #2 son. He's very bright but he's not that keen on reading books at present, although he reads magazines & newspapers. Since he wants to study Anthropology, I've told him that it's probably similar at Durham or Manchester.

Having had a first degree in the sciences, I was taken aback with the change when I took an MA last year. It was "read this" and then prepare to discuss it next week. I worked much harder than I did when attending 9-5 lectures. Mind you, I'm a bit older now. :smile:

I'm an historian but I'd imagine our overall workload is similar to Arc&Anth. We're told to work a 35-40 hour week, including a one hour supervision and 4-6 hours of lectures. Taking out 8 hours to write the weekly essay, that leaves us with about 25 hours of reading and note-taking. Lots of students do less than this - maybe 25-30 hours. Reading can be made much simpler by starting with a decent guide (e.g. a Seminar Studies book) and reading around that to find very good quotations. I tend to read a couple of chapters from books at most, and articles are usually much more useful. Each week's essay would normally stem from 5 books (whatever was relevant) and 2 or 3 entire articles. If your son really dislikes reading it could be a problem, but if he's happy to read quite a few chapters and articles it shouldn't be too hard for him - it sounds like he might be a lecture-type person too. Lots of historians, for instance, don't go to lectures but do extra reading in that time. I'd also point out that the amount of work you put into an Arts degree at Oxbridge seems to be proportional to how well you do. I know some geniuses who don't work at all, and while they easily got AAAAA at A-level, they're still only getting 2.is here. Generally, only those who work extremely hard are rewarded with 1sts.

Reply 8

OP

Katie J

I'll write more at some point this week!

Any chance of this, please? Pretty please? :smile:

Reply 9

Katie J

10

I will do this at some point, sorry it's taking me so long to get my act together! I am stupidly busy at the moment, have exams coming up and write now I smell of the River Cam so need a shower! Is there any desperate rush? I don't have my own internet connection which means I'm reliant on college computers for anything other than checking my email so not finding as much time for TSR these days...but that's not solely down to the workload, but I think the time's coming when it should be! (Still not started revising! Arghh!!)

When I do it, I will do it well with as much detail as possible, I won't do things half heartedly! But for now I'd say it's an amazing course, you're left with the responsibility to do as much or as little as you want, but it's all interesting stuff!

Reply 10

OP

How's the workload now? Still excessive or are you going to have a moment to pull something together? It really doesn't need to be Booker Prize material. :-)

Reply 11

I think Katie's exams start this week so she probably won't reply just yet. :smile:

Reply 12

Joshworkinghard

1

I have heard that the workload for Arch and Anth at Cambridge is pretty large. The reason for this is at most other Universitys you specialise in either bio anth, social anth or archeology a lot sooner in you degree. However at cambridge you only start to specialise after your first year but you are still expected to be at the same level of knowledge in your chosen area as those who have been studying it for one year longer than you. Its a big ask and needs a lot of commitment.

Reply 13

Joshworkinghard

at cambridge you only start to specialise after your first year but you are still expected to be at the same level of knowledge in your chosen area as those who have been studying it for one year longer than you.

What? I don't understand the reference to people who have been studying it for a year longer.

All Cambridge degrees require a lot of hard work; I don't think A&A is much more difficult than any other Arts degree. That said, Katie seems to have done an immense amount of reading for her essays!

Reply 14

OP

Ticki

I think Katie's exams start this week so she probably won't reply just yet. :smile:

What? She's giving priority to her studies and career rather than jeopardisng her grades by spending a lot of time on something for a load of total strangers? Whatever happened to total self-sacrifice? :smile:

OK, fair enough, I can wait. It's for number 2 son who's just finished his exams (for now anyway). I'm sure it will be excellent when it arrives.

Reply 15

Joshworkinghard

1

Ticki

What? I don't understand the reference to people who have been studying it for a year longer.

Well other universities get their students to specualise earlier, therefore they will have been studying their chosen subject for about a year longer, still in a three year degree though. :wink:

Reply 16

OP

Josh, you might want to go read the course outline for A&A and compare it with places like Durham before saying any more. You really aren't talking sense on this.

At Cambridge A&A students do all 3 subjects in the first part of the Tripos, but can then choose what to follow in the second part. There's no step change because no-one in the second year will have done anything different. It's not as if you're joining a bunch of people who've specialised solely in, say, archaeology for a year.

Reply 17

grumballcake

Josh, you might want to go read the course outline for A&A and compare it with places like Durham before saying any more. You really aren't talking sense on this.

It's always so amusing when people who've not even applied yet start dishing out advice left, right and centre.

Degrees aren't judged on a NATIONAL scale, Josh. Therefore people here aren't judged with people specialising in Arc or Anth at other universities. They'll be judged against each other. :rolleyes:

Reply 18

Joshworkinghard

1

grumballcake

Josh, you might want to go read the course outline for A&A and compare it with places like Durham before saying any more. You really aren't talking sense on this. .

OK then guys I suposse i had better clarify the fact that I am talking sense by quoting from the Cambridge Undergraduate Prospectus "It’s different. While at most universities archaeology and anthropology are either studied as a single degree or entirely separately, at Cambridge our flexible course structure enables you to combine a broad general introduction and then pursue detailed advanced study in one of the three fields (archaeology, social anthropology or biological anthropology) after your first year."

You are then assesed at the same level as those who have been studying their specialisation in other universities for longer. Is that OK now? :wink:

Reply 19

OP