History of art at university

[sittingherebymyfire]

My DS want to study history of art at university. Has any ones DC done it? Where? And why did they chose the university/course.
He's currently considering UCL, Courtauld and Glasgow.

Several of DDs friends have done it at Edunburgh. It is a subject favoured by independent schools. Girls in particular . The ones we know who did it were not having to worry about employment afterwards. It might be that the Courtauld is the big name here but if employment afterwards is an issue I would check out what alumni actually do afterwards.

well putting aside he is going to be there with a gaggle of private school gals who are there primarily for the sloaney networking / social life

Courtauld is without a doubt the best place to study but it has limited opportunities for a social life. It is not part of University of London so a bar and some yoga but a lot of people who are passionate about art studying it in amazing surroundings and part of a world class art gallery. It will still be there for postgrad though if by that time he really wants to pursue a career in art.

UCL, excellently regarded course and you get the benefits of being in the capital and the benefits of a more varied social life if he wants to pursue other cultural (and social) opportunities.

Glasgow obviously is a centre of excellence for art, you would need to research the fees issues.

It partly comes down to the emphasis of the courses, some are more theoretical, some lean more towards the vocational curating side, some more focused on modern art, some more on traditional.

If he is seeking employment in the arts, get work experience, lots of it, and network, network, network. Plenty of opportunities outside the stereotype of sloaney girls manning reception in Daddy friend's gallery but also a good history of art degree is not as looked down on as some mumsnetter's might judge in the wider world of employment if it comes from, especially UCL.

Thanks. I'm not overly worried about it being "looked down upon,because I think it requires excellent writing, descriptive and analytical skills also an eye for detail and imagination.
He's I think interested in the theoretical side at the moment, not overly interested in architecture, keen on a broad range of styles and periods.
He also wants to be based in a city so that rules St Andrews out. Not sure how he views "Sloany gals" probably not overly keen, I think he would also like to learn at MFL at the same time.

I don't think any are not theoretical, just some thinking more about giving them curating skills in displaying art, rather than any architectural bent. Several courses offer or even require MFL, some to the standard where they can read original texts / criticism in the original language. I do think that is really valuable. Throw Birmingham (own gallery, not quite the Courtauld but representative collection, a definite chance to curate ) York, Nottingham, Leeds in the mix. This is the nearest subject league table, not so hard to disengage what is good from the related subjects in the tables www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=History+of+Art%2c+Architecture+%26+Design

Courtald IS part of the university of london.

DS was at a very academic private school which taught History of Art well. It was certainly not perceived as a less rigourous subject. In the two leavers lists I looked at 8 students seem to have left to study History of Art. Destinations were 3xOxford, 3xUCL, 1xCambridge and 1xCourtauld. That said the school is in Central London so London is always over-represented in leavers destinations. For History of Art though the access you get to exhibitions and galleries from being in London is unparalled.

The issue perhaps is that the more affluent students, especially those coming from London, can afford to do years of poorly paid internships. Perhaps think about the jobs that might be accessible/affordable and then which course is both interesting and relevent. Not just curating etc, but I have met a couple of Art Historians who lead tour groups to Italy and elsewhere, or guided tours round London exhibitions, or you could think wider eg the Metropolitan Police's Art & Antiques Unit, buying art for corporates etc. Though perhaps again a reason for considering London which is likely to offer the biggest range of future employment.

Thanks again this is all very helpful. I'm not really thinking about life after Uni and we could I suppose fund a poorly paid internship if necessary for a while.. It actually the individual Uni courses Im interested in and how students found them.
I agree with needmoreslerp I definitely don't think of history of art as a less rigorous subject, certainly no less rigorous or less work than his other subjects which would be right up on the top of any list in terms if academic rigour. Its wide ranging and quite in depth and requires a lot of effort on his part, you do have to really love art to do it.
I keep watching for any more thoughts.

Warwick has a good course, and they get to go study in Venice for a term (good for languages)
I studied (& continue to study - see username!) at Warwick, though in a different dept., it definitely has its fair share of Sloanes, but overall is a really mixed and vibrant campus uni. Plus you're only an hour away from London by train so can dip into art stuff there really easily too.

The four year degree structure at Scottish unis would help with the language element, he would have time to reach a high standard or even do two.

titchy sorry you are right , and students can access ULU activities. I got that impression because the students do not seem to take advantage of that facility. It is a different social life.

Incidentally OP the Courtauld do taster days, great for learning about History of Art as a subject as well as about the Courtauld itself.

From reading the Courtaulds website I get the impression all the taster days are outreach days for those in state schools, my DS is at a private school which is a real shame because he'd absolutely love to go.

My dd has a friend studying History of Art and French as a joint honours degree at Manchester . She loves it, (and is certainly not a Sloaney airhead), and had several choices open to her after excellent A level results but felt the Manchester course was exceptional.

sitting They weren't in the past but by the looks of it they have been sucked into the University of London fair access strategy. Might be worth contacting them direct?

He likes the look of the Mancherster course with Italian his favourite language. Thanks going

I did some Art History at Nottingham University. Great lecturers etc.

However, it was a course done by the 'beautiful dim' girls. Girls from posh schools who had no intention of working after uni.

The modules were easy...hence why I took them as extras! Really easy. Compared to my actual degree course (Law)

Depends what she wants to do afterwards, but I don't think it's a good course to do as a main degree personally.

I know a girl who did History of Art at Nottingham, beautiful but certainly not dim, it is a course that allows those who are talented to do modules in the Fine Art department. Leeds do that as well I think.

Whilst the courses are popular with a certain stereotype (and Nottingham also popular with that stereotype, along with Leeds, and obviously Edinburgh) they do also attract students that love art, and that is definitely not confined to that stereotype. There will be plenty of students from private schools and otherwise with whom to share that enthusiasm.

Well, History of Art does tend to be dominated by the daughters of the old rich who first got into doing it because Granny happens to have a Rubens on the wall, darling, and they have the connections to make an internship in London galleries a suitable kind of finishing school while finding a husband in the city. (Joke. Sort of. My own subject is quite similar.) Also used to be an easier route into getting into some of the stuffier Oxbridge colleges.

But if your DS loves it and is brilliant, no reason he couldn't thrive.

PS: Courtauld. Hands down.

Blazing88 - I have a friend who studied History of Art undergrad, currently doing a PhD in something complicated and cross disciplinary. He's a bloke, scarily bright (like really scary, you have to concentrate hard if you get in a serious conversation with him), very, very, very left wing . . . So they're not all nice-but-dim! (He studied at Cambridge, also doing PhD there.)

This is so helpful.
No Rubens on the walls here (not his favourite painter by a long way), sadly only early 20 th century art. But he does have a life long passion for art and a desire to be fluent in another MFL. We've always encouraged him to do something he loves first and foremost. We'll worry about after Uni when we get there.

I did history of art many years ago, it was fab it might not have got me a job but it taught me how to research, how to be analitical in my course there was also history of architecture and design and a lot of work on the social context of the art. Many of the unis I looked at have stopped offering it but Winchester school of art was linked to a Spanish uni and included a practical art element, Leeds was my first choice and if I could have afforded courtard institute was my dream for a post grad. Good luck I hope he enjoys it.

I don't think it's a course anyone would take if they had serious hopes of earning their own living afterwards. However I expect it would be an interesting course.

If he goes to Edinburgh or St Andrews he can do History of Art alongside other subjects in the firwt two years and then decide- maybe fo is as a joint honours with a language? That would certainly give him more options.

I did not say any of the girls we knew are dim... Why was that inferred just because I said they did not need to find a proper job afterwards? It is a good idea to combine H of A with a language and Italian is obviously great because you get to spend a year in Italy. However do be aware that there is some very poor teaching in Italian universities so don't expect miracles and keep plenty of money available for exploring the art in the various cities.

My DD at UCL. HoA and Italian - having the most wonderful time. Lots of opportunities for work experience, intellectually vigorous - units can be taken in many different topics, not just the main subject areas. She has met people from a variety of backgrounds. DD from state comprehensive. It is very hard work but she is loving every minute of her experience.