Bristol or Edinburgh for History of Art

[MarmaladeGinger]

DC has offers (same grade requirements) from both Bristol and Edinburgh to study History of Art. Has done a list of pros and cons for both unis and read about the course contents at each. We live in South England, so one obviously easier to reach, although given current reliability and cost of train fares a flight to Scotland often proves cheaper and quicker! Does anyone have any knowledge of the History of Art departments and reputations at either uni? Any insight to assist their decision would be much appreciated.

PS With 59% of members voting, members of UCU (the academics’ union) at Edinburgh have just voted 75% in favour of strikes and 85% in favour of action short of a strike should it prove necessary. All three percentages are very high.

I think I see the source of confusion, @SaltpepperBP

Firstly, as I said, the deficit at Edinburgh is about £140M over 18 mos.

Secondly, it is planned to take about 18 mos to implement the full cost cutting

However, it is definitely ongoing. In his original announcement Sir Peter said (I paraphrase slightly)

‘It costs about £120M per month to run the university. So we are looking to a bit more than one month’s running costs annually.’

Edinburgh is not in deficit. They need to make changes now to save £140m to avoid going into deficit. I agree, with a smaller staff base, the savings per annum ongoing will be substantial but doubt it will be 140m per year. The savings will not all be staff costs.
I’m not happy with Ed Uni at all and my position as staff member is at risk but it is important to know that this is preventative and not the same as e.g. Dundee.
The next year will be turbulent with strike action but I think this will be across the sector. I won’t be striking as I think cost cutting is inevitable and I need to be saving hard in case I’m made redundant. I lost trust in UCU a long time ago unfortunately.

I feel terrible for all Edinburgh staff, @SaltpepperBP . I don’t think anyone has produced a good reason for these cuts. I am so sorry this is happening.

The deficit projected within 18 months was reported in The Guardian and presumably elsewhere as motivation for the cuts. You will have the letter to staff in which Sir Peter stated the need for ‘a recurring and sustainable reduction in our costs’ on the order of £140M. What does that mean to you?

BTW he has used the word ‘annually’ in other discussions such as what UCU published. I don’t rate the union very highly either but I don’t think they plagiarise.

@MarmaladeGinger - not RTFT but my DD is in 2nd year at Edinburgh and has a lovely flatmate studying History of Art there. I expect she would be very happy to share insights into the History of Art course. I’ll ask for some intel and report back.

Thank you @Dery that would be kind. My DC has now firmed Edinburgh.

Great choice @MarmaladeGinger . She’ll have a blast