Student review [#89809] for History of Art and Architecture
at University of Cambridge

General:
The college system has its pros and cons. I am a fan as it means that you have a close community in the university, however it does mean that there is little to no student union activities (our student union consists of a single room on a floor of a building that I have only visited to collect vinted parcels)
Cambridge itself is a lovely place to live, everything is walkable and green (apart from Girton and Homerton rip), but the night life is a bit lacking (fine if you are a nerd like me). Very much small town vibes.
The standard of academic and pastoral support is very high- you will have opportunities for travel and study beyond that of other universities. And it does have lots of fancy and weird activities which are very fun.

History of Art specific:
Expect around 5 hours of taught (contact) hours a week, which imo is very little and maybe something I should have considered more
Very self directed, essays every week and lots of coursework, means that the degree can be quite anti-social and isolated (I have no other art history student in my year in college)
Accessibility is not the best, but is improving, as well as the diversity of art historical study.
If you struggle with self-directed study and reading a lot this is probably not the place to study this degree for you.

with all that said, I have loved my time here, it is very sheltered and you don’t have to deal with renting and other stresses, so it gives you the space to really delve into your subject.