History Of Art @ Corpus Christi, Cambridge in 2018

Interview format

History of Art admissions assessment at interview; 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: questions on specific artworks; Interview 2: personal statement

Best preparation

Reading general surveys of art history

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

Try to understand the main themes and ideas within your subject

Remember this advice isn't official. There is no guarantee it will reflect your experience because university applications can change between years. Check the official Cambridge and Oxford websites for more accurate information on this year's application format and the required tests.

Also, someone else's experience may not reflect your own. Most interviews are more like conversations than tests and like, any conversation, they are quite interactive.

Interview Format

Test taken: History of Art admissions assessment at interview

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: no

Time between interviews: 2 hours

Length of first interview: 30 minutes; Length of second interview: 30 minutes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

The interviewers mainly wanted me to talk about specific artworks which I was shown copies of, although we did briefly discuss my personal statement. Every time I began to sound confident, the interviewers would interrupt me and make me talk about something else. I just tried to stay calm and follow their lead. When they challenged what I said I tried to defend my point of view, but sometimes I would also let them know that they probably were right, and then explain why I thought something else.

How did you prepare?

I used the admissions assessment papers from previous years to prepare for my admissions assessment. I also read A LOT of books, surveys about art history and tried to gain a broad knowledge of the subject. Furthermore, I did background reading on EVERYTHING I had written in my personal statement, and thought a lot about why I had written what I had, in case I was questioned on it.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

Looking back, what advice would you give to your past self?

I think the most important preparation gaining an understanding of the main themes, ideas, discoveries and philosophies about the most famous artists and art periods. That knowledge can usually be used if presented with artworks in the interview, and if not, you can talk about how that artwork is different from other art from the same period.