The International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies is based in the Bruce Building, formerly the Newcastle Brewery Offices (1896-1950). Bruce Building is a bold neo-Baroque building with stunning interior - ornate faience tiles, decorative plaster ceilings, carved oak panels and fireplaces, stained glass and a wonderful marble staircase.
Classes take place in seminar rooms in Bruce Building as well as in lecture rooms in the Bedson building.
The University has a number of museums and an art gallery on campus, which hold important archaeological, art, and natural history collections. They are currently undergoing a major redevelopment and will fully open to the public in 2009 under the banner of the Great North Museum. These venues and the university collections are used extensively in the delivery of modules – providing an unparalleled teaching resource. For example, the Hatton Gallery is used as a venue for a student exhibition – an important element of the Art Museum and Gallery Studies programme.
A full range of environmental monitoring equipment is used in teaching of the Collections Management module. This equipment can be borrowed by students at anytime. Students also have access to specialist collections management software (MODES) used by UK museums and galleries.
Apart from the main University IT facilities, students in ICCHS have a small cluster of networked PCs with the standard university suite of office, e-mail and internet applications as well as a selection of appropriate specialist software (e.g. MODES) located in the Bruce Building.
A dedicated postgraduate common room is available in the Bruce Building for students who attend our Museum, Gallery and Heritage studies programmes. The common room have facilities for making cold and warm drinks and is the place to unwind during lunch and tea breaks.
Information about University-wide student facilities and support is available on our Student Information pages.
For more information about the student experience, please see the student ambassador's blog.