With the start of a new semester comes the hunt to find your classroom and inevitably sitting in the wrong class at least once during your degree. With inspiration from this impromptu scavenger hunt, I’ve decided to rank all the main classroom buildings on campus in the order of how “studyable” the structure is – how easy the floor layout is to understand, how accessible study spaces are, and the foot traffic of the building. Use this to plan your new study spaces or grab a few friends and play a study break game; Godspeed if you decide to play hide-and-seek in Cornett!
- Fraser Building
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The home of UVic’s Faculty of Law, this studious building is made for long library sessions and endless coffee refills. The exteriors of the building feature the forested sections of campus, making them perfect for connecting with nature during those long hours of study.
- Clearihue
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I’m a little biased towards Clearihue, as the majority of my classes are held in this building. Although there isn’t a lot of seating, it’s easy to find a quiet, low-traffic space in Clearihue.
- Engineering Building
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While the Fraser building is where you go to get the dark academia study aesthetic, the engineering building is where stuff gets done. 24 hour access (with a card), TONS of seating… it’s a dream during those late, late study sessions.
- Elliot Building
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Elliot, BWC, and Petch all kinda feel like the same building to me, but as an arts student lacking in first year science courses I am only super familiar with Elliot. This building is fine if you can avoid the basement. The asbestos warnings on every single wall creep me out, in addition to the lack of windows and prisoner-style study section.
- SUB
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The SUB is hands down the best place for a group study sesh. Forget trying to find a table in the library, as long as you avoid lunch time it can be relatively easy to find a comfy spot for your group project meet-up.
- Phoenix/Fine Arts/Visual Arts Buildings
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As long as you’re not scared of theatre kids, this place is great!!! Lots of fun seating locations both inside and out, and Arts Place is my favourite UVic-run cafes on campus.
- MacLaurin
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I have no specific reason why, but I just LOVE MacLaurin. Mac’s is attached for all your lunch needs, and some wings of the building are quiet even during peak class times.
- McPherson Library
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A classic. Tons of seating, but even still it can get crowded. Biblio is IMO the better choice.
- Jamie Cassels Centre
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This spot is GREAT for lunch, but studying can be a little tough. If you’re okay with a little noise, the centre has great lounge seating for group projects while grabbing a bite to eat.
- Cornett
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I’d argue that Cornett is the most recognized building on campus, with its lore being heard from generations of students. Limited seating and stairs that lead to nowhere make this spot my last choice.
Have you found a favourite building on campus? Be sure to check out our YouTube video ranking the buildings, and have a great time picking a study spot for the 2022-2023 year!