Master of Arts in Art and Politics

at Goldsmiths, University of London United Kingdom

The programme will introduce you to a range of psychological theories, methods and processes within the context of the legal, criminal and civil justice systems.

Based at a research-led London university with strong links to forensic services, you’ll be taught by world-class researchers, and experienced practitioners from the NHS, and the prison and probation service.

Led by chartered forensic clinical psychologist Dr Caoimhe McAnena, the MSc also includes contributions from world-class researchers and practitioners who will teach on the programme and supervise research projects.

We have been awarded full British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation, which will give you the opportunity to gain Graduate and/or Chartered Membership of the Society.

This MA will enhance your narrative skills as an editor of fiction for film and television. This Masters is a pathway of MA Filmmaking, so that in addition to your specialised training you will collaborate with students across all specialisms on a variety of film projects.

Experienced tutors and guests provide expert guidance designed to enhance the flow of your individual research, experimentation and artistic achievement. You will complete your degree by working in your specialist role on a major production in the final term.

What we offer

• The programme is housed in a new purpose-built media facility equipped with state-of-the art teaching spaces including a film studio equipped with Arri lighting and Green Screen facilities. Edit suites are equipped with Avid Media Composer and tuition is offered, giving the opportunity to gain Avid Certified User accreditation (Media Composer 101 and 110). Edit suites, screening rooms and sound studios are linked via Avid’s industry standard ISIS storage area network.
• You will work to professional standards using high-end digital formats. You will also learn sophisticated postproduction workflow techniques, gaining a wealth of experience in off-line editing and an understanding of how this fits in with on-line editing, visual effects and picture grading.
• In addition to your specialist area, you can attend classes in related disciplines. This framework is designed to stimulate collaborative practice by providing you with a breadth of filmmaking knowledge combined with a high level of expertise in your chosen filmmaking discipline.

You'll learn that we cannot make sense of the ways in which politics affects every aspect of our lives without first addressing the ways in which the concept of ‘politics’ is constructed in the first place.

We will develop your critical and analytical skills, providing you with a thorough grounding in the major aspects of modern political studies, including political theory, international relations, political economy, British and European comparative politics and the politics of non-Western countries.

Through a study of diverse topics, such as feminism, foreign policy, and human rights, you'll sharpen your ability to evaluate complex, challenging claims. You’ll see that politics encompasses the most difficult challenges humanity faces, and you’ll learn how to engage with these challenges in a sophisticated, persuasive way.

A degree in politics is one of the most rewarding and enjoyable subjects you can study at university. And the skills you’ll gain will stay with you forever.

Why study BA Politics at Goldsmiths?

• This programme extends beyond the conventional - we'll look at how and why politics is practised in such different ways around the planet
• Our research interests are as diverse as the discipline of politics; you’ll have the option of studying from the full range of subjects that we offer (subject to prerequisites)
• You’ll learn about the politics of the Houses of Parliament and the United States Senate, but you’ll also learn about the political decisions which take place in the classroom, the company directors’ meeting, the art gallery and the internet forum. Through these (and more) diverse studies, we’ll help you to question your own assumptions and beliefs in order to give you the ability to question the assumptions and beliefs of others
• In your third year you’ll be able to put these skills into practice in our Work Placement programme. We have links with the Home Office, Department for Transport, local government and the European Commission
• We have a lively events programme that attracts renowned speakers, so you'll have the opportunity to hear (and challenge) the latest political arguments, theories and ideas

The MA Research Architecture is for graduates from a range of disciplines who want to examine how architecture can engage with questions of contemporary culture, politics, media, ecology and justice and question whether spatial practice can become a form of research.

Why study MA Research Architecture at Goldsmiths?

• You’ll combine studio work with theoretical research. Lectures, seminars and workshops will equip you with a grounding in critical spatial practices and related areas of inquiry.
• The theoretical module provides thorough coverage of the historical, philosophical and technological aspects of the intersection of space, power and conflict in light of changing geopolitical conditions.
• You’ll take part in an annual field trip during the winter break to a site of special interest to Research Architecture, for example, Athens, The Hague, Berlin or Istanbul.
• You’ll join a group of students and practitioners from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and disciplines and have the opportunity to work collaboratively and benefit from peer-to-peer learning under the guidance of a tutor.
• There are several workshops on the programme as part of the Forensic Architecture or Research Architecture Studio Module. These day-long participatory events are led by invited guest speakers with specific expertise in the field.
• Graduates of the MA will be well-suited for doctoral research or to pursue or enhance their career in the areas of architecture, design, law, journalism, filmmaking, art and curating.

Why study MA Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths?

• You may be writing regularly; you may be returning to it after concentrating on your career. Whatever your background, if you're serious about your writing, we can help you to develop your practice.
• Our students bring with them a lively range of interests, cultures and experiences. We welcome students of any age who share the drive to take their writing seriously.
• You’ll have the chance to experiment with different forms – poetry, the novel, short story and life writing - as well as to specialise in one of those areas -  and you will receive expert guidance in each field. Read work by our students.
• Some seminars will be taken by visiting writers who will talk about their work, introduce you to different theories of creative writing and engage you in discussion about their writing. Recent visitors have included Ali Smith, Caryl Phillips, Claire Keegan and Daljit Nagra.
• We host weekly readings and discussions organised by our Writers Centre, together with occasional visits from editors, literary agents and organisers of literary projects.
• Several graduates of this programme have gone on to be award-winning influential poets, among them Emily Berry, Abigail Parry, Nick Makoha, Katrina Naomi, Richard Scott and Jack Underwood who now teaches at Goldsmiths. Our Fiction and Life Writing graduates are similarly successful, Luiza Sauma, Tom Lee, Elaine Castillo, Sarah Leipciger, Anthony Joseph amongst others.

This exciting MSc reflects the broad-ranging and strong neuroscience research profile of our Department, equipping you with a rigorous grounding in the theory and applications of cognitive, clinical, and developmental neuroscience.

The programme provides a thorough coverage of the historical, philosophical and scientific bases of modern neuroscience. The emphasis is on scientific knowledge relating to the specialisms of clinical and cognitive neuropsychology with theoretical and some practical coverage.

During the course of the MSc, students interested in gaining clinical experience will be encouraged to consider possible placements that may be available with one of the several clinical sites we collaborate with. In some cases, there may also be the possibility of carrying out research for their dissertation in these clinical settings.

The MA Contemporary Art Theory is for those with a special interest in contemporary art, and an aptitude for theoretical work in the subject.

Why study MA Contemporary Art Theory at Goldsmiths?

• This degree explores a range of theoretical perspectives that shape art and visual culture, and attitudes towards them in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
• You’ll be encouraged to conceptually and creatively explore the ways in which contemporary artistic practice and urgent theoretical and political matters intersect.
• You’ll expand your knowledge of contemporary artistic developments and deepen your understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of academic discourses on visual culture.
• The programme draws on the shifting fields of performance studies, art history, continental philosophy, ecology, feminist theory, queer theory, postcolonial/decolonial studies, and cultural studies in addressing the critical challenges posed by artistic practice, and you’ll be able to focus on an aspect that particularly interests you.
• You’ll take part in an assessed symposium, which provides you with a chance to present your dissertation topic at an early stage in order to define and progress your final project.

The MSc Data Science will provide you with the technical and practical skills to analyse the big data that is the key to success in future business, digital media and science.

The rate at which we are able to create data is rapidly accelerating. According to IBM, globally, we currently produce over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data a day. This ranges from biomedical data to social media activity and climate monitoring to retail transactions. These enormous quantities of data hold the keys to success across many domains from business and marketing to treating cancer or mitigating climate change.

The pace at which we produce data is rapidly outstripping our ability to analyse and use it. Science and industry are crying out for a new generation of data scientists who combine the statistical skills of data analysis and the computational skills needed to carry out this analysis on a vast scale.

Studying this Masters, you will learn the mathematical foundations of statistics, data mining and machine learning, and apply these to practical, real-world data.

As well as these statistical skills, you will learn the computational techniques needed to efficiently analyse very large data sets. You will apply these skills to a range of real-world data, under the guidance of experts in that domain. You will analyse trends in social media, make financial predictions and extract musical information from audio files.

The programme includes:

• A firm grounding in the theory of data mining, statistics and machine learning
• Hands-on practical real-world applications such as social media, biomedical data and financial data with Hadoop (used by Yahoo!, Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, IBM, Amazon, and many others), R and other specialised software
• The opportunity to work with real-world software such as Apache

On this International Relations degree, you will engage with a variety of approaches essential to understanding contemporary world politics. You will learn the foundations of classic International Relations, and will also be challenged with a wealth of critical and unorthodox approaches.

You will learn to move beyond the standard canon of textbook theories, and to study International Relations using an interdisciplinary approach, paying particular attention to the complex relationship between power, culture, and identity.

Instead of replicating state-centred and Eurocentric caricatures of international politics, the programme also offers a broad view of 'the international', which explores alternative ways of experiencing the world. This will help you develop your own critical analysis of crucial questions of power, conflict, and justice.

Why study MA Race, Media and Social Justice at Goldsmiths?

• Goldsmiths is a centre of pioneering critical race scholarship and you will be taught by leading figures in the field.
• You’ll examine a range of different theoretical and philosophical approaches to race and ethnicity, including postcolonial and critical race theories, poststructuralist approaches, and theories of intersectionality.
• The degree is underpinned by a focus on the cultural industries and you’ll learn to apply these theories to understand why representations of race and ethnicity take the shape that they do in news, film and social media.
• You’ll expand your practical and academic knowledge of diversity in the media and other sectors through a series of industry talks from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) practitioners working in the industry.
• This MA is taught across two departments – Media, Communications and Cultural Studies and Sociology – that are recognised as world-leading in their respective disciplines.
• As a postgraduate student you will join a thriving intellectual community at Goldsmiths, while learning the skills that you will be able to apply to a range of careers, from media, to policy, to charity/NGOs and other forms of social enterprise.