Master of Arts in Cultural Studies

at Goldsmiths, University of London United Kingdom

Investigate the world of anthropology from a new angle. The BA Anthropology programme offers a challenging and contemporary syllabus, exploring key anthropological debates, and using them to help you understand contemporary societal and cultural issues.

Why study BA Anthropology at Goldsmiths?

• We offer a fresher approach to the subject than other institutions – from the impact of austerity economics to investigating how the creative arts can tackle inequality, you’ll learn much more than just ‘traditional’ anthropology. You’ll look at the subject from a contemporary perspective, and be able to apply what you learn in lectures to your everyday life.
• In the first two years, you’ll concentrate on basic anthropological concepts, such as kinship, ritual, world systems, and development. You'll also learn to analyse these concepts using video, film and written texts, and you’ll get to study two regions of the world in depth.
• In your final year, you’ll be able to specialise by choosing a selection of option modules, tailoring your degree to your own interests and aspirations. You'll have the opportunity to investigate anthropology in relation to politics, religion, philosophy, psychology, and history in order to develop an interdisciplinary perspective of the subject.
• You'll explore links between theoretical issues and ethnographic studies, enabling you to think critically about culture and society in Britain, and around the world. Our graduates have gone on to work for the UN, World Bank, NGOs, law companies and corporate social responsibility (CSR) consultancies.

The BA Anthropology & Media programme combines anthropological and communications theories to provide you with a better understanding of cultural diversity, and a critical knowledge of communication processes.

Why study BA Anthropology and Media at Goldsmiths?

• You'll be taught by some of the leading names in anthropology, media, communications and cultural studies. And you'll have access to industry-standard practice facilities.
• You'll receive a solid grounding in anthropological methodology and practice, and in key media debates including representation, and symbolism. Most importantly, you'll learn how to apply these insights to the contemporary world.
• You'll develop the practical and transferable skills to help you find a career in media or anthropology – our recent graduates are now working as news readers, editors, journalists, producers, and photographers.
• You’ll be able to specialise and design your own learning experience in third year, choosing four Anthropology modules, and two Media, Communications, and Cultural Studies (MCCS) modules.
• We regularly host industry debates and talks by international figures; recent guests have included Danny Boyle, Gurinder Chadha and Noel Clark.

Explore the nature and social impact of crime and investigate the subject from a critical and sociological perspective. You'll graduate with the skills and experience suitable for a wide range of careers in the policy, legal, criminal justice, academic and civil sectors. You could find a job as a youth worker, counsellor, police or probation officer – or pursue a career in human rights, counter-terrorism or the intelligence services.

Why study BA Criminology at Goldsmiths?

• Issues of social inequality and justice are brought to the foreground in this degree. You’ll learn how race, gender, class and nationality connect to crime and control, taking an international perspective to explore differences across the globe.
• You'll be taught by researchers at the cutting edge of criminological and sociological research on urban crime, control and security, and globalisation and crime. And, as part of a tight-knit group of students, you'll benefit from the support and expertise of your teachers throughout your degree.
• Modules such as Criminal Justice in Context give you the opportunity to meet and learn from leaders in criminal justice, policy and campaigning sectors, offering up to date knowledge.
• You’ll have access to a range of work placements and volunteer opportunities and we’ll help you find an organisation that suits you. You might take part in training to support a victim of crime, attend court, or mentor young people.
• You'll learn how to research. Being able to gather and analyse different types of information from a wide variety of sources is a vital skill in the digital age where there is a lot of information but a shortage of truth.
• You'll be taught by experts in the social sciences, as well as those involved with and who have experience of criminal justice.

Conceived in the context of world-systemic transformation, this MA will give you the analytical tools to understand contemporary developments and world(s) through an encounter with post-colonial theory and international political economic issues.

We're witnessing today a tectonic shift in global geopolitics. The emergence of China, Brazil and India as global players, the development of global governance, the financial crisis, climate change – are all symptoms.

On this Masters you’ll grasp concepts like race, diaspora, hybridity, difference, grassroots development, HDI, multitude, immanence, and human rights.

These concepts are used to analyse practical, policy and activist issues arising from globalisation: global civil society, the role of international organisations (the IMF, WTO, UN and World Bank and global NGOs), intellectual property rights, social capital, financialisation, global governance and deep democracy.

You'll deal with issues like terrorism, microfinance, indigenous people, gender and sexuality, multiculturalism and environmental justice.

This programme is the first of its kind at the University of London. It offers a scientific approach to the study of human behaviour, giving a broad understanding of psychological theory and research, and will help develop your understanding of the processes influencing how people think, feel, behave, and interact.

The programme is particularly well suited to those interested in a career change into the field of Psychology, or who have previously studied some psychology (but not sufficient to meet the BPS criteria for GBC) and would like the accreditation to work in the field professionally. It is also suited to applicants from outside the UK who would like to obtain a BPS accredited University of London qualification which will allow them to follow professional training programmes.

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.

Bringing together media practice and communications theory, this degree covers a broad spectrum of critical perspectives on the media, and will introduce you to a range of contemporary media practices.

Why study BA Media and Communications at Goldsmiths?

• You will study in one of the UK's and the world's top media and communications departments.
• You'll be taught by leading names in media, communications and cultural studies.
• We concentrate on high quality lectures and small group work, and all our teaching takes place on one purpose-built site.
• On practice modules you'll be taught by industry professionals engaged in TV, film, journalism, radio, photography, scriptwriting, short fiction, illustration, interactive media and animation.
• You'll have access to industry-standard practice facilities, including TV/film, radio and photography studios, digital video and audio editing suites, and animation software and hardware.
• Our close links to the media industry bring you into regular contact with media professionals. You will have the opportunity to apply for an internship in the media as part of the course.
• We regularly host debates and talks by international figures in media and cultural research and the media industry; recent guests have included Danny Boyle, Gurinder Chadha and Noel Clark.
• You'll be taught alongside students from all over the world and with diverse cultural experiences that enrich the department and the learning experience.
• You'll develop skills that you can use throughout your career whether in the media industries or elsewhere. Our recent graduates are now working as television producers, news readers, editors, journalists... Others have gone into a whole range of careers such as research, teaching and law.
• We're ranked third in the UK for the quality and impact of our research (Research Excellence Framework), which means that by studying in the department you'll be working alongside academics who are leaders in their fields.

If this degree were a film we’d be watching the beginning and the end. We think, like Walter Benjamin, that it’s in these moments – in their inception and their obsolescence  – that you see the utopian possibilities of a form or social movement.

Are we in the midst of a beginning? What can we learn now from visual culture’s past? What’s happening to our bodies when we play a video game? What are the gestures involved in everyday life? How do our bodies relate to technology?

These are the kinds of topics we analyse on this MA. We want to go beyond the borders of a traditional film studies degree so we go back to the beginning of film history to explore what it meant to fashion yourself in an image, or for a society to see itself in an image. Then we explore how images gain meaning now, and where they’re going next.

Economists study how markets function. Marketing is about how to operate in markets. The Goldsmiths BA Economics with Marketing will help you develop crucial skills in both disciplines.

Why study BA Economics with Marketing at Goldsmiths?

• This unique course combines a rigorous training in economic theory and applications with cutting-edge insights and techniques from marketing practice.
• Our economics teaching is pluralist and interdisciplinary, so you'll be able to understand which tools are useful when tackling different problems in the real world. Our marketing teaching uses perspectives from psychology, sociology and management to keep you at the frontier of marketing practice.
• This degree will give you great flexibility in today’s competitive labour market: you can work in traditional economics jobs and in a range of management and marketing jobs that are looking for this unique set of skills. For example, you will be uniquely positioned for marketing jobs with a quantitative angle.
• To prepare for your future career, you'll have the opportunity to apply for a limited number of competitive placements. Placements take place at the end of your second year; they count as a 15-credit option towards your degree. Placements enhance your CV, bring theory and practical experience together, and help you develop industry contacts.
• Through the Erasmus programme, you can spend half of your third year at a university in Europe. You'll attend modules, experience a different culture and academic environment, and you'll have the option of learning or improving a foreign language.

This degree aims to equip you with creative, interpretive, critical and analytical skills, so that you can participate in and contribute to the expanding field of contemporary art.

Why study BA Fine Art at Goldsmiths?

• You'll make and study contemporary art in a dynamic, critical and interdisciplinary environment
• We'll equip you with the skills that will help you develop independent thought and confidence in your practice, as well as transferable skills suitable for employment in the creative industries
• You'll have your own studio space from day one, and will have access to excellent facilities including specialist art practice areas
• All staff on the programme are practising artists, curators and writers, here to respond to the work that you make and to help you understand how it contributes to, and challenges, the critical debates that exist in the study area and beyond
• Since 1990, former Goldsmiths students have been nominated for the Turner Prize more than 30 times, and have won the prize on 8 occasions.