Master of Arts in Media and Communications

at Goldsmiths, University of London United Kingdom

Why study for an MA in Creative Writing and Education at Goldsmiths?

• This is an MA in Creative Writing like no other. If you want to thrive as a creative writer and are passionate about learning, then this unique programme is for you. You will not only progress exponentially as a writer, but also learn how to research and teach writing in a wide range of contexts. You will study how writing can be used in dynamic, real-world settings such as charities, prisons, schools, creative and mental health organisations, and the cultural/corporate sector.
• The programme will provide you with an invaluable toolbox of writing, teaching, and research strategies that will help you personally and professionally. You will grow as a writer, and gain skills and experience which could open doors to creative professions such as publishing and arts management, as well as roles in educational institutions. Alumni include some of the most significant writers to emerge in recent years such as Raymond Antrobus, Dean Atta, S.K. Perry and Sara Hirsch – read what our students and graduates had to say below.
• You will be taught by some of the best known prize-winning authors and innovative teachers in the country, including Ros Barber, Maura Dooley, Blake Morrison, Francis Spufford, Ardu Vakil, and Erica Wagner. The Head of Programme, Francis Gilbert, has taught creative writing to all ages, and is the author of best-selling memoirs, novels, and educational guides.

This unique programme combines music psychology with neuroscience, focusing on both the biological and cognitive aspects of musical behaviour.

The MSc Music, Mind and Brain (MMB) is highly interdisciplinary and draws on expertise from leading figures in the field, in areas ranging from music cognition, cognitive neuroscience, computational modelling, music education and music therapy.

As a student on the MSc, you will learn about topics in music psychology (from perception to cognition) and the cognitive neuroscience of music, and will acquire all the necessary skills to pursue your own high-quality research.

The programme benefits from good links with institutions such as the Institute of Education, the Royal College of Music, and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.

The best journalism is based on a sound understanding of the history that has shaped the world we inhabit today.

There is a strong and growing tradition of deeper journalistic investigation into issues and events in the recent and more distant past (however that might be defined). This might be to unearth new knowledge, to investigate and reinterpret existing thinking, or to revise and update past ideas and understandings.

This innovative, collaborative, and interdisciplinary programme, jointly delivered by the Department of History and the Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies, emphasises that the causes and results of events in the past are fiercely contested by historians.

Why study BA History and Journalism at Goldsmiths?

• History - the study, analysis and understanding of the past - is as important today as it has ever been, and it continues to make vital contributions to how we comprehend and interact with the world around us. It is a relevant, dynamic, fascinating and important field of study which, at Goldsmiths, is approached in creative, innovative and exciting ways.
• Understanding past societies fosters emotional intelligence and allows us to appreciate the diversity and adaptability of human life. Understanding our pasts can help us to shape our futures and, crucially, help us shape those futures intelligently, insightfully, fairly, and with compassion.
• The essential skills of researching, interviewing, and writing in a number of different long-form and short-form styles and formats are delivered alongside tuition for a range of digital tools including video reporting, the use of social media for research and dissemination, and how to work in the world of online, multimedia journalism.
• An international body of staff research and deliver modules covering a wide geographical range including Asia, Africa, the Americas, the British Isles, Eastern and Western Europe, and the Middle East. Academic staff in both departments are nationally and internationally recognized award-winning experts in their fields who are at the forefront of research excellence and research-led teaching.

The MA Visual Anthropology offers a unique combination of anthropological theory and visual practice. It provides you with a strong foundation for producing visual work informed by anthropology.

Why study MA Visual Anthropology at Goldsmiths?

• You’ll approach visual anthropology through the study of the politics and aesthetics of representation, documentary and ethnographic film, and anthropological perspectives on art.
• As a practice-oriented MA, there is a clear emphasis on applying anthropological knowledge to the actual making of visual artefacts, and not just their analysis.
• The MA is open to people with a range of backgrounds in anthropology and related fields, so you’ll join a diverse group of students with varying perspectives.
• As a graduate, you’ll be well-placed to pursue a career in visual anthropology (be it research- or practice-oriented) as well as to bring an anthropological sensibility to the visual to other disciplines.
• You’ll have hands-on training in the use of digital camcorders, sound recording equipment and video editing, preparing you for your final visual project – a 20-minute film – as well as giving you practical vocational skills for after you graduate.

This MSc is tailored for people who want to work in the game industry. You will learn multi-platform game development and gain a solid foundation in programming to help you develop your own skills. The MSc has a strong focus on business and entrepreneurship, including the possibility to work with industry partners as part of your internship.

As a fast-growing 150 billion dollar business, the game industry offers countless professional opportunities. The MSc Computer Games Programming is right for you if you want to make game development a sustainable career and to work in this creative and rewarding industry.

This is also one of the only programmes taught by actual game developers, designers, and artists with years of experience in the game industry.

Why Study MSc Computer Games Programming at Goldsmiths

• Learn how to design and develop games, using state of the art tools and game engines from actual game developer and industry veterans
• Focus on which skills you want to learn through a selection of option modules
• Collaborate with colleagues from other courses, including the MA Computer Games Art & Design and the MA Independent Games and Playable Experience Design
• Build your portfolio through practical coursework
• Access state of the art game labs and facilities
• Get your first internship in the game industry (or work on a research project instead)
• Take part in annual events and game jams organised by the department, and be part of the creative and diverse environment that surrounds Goldsmiths
• Access a strong UK community of publishers and creators with innovative voices creating groundbreaking titles

Fusing Goldsmiths' academic excellence and professional training from the Horniman Museum, the MA in Anthropology & Museum Practice provides you with a uniquely comprehensive set of skills.

Why study MA Anthropology and Museum Practice at Goldsmiths?

• Whether you're a professional looking to expand your subject expertise in anthropology, or an anthropologist looking to move into the museum sector, the course will provide you with the skills and knowledge you need to make a difference in your career.
• This degree is run in partnership with The Horniman Museum and Gardens. You'll learn from professionals who work with the institution's world-renowned anthropology collection, and gain practical skills in curation and conservation, using material and digital archives, running museum education programmes and engaging diverse audiences.
• You'll analyse museums as sites of imagination and distinction and think about how they can be more inclusive places.
• If you haven’t studied anthropology previously, you’ll have the opportunity to sit in on the Masters-level Introduction to Social Anthropology module, which will give you a solid grounding in the subject - and enable you to hit the ground running.

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.

This degree will help you become a resourceful and well-informed performer, theatre-maker, administrator or teacher in the musical theatre industry.

• You won't just learn about how to be a performer. Instead, you'll have the chance to pick up a whole range of skills including devising and writing plays, directing, and creating your own musical revues or cabarets.
• Our position in London means access to the enormous range of musicals produced at venues from the English National Opera to the tiny King’s Head Theatre.
• You'll be regularly taught by both visiting theatre professionals and core teaching staff, who are either artists or scholars of distinction in the field.

Computation consists of all the changes brought about by digital technology. Art is an open set of ways of acting inventively in culture. Mixing the two together in a systematic way gives us computational art. This is a very open field, and one that is set to expand enormously in the coming years. It is where the most exciting developments in technology and in culture can already be found. This degree will place you in the middle of this fast-evolving context.

This degree develops your arts practice through the expressive world of creative computation. Over a two years (full-time) or four years (part-time) you will develop your artistic work and thinking through the challenge of developing a series of projects for public exhibition which will explore the technological and cultural ramifications of computation.

You will learn the fundamentals of programming and how to apply this knowledge expressively. You will work with popular open source programming environments such as Processing, OpenFrameworks, P5.js and Arduino, and will learn how to program in languages such as Java, Javascript and C++.

Since computational artworks don’t necessarily involve computers and screens, we also encourage students to produce works across a diverse range of media. Supported by studio technicians in state-of-the-art facilities, our students are producing works using tools such as 3D printers, laser cutters, robotics, wearable technologies, paint, sculpture and textiles.

You will also study contextual modules on computational art and the socio-political effects of technology. Modules provide students with the historical foundations, frameworks, critical skills and confidence to express their ideas effectively. You will have the opportunity to learn the cultural histories of technology, to reflect on computation in terms of its wider cultural effects, and to understand the way in which art provides rigorous ways of thinking.

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.