Master of Fine Arts in Computational Arts

at Goldsmiths, University of London United Kingdom

This programme engages with the newest military history research, addressing conflict, communities and identities to take military history beyond ’great men, great horses, great battles’.

The BA History with Military History will, of course, allow you to study aspects of national armies, world wars, and major battles. But our cutting-edge approach to the discipline also means expanding the way you think about militaries and learning to make links between military history and politics, society, gender, race, and culture.

Study military history from many different angles
Our military history places armed forces in broad contexts, examining how they are influenced by the societies from which they are drawn, and how they have influenced those societies. Central to this is an understanding of the politics of the military, analysing the causes for which people fight and the interplay between national identities and the military. Gender, (homo)sexuality, race, non-combatants, and ‘home fronts’ all figure here. National armies are still part of our approach to military history, as are those labelled ‘freedom fighters’ by some and ‘terrorists’ by others. Consequently, this programme analyses militaries in a broad sense, including those who took part in revolutions through arms, and those who resisted occupations and conquest by military means.

The programme offers the possibility of engagement with the study of the cultural sector in developing and managing tourism and hospitality.

Cultural policies designed to support the arts sectors to enhance high value added tourism and to increase lengths of stay and repeat visits are increasingly being adopted by governments worldwide with the support of the tourism and hospitality sector.

This degree applies to those wishing to work in the arts and tourism sectors or perhaps in galleries and theatres associated with the hospitality sector. It is also for art practitioners and cultural professionals who wish to develop careers involving cultural tourism, cultural policy, culture-led regeneration and destination, city and country branding. It is also relevant to work in NGOs or the cultural policy arms of government and intra-governmental organisations and consultancies.

Working from a materially diverse basis, this programme engages with a range of empirical, aesthetic, conceptual and material issues that traverse and exceed both 'art' and ‘politics’ to speak with our current contemporaneity.

Why study MA Art and Politics at Goldsmiths?

• Explore practices and issues related to our current contemporaneity in terms of public space, democracy, equality, participation, states of exception, collectivity, performance and justice.
• Examine a range of material practices and strategies which, in the encounter between art and politics, play out in numerous forms and very different kinds of social spaces.
• Develop frameworks and spaces that are mixed and mobile, and which can operate in trans-disciplinary settings. You'll join students from a range of backgrounds and disciplines, meaning that the political character of both theory and material practice take on renewed vigour and urgency.
• Investigate the potential of art, material practice and trans-disciplinarity in times of political and cultural crisis. You will have the opportunity to interrogate the relationship between material practices and theoretical work, to work within constraints but also within the interstices of artistic, cultural, social and political practices.
• Choose from a range of option modules that encourage you to work across areas of particular interest to you including practice-based Individual and Group project work, the politics of space, gender politics and human rights.

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 Promotional Media explores the impact of digital platformisation and automation on promotional professions, skills and techniques

You will explore the convergence between public relations, advertising, and marketing roles, as well as hybridised fields such as digital marketing, social media management and UX/UI design. This MA isn’t about studying ads or press coverage, but about becoming a professional who can cross-examine and critique the power dynamics between promotional professions, their client-organisations and today’s platformised media landscape.

At its core, this masters looks at how you can better serve society by improving communications across the promotional disciplines, and how public relations (PR), advertising, and marketing professionals can best develop within a challenging digital world. You’ll learn how to reflect on contemporary intellectual theories – including digital media studies, sociology, feminist theory and algorithmic culture – and apply them to workplace realities so you plan the next decade of your career.

This degree provides a grounding in some of the major aspects of politics and international relations. You'll learn about international systems and global governance political theory, UK, European and US politics, international political economy and undertake area-based studies of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Why study BA Politics with International Relations at Goldsmiths?

• We offer a distinctive approach that combines the study of politics and international relations, giving you the opportunity to gain broad knowledge and experience of both disciplines.
• The Department of Politics and International Relations provides a lively interdisciplinary environment, specialising in the study of institutions and conflicts in a way that crosses boundaries between traditional understandings of political phenomena.
• You’ll be able to choose from an unusually wide range of module options which explore the aesthetics of terrorism, critical approaches to security, the politics of development, US politics and foreign policy, the geopolitics of the Middle East, and contemporary movements from the Arab Spring to ISIS. We offer a range of area-based modules covering the Middle East, China and East Asia, Africa and Latin America.
• We have a lively events programme that attracts renowned speakers, meaning that you'll have the opportunity to hear the latest political arguments, theories and ideas.
• Our unique work placement module gives you the opportunity to gain work experience relevant to the degree and we also give you the opportunity to study abroad.

The MSc Psychology of the Arts, Neuroaesthetics and Creativity is the first postgraduate programme in the world for the scientific study of aesthetics and creativity.

At the intersection of the arts and the sciences, the programme introduces you to the psychology and the cognitive neuroscience of how humans generate new ideas, how we appreciate beauty, and how we form preferences.

Aesthetic and creative decisions are relevant in the visual and the performing arts, and in many applied and commercial contexts, ranging from clinical interventions to curating exhibitions, from dance choreography to marketing and advertising. Based in the Department of Psychology, in collaboration with Computing, Media and Communications and the Institute of Management Studies, the course builds critical knowledge, research and communication skills across the arts and the sciences, centred around two key topics: the psychological and brain mechanisms of making (Creativity) and appreciating (Neuroaesthetics) art. Conducting a research project with an interdisciplinary focus will prepare you for a research career in aesthetic or creative science, working in the creative industry, or to develop your artistic practice.

Goldsmiths is uniquely placed to offer this programme, with an internationally renowned reputation in the arts and the sciences. Existing courses combining art and psychology often have a largely therapeutic focus and rarely cover the psychology of aesthetic appreciation or creative cognition, in a broader profile. In contrast, business-oriented courses in marketing, advertising and consumer psychology often lack adequate scientific training in experimental psychology or cognitive neuroscience methods, which is required for a scientific approach to aesthetics and creativity. Optional modules based in the Departments of Media & Communications, Computing, and the Institute of Management Studies will complement and challenge the scientific perspective, acknowledging the richly diverse, unique and culturally-specific nature of human aesthetic and creative practice.

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.

The world of news and journalism is changing at an unprecedented rate. This programme offers an individual and innovative blend of contemporary multimedia journalism that ensures you will be prepared for the future of a rapidly developing news industry.

You’ll learn a range of cutting-edge digital skills to help you investigate news stories. You’ll also learn how and why good journalism matters by putting it in its wider cultural context.

Why study BA Journalism at Goldsmiths?

• Learn from media professionals with extensive industry experience and leading academics involved in ground-breaking research.
• Work on a real-world news website (EastLondonLines), covering breaking news stories that really matter to the local community.
• Develop an arsenal of digital skills, and learn to integrate them with a core of essential reporting and news-writing skills. Digital skills taught on this programme include:
  • Video journalism
  • Data Journalism
  • Mobile Journalism
  • Web programming
• Get training with a range of digital video equipment to support your practice, including DSLRs, and ENG (electronic news gathering) cameras.
• Produce a long-form news feature on a subject of your choice, which will allow you to bring together all the digital and news-writing skills learned over the course of this degree. Examples of previous projects can be found below.
• Build up a portfolio of work, get advice on careers and work experience, and benefit from our close links with London’s thriving world-class media industry.

This MA draws on urban sociology to explore the meaning of cities, urban life and culture.

The programme covers topics including the politics of gentrification, urban community, infrastructure and the intricacies of urban culture, alongside lectures on urban policy, food politics, poverty and migration.
You will also zoom out to consider the broader meaning of urban sociology and its ongoing contribution to social science. With over two-thirds of the global population destined to live in cities by 2050, there has never been a more important time to research and understand urban life.

Why study MA Sociology (Urban Studies) at Goldsmiths?
Critically engage with urban work

• The degree brings together social analysis, activism, and inventive research methods to critically engage with various dimensions of urban work – from policy-making, research and cultural interventions, to the management of social programmes and institutions.

Take a multi-disciplinary approach

• The MA is distinguished by a focus on experimental empirical research and covers the following disciplines: sociology, geography, anthropology, architecture, cultural studies, history, fine arts, media and communications.

Experience research-led teaching

• We use research-led teaching to explore the importance of sociological knowledge in understanding cities, urban economies, culture, politics and social justice.

Analyse and explore spaces and places

• You’ll analyse the organisation of contemporary cities, including the built environment, commerce, housing, culture, political and social infrastructures. You'll also explore how distributions of wealth, power and culture in spaces and places are constituted through political, material and social processes.