How we live with difference is the key issue of our time. Issues relating to race and ethnicity, whether immigration, Islamophobia, #blacklivesmatter, or media diversity, are at the forefront of public debate. The MA in Race, Media and Social Justice will equip you with critical and theoretical tools to unpack and deepen your understanding of contemporary debates on race, ethnicity and racism.
Goldsmiths is a centre of pioneering critical race scholarship and you will be taught by leading figures in the field. This interdisciplinary degree will introduce you to 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 focus on the cultural industries which underpins the degree enables you to apply these theories to understand why representations of race and ethnicity take the shape that they do in news, film and social media. A series of industry talks from BAME practitioners working in the industry is designed to expand your practical as well as academic insight into issues of diversity in the media and other sectors.
This MA is taught across two departments - Media and Communications and Sociology – that are recognised as world-leading in their respective disciplines. As a postgraduate student you will join the active 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.
Core modules
You will study these core modules:
Option modules
You also take 60 credits of option modules from within the Departments of Media and Communications and Sociology, or relevant modules from other departments at Goldsmiths such as Theatre and Performance, Politics and International Relations, English and Comparative Literature, Centre for Cultural Studies and Anthropology.
Examples of modules that may be of particular interest to students on this course include:
Assessment consists of coursework, extended essays, reports, presentations, practice based projects or essays/logs, group projects, reflective essays, and seen and unseen written examinations.
This degree will equip you with the ability to recognise and negotiate sensitive ethical issues in research and representation. You will also hone your ability to listen and speak to diverse audiences.
As a graduate from this degree you will develop excellent critical thinking and teamwork skills. The practical and research elements of the course will also equip you with the skills to design and implement projects. These transferable skills are highly valued by employers across many sectors.
The knowledge and skills you will graduate with from this degree will mean you are well-equipped to enter a diverse range of roles, particularly in relation to issues of equality, diversity and social justice. This could include governmental and public administration roles, NGO and charity work, policy work, and business and communications. Moreover, the emphasis on media will suit graduates interested in careers in creative and cultural industries.
This MSc provides a detailed and systematic understanding of the international relations of the Americas, with regard both to inter-American relations and relations with the world beyond. The programme's graduates have established careers in research, journalism, teaching and policy formulation and implementation in both government agencies and NGOs.
This programme, which is unique in the UK, introduces students to skills essential for the analytical study of the international relations of the Americas and assessment of the hemispherical and global issues currently facing foreign policymakers in the nation states of the Americas.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of three core modules (45 credits), three optional modules (45 credits) and a dissertation (90 credits). Please note: all optional modules are subject to availability.
Core modules
Optional modules
Students choose three optional modules from a selection that includes the following:
Students may choose elective modules up to a maximum of 30 credits from other UCL departments or University of London colleges, subject to the Programme Director's approval.
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 15,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of seminars, lectures, presentations, independent reading and research. Assessment is through written assignments including essays and primary source analysis, and a dissertation.
Fieldwork
Many of our Master's students undertake fieldwork in order to carry out research for their dissertation projects.
There may be travel costs associated with fieldwork. The institute has limited funds available to students to help towards the costs of fieldwork. These funds are awarded on a competitive basis on the criteria of academic performance to date, the quality of the research proposal and the importance of fieldwork for completing the research.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: International Relations of the Americas MSc
Graduates of this programme are well placed to use their skills and knowledge to find employment in government, business, journalism, finance and international NGOs, teaching, or for further research in this field.
Employability
This MSc enhances employability for those interested in careers in the diplomatic service, think tanks, journalism, and business with Americas markets.
The UCL Institute of the Americas occupies a unique position at the core of academic study of the region in the UK, promoting, co-ordinating and providing a focus for research and postgraduate teaching on the Americas - Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States.
The institute actively maintains and builds ties with cultural, diplomatic and business organisations with interests in the Americas, and provides resources to the wider academic community, serving and strengthening national networks of North Americanist, Latin Americanist and Caribbeanist scholars.
Students benefit from tuition by world-leading scholars in an academic environment at the cutting-edge of research in the humanities and social sciences.
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
This new course will help you focus critical theoretical debates, explore the real world in all its complexity and study innovative modules that examine the most urgent issues in world politics and international relations.
You'll deepen your understanding of mainstream approaches and learn about new analytical insights such as the sociological understandings of international relations, critical security studies, non-Western international relations, and intersectionality.
As part of your studies you'll consider both the formal and informal power relationships within global politics, while building an awareness of the importance of cultural and social practices. You'll develop an ability to question some of the assumptions that have traditionally defined the discipline to the exclusion of important issues such as gender, race and class.
From analysing the theories of intellectual heavyweights such as Foucault and Bourdieu, to unpicking a global campaign, explore the hinterland between the big three promotional professions and the media and society on this innovative MA.
Right now the roles within public relations, advertising and marketing are converging. So this MA isn’t about studying ads – it’s about becoming a professional who can understand the dynamics of power that exist between these professions, and critically intervene in today’s media landscape.
At its core this masters looks at how we can better serve society by improving communications across these disciplines, and how we can develop as professionals who can adapt within a challenging media world. You’ll learn how to reflect on the intellectual theories of the past and apply them to the present, so you plan the first decade of your career.
We want you to understand the power struggles that exist between these three professions so we look at public relations, advertising and marketing as inter-related disciplines, drawing on theoretical and professional debates around issues such as globalisation and homogenised consumption. We also discuss current industry expectations looking at the crossovers that exist between creativity, management and strategy.
We’ll tackle some of the big things that are changing when it comes to the way the world works - aspects such as globalisation, the control of knowledge, digital technologies, and the way content is created. You’ll also get an introduction to media and cultural theory, which lies at the intersection between the promotional professions, media and society.
This is a theory-based programme, but it also offers vocational elements, so you can take practice-based options in subjects ranging from online journalism and social media campaigning, to design methods and media law and ethics. You'll also get the latest insights from industry professionals across a range of sectors through our visiting speaker series in the Spring.
We take fields such as sociology, anthropology media and cultural studies to understand how public relations, advertising and marketing get together, where they overlap and where the tensions lie. This means we might take an anthropological perspective on how the promotional professions work together to develop a product – not just in terms of its messaging – but in terms of how it was conceived and came to market in the first place.
It’s important to mention that this isn’t a business studies-style MA; it’s a rigorous, academic programme investigating promotional workers and their use of media in today’s campaigns and debates.
Throughout the core components of the degree, you'll examine the very wide range of ways in which public relations, advertising and marketing is represented in society, together with the skills and techniques enacted by practitioners in their day-to-day roles. You will be encouraged to develop your critical and analytical skills, but also to think creatively and become more confident in your aesthetic judgment.
Goldsmiths prides itself on its innovative and critical approach, and you will be encouraged to immerse yourself in its wider intellectual environment in order to deepen your understanding of the cultural infrastructure surrounding branding and promotional media.
Core modules
Option modules
We offer a wide range of option modules each year. Below are some examples of modules that are currently running. For a full list, please contact the Department of Media and Communications.
The MA is assessed primarily through coursework essays and written projects. Practical modules may require audiovisual elements to be submitted. It will also include a dissertation of approximately 12,000 words.
From account executives to digital copywriters and from product managers to media planners and sponsorship coordinators, our graduates enhance their careers by working across disciplines, across countries, and across everything from social media and content generation, from sponsorship and events marketing, to corporate communications or government communications.
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
Public relations is a growing presence in daily life. It’s behind much of the news and websites we read, the social media we follow and brands we choose to buy. It shapes how we see the world around us. This programme examines the social, political, cultural and economic functions and consequences of PR.
Core modules explore theoretical perspectives applied to PR within communication and cultural studies, and introduce you to its role as a cultural intermediary. You’ll learn to deconstruct the strategies and tactics of PR campaigns and understand how they affect both the organisations that use them and their social and cultural contexts.
You can also tailor this programme to suit you: you’ll choose from optional modules to gain specialist knowledge of topics such as new media, political communication, photography or communication and development. This isn’t a practical training course – instead it offers an insight into the way PR changes how we live, work and relate to each other.
Our School has a range of fantastic facilities to support your studies. The 58-seat Phil Taylor Cinema is equipped with Dolby Digital sound and high-definition projection facilities, as well as projectors for 16mm and 35mm film.
You can also work on your own projects in our 44 editing suites, equipped with Avid Media Composer editing software and Adobe Creative Cloud. The fully equipped TV studio also has a large green screen area, lighting and photo-flash facilities. We also have a track and dolly, sliders, Glidecam and various cranes, and you’ll have access to a new photographic dark room.
We also run a loans service where you can borrow a range of HD digital camcorders and various Canon stills cameras to help with your project work.
This course provides an in-depth understanding of promotional media and the role of promotion in social, cultural and economic life.
The promotional industries and professions – advertising, branding, marketing and public relations – play a fundamental role in media and society.
This course develops your ability to engage critically with promotional media by analysing various promotional forms and practices, and evaluating impacts and implications for individuals, organisations and societies. You will be introduced to key theoretical perspectives and scholarly debates regarding promotional culture, consumerism and the media, and will explore local, national and global contexts.
You will also have the opportunity to choose optional modules from across the School.
You will study research methods and undertake an independent research project, working under the guidance of an individual supervisor.
These are typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
MA modules will use a range of teaching and learning methods including lectures, group learning and project work, seminars, tutorials and workshops. Independent study is also crucial to this degree, as an opportunity to deepen your knowledge of the subjects introduced in lectures and seminars, and to develop your skills in analysis and research. You should anticipate spending at least 20 hours per week on independent study associated with your modules.
Assessment methods may vary depending on the modules you choose. They’re likely to include essays, case analyses, group projects and reports. Optional modules may even use literature reviews, campaign reports or even video and photography projects.
This is not a practical training course, but it gives you a real insight into the construction, influence and impact of PR in a range of contexts.
You’ll also acquire or refine high-level skills in areas such as research, analysis, interpretation and oral and written communication, as well as having good cultural, political and critical awareness.
You’ll be well prepared for a career in PR or public affairs in a wide range of sectors, working in-house for large or small organisations or in an agency context. There are also opportunities for PR professionals in specialist sectors such as finance or the non-profit sector.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
How do gender, race, class, sexuality and age contribute to the formation of social identities? What role do ensuing power differences between these factors play in our globalised and mediatised world? What measures have been taken, in the past and the present, in order to prevent discrimination and exclusion? And how do academic, cultural, artistic, journalistic, and policy-making institutions respond to these societal challenges?
Emancipation, the recognition of differences, and awareness of intersections of gender with other factors of identity making (class, race, age, sexuality, etc.) are crucial tools in analysing social and cultural relations in today’s postcolonial and post-secular societies. Our Master’s programme in Gender Studies provides you with an interdisciplinary understanding of these tools, as well as advanced analytical skills. You will be trained within an internationally diverse cohort of students and academic staff to become a professionally successful 'agent of change'.
Your education in gender studies will combine theoretical knowledge with its practical application in all parts of the programme. You will develop research skills through intensive coursework and participate in an internship that combines your subject matter interests with professional experience. Theory and practice come together in your final thesis project, which serves to synthesise your one-year experience in gender studies at Utrecht University.
After completing this one-year programme, you will be able to develop sustainable perspectives for future research and action, and have the motivation and knowledge to implement these perspectives in emancipation policies, diversity management, social and cultural initiatives, and political activism.
After graduation, you will have advanced knowledge of and insight into the field of women’s and gender studies. You will be an expert on factors of identity making such as gender, class, race, age, and sexuality. You will also have the academic skills to:
In addition, you will be able to reflect on your course work and further develop your professional practices during your internship. You will then employ these practices in a theory based academic thesis.
The insights from gender studies and emancipation research are useful to a growing number of organisations and companies seeking to develop and/or critically reflect upon policies to effectively intervene on behalf of specific target groups and market segments. Read more about possible career prospects.
The Social Justice and Education MA will help students to identify, examine and understand key sociological and philosophical perspectives on social justice, including issues of race, class, gender and sexuality, and education. Participants will explore the personal and political dimensions of social justice concerns and develop their professional, practical and research skills in this area.
This programme provides students with the opportunity to address, in a unique way, the complex links between social justice and education, focusing on key current policy and political debates about the role of education. They will also be able to develop, extend and reflect on their own professional interests, concerns and practice and how to address pressing issues of social justice in their everyday profesional and personal lives. Through their engagmeent with cutting-edge research in this area they will learn tools for fighting for social justice and transformation in the educational areas relevant for them.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of two core modules (60 credits), two optional modules (60 credits) and a dissertation (60 credits), or a report (30 credits) and a third optional module (30 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
Students can also choose from a wide range of Master's-level optional modules across the IOE offering.
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 20,000 words or a report of 10,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of face-to-face evening sessions and interactive online learning using a variety of teaching and learning styles. Sometimes a conventional lecture-based approach is taken, with the aim of providing an overview of the field. Lectures are usually followed by open discussion or group work. At other times a seminar format is adopted involving, for example, group discussion of set reading, a video or an introductory presentation. Assessment is through coursework essay assignments, plus submission of a report or dissertation.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Social Justice and Education MA
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
Graduates of this programme are currently working across a broad range of areas. Some are leaders, managers, teachers and practitioners in the compulsory education sector across international contexts. Many are working as professionals in NGO organisations specialising in social justice across many countries such as Chille, Japan, Canada and the UK. Graduates can also be found working as civil servants and government officials. In addition, many find places in the higher education sector including across a range of professional roles, as researchers, and as university lecturers worldwide.
Employability
Students develop the capacity to:
The Department of Education, Practice and Society at UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is home to an interdisciplinary grouping bringing together high-quality teaching and research in the sociology, philosophy and history of education, international development, post-compulsory and vocational education and higher education.
The Social Justice and Education MA is taught by world-leading sociologists and philosophers within the department who have expertise in theory, research methods, policy analysis and impacting social change. They are experts in issues such as equality and human rights, gender, 'race', sexuality, youth, disability and social class. Those teaching are active researchers and will introduce the latest research and developments in their fields.
This programme explores sociological and philosophical perspectives on social justice and equalities and also explores processes of social transformation and change. Key issues debated include understanding and responding to social and educational disparities in international contexts. The programme equips students with essential theoretical and methodological research skills for critically engaging with social justice issues including understanding power relations from various perspectives. The MA attracts a diversity of both home and international students thus providing excellent educational and professional networking opportunities.
Students gain invaluable opportunities to study with leading scholars and a cohort of internationally diverse students across the IOE MA cluster in sociology, social justice and policy studies in education.
Gender Studies is an exciting area of research, exploring gender relations in the past, present and future. This programme draws on a variety of perspectives to analyse social and cultural phenomena through the lens of gender.
Supported by our Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies, you’ll be able to explore approaches from across a range of academic disciplines. You’ll learn the principles of conducting research on gender and examine issues that both shape and are shaped by gender relations, such as family roles, reproductive technologies, citizenship, sexuality and culture.
Core modules in gender theory and research will lay these foundations, and you’ll build on them by choosing from a range of options on topics such as gender and development, care, gender equality in the workplace, race and sexuality. There has never been a more exciting time to study gender, and this programme will give you an insight into this vital and fascinating field.
Research insight
The Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies at the University of Leeds is at the forefront of gender research, working closely with other research centres within the School and maintaining strong links with universities around the world. It’s a welcoming and stimulating environment in which to explore gender issues from a range of perspectives.
Core modules in your first semester will introduce you to research and different theoretical approaches in gender studies.
You’ll consider feminist research practices, including ethical and epistemological issues. At the same time, you’ll engage with contemporary theoretical approaches to analyse different – and sometimes contradictory – explanations for the source and operation of gender, and how it affects different areas of social life.
These modules lay the foundations of the programme, supporting your learning as you choose from optional modules to focus on specific topics.
This programme will give you strong research skills as well as a broad base of knowledge. You’ll put these into practice when you complete a dissertation on a topic of your choice, which you’ll submit by the end of the programme in September.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
For more information on typical modules, read Gender Studies MA Full Time in the course catalogue
For more information on typical modules, read Gender Studies MA Part Time in the course catalogue
We use a range of teaching and learning methods including presentations, seminars, tutorials and lectures, depending on your choice of optional modules. Independent study is also crucial to this degree, as an opportunity to develop your skills and form your own ideas.
Assessment methods may vary, depending on the modules you choose. They could include presentations, book reviews, research proposals and essays. We offer plenty of support including feedback on essay plans and draft dissertation chapters and regular opportunities to meet with academic staff on a one-to-one basis.
This degree programme equips students with transferable skills such as research, analysis and communication, as well as a range of subject-specific knowledge and skills.
Graduates have gone on to further study, or into careers in teaching, policy forums, NGOs, campaigning and activism, and local, national and international agencies.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website
Interrogate the status quo with leading academics who don’t just talk and write about politics, but actively campaign to create change in the world
All around us governments are in crisis, protests are on the increase, dissent and mobilisation is widespread and relayed across the world instantaneously on a screen. Communication is at the very heart of the structures, institutions and actors that give meaning to politics in governments, in parties and on the street.
How do we live our politics on a daily basis? Who holds the power to influence political decisions that structure our lives? How might democracy be done better? What is the relationship between politics, the individual, institutions and the media? These are the kinds of questions we’re asking on this programme.
And we take an expansive view, so you’ll learn about politics and communications not just as a singular discipline, but as a subject that’s much more nuanced, moving across everything from governments and parties to NGOs and activists; from economic and environmental policy and conflict representation, to issues of race, gender, social theory and popular culture.
Alongside traditional lectures and seminars we also do workshops and research exercises to reflect on how political communications are part of the rituals and rhythms of our daily lives and how this is influenced by others.
As part of the programme you may also be tasked with designing and pitching your own political campaign. We use these kinds of exercises because we think it’s only by actively engaging with political communications that we can better understand how it is part of our everyday lives.
We’re active not passive so this course isn’t just about having our heads in books, it’s about applying ideas to the real world. We’ll expect you to be reading the news every day because we want you to engage with what’s happening and unravel it.
There are also opportunities to interact with industry experts, get involved in live campaigns and collaborate with people coming from all over the world. We pride ourselves on fostering a supportive environment and offering an open door throughout your time with us. At Goldsmiths the conversations are always just starting.
The programme’s core curriculum will address a range of contemporary issues, debates and theory in political communication, including work on:
Theory is usually applied to a number of case study areas on, for example: conflict and war; elections; social and environmental debates; foreign affairs; the economy, finance and business; crime and disorder. Theory and discussion is always related to current events and debates.
The MA in Political Communications is built up of modules that must count up to 180 credits. The programme comprises:
Core modules
We offer a wide range of option modules each year. Please view the website for more information.
Assessment
The MA is assessed primarily through coursework essays and written projects. Practical modules may require audiovisual elements to be submitted. It will also include a dissertation of approximately 12,000 words.
We know that political organisations relish thinking graduates. It’s why we focus on delivering a programme that’s rooted in a critical perspective. By the time you leave we want you to feel transformed so that you can go forward and transform the world.
Our graduates go on to work within government organisations, political parties, NGOs and news media and across the public and private sectors - from the Houses of Parliament and BBC World Service to Google, Greenpeace and the UN.
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
