Courses and structure

This degree is divided into three levels, each of which corresponds to a year of study. This programme consists of two interdependent elements: Studio Practice and Critical Studies. You must pass both elements to progress to the next level.

Teaching and learning

Each year you will be allocated a studio space that will be the focal point of your activities. All the studios are mixed, with students from all three levels sharing the studio spaces, providing valuable peer support. You will determine the nature of your practice and, with guidance from the tutorial staff, be encouraged to work in any medium that you choose. Studio teaching is enhanced by technical support, which introduces you to techniques relevant to the practical development of your work. You'll also be expected to research the appropriate context and debates around your chosen area of working practice.

In Studio Practice each year you're assigned a tutor who will be part of a group of staff with overall responsibility for supporting and assessing your progress. Throughout the programme you will be taught through individual tutorials in your studio space and mixed year group presentations and discussions. This enables a valuable exchange of ideas between all students on the programme.

In Critical Studies, lectures and seminars will introduce and develop key issues, which inform contemporary art practices and encourage you to extend your ability to discuss, analyse and write about contemporary art. This provides a framework for judgement so that you can develop your work in the critical context of art practice.

The programme seeks to engage and extend your critical faculties as a practicing artist and to enable you to develop your ability to talk about, analyse and judge contemporary art. You'll be taught through a systematic programme of lectures, seminars and tutorials. Contemporary Critical Studies takes a distinct form in each year that allows you to work towards developing an independent research programme.

Assessment

Studio practice coursework is continuously assessed through individual tutorials and group seminars. This is complemented by studio presentations at Level 1, viva voce at Level 2, and a final exhibition at Level 3. Critical Studies is assessed through essays (Years 1 and 2) and a dissertation (Year 3).

Year 1

Studio Practice introduces you to the acquisition of fundamental knowledge and gives you the basic practical skills necessary to initiate your independent research. You will gain experience of making art as a full-time activity and an awareness of the critical debates and contexts that inform Studio Practice.

Your tutors assess your Studio Practice coursework continuously and offer feedback at the end of the autumn and spring terms. Your work at Level 1 is also assessed through an end-of-year presentation at the summer term.

Critical Studies is delivered through a series of lectures and seminars that examine the key ideas and issues relevant to the ways in which contemporary art practice is made, circulated, judged and understood. You will analyse the different contexts and the history that informs contemporary art practice, and critically explore the diversity of media, materials and ideas employed by contemporary artists. You'll also be introduced to critical approaches to study and have more opportunities for discussion in the studio. This course is assessed through essays submitted at the end of the first and second terms.

Year 2

Studio Practice in Year 2 begins to deal with more complex issues and the selective application of acquired knowledge and practical skills. It is a period of synthesis, leading to a deeper understanding of your practice.

Your tutors assess your Studio Practice coursework continuously and offer feedback at the end of the autumn and spring terms. You make a presentation of selected work for assessment as a viva voce in the summer term, where you will be asked to discuss your work in depth.

Critical Studies deepens your understanding of the ideas and issues introduced in Year 1 through seminars and independent study. Seminar options may include: Postcolonial Identities and Representation; Art and the Everyday; The Right To The City; Utopias in Contemporary Art; Post-Criticalities; Acts of Appropriation; The Film Effect – Moving Image Art in Context. This course is assessed through essays submitted at the end of the first and second term.

Year 3

Studio Practice in Year 3 supports an independent, self-motivated practice and your potential to work as an artist. You'll demonstrate a high degree of understanding, critical awareness and independent judgement. At this level you will consolidate your practical and critical skills in preparation for the Final Exhibition and further independent practice.

Your tutors assess your Studio Practice coursework continuously and offer you feedback at the end of the autumn and spring terms. The Final Exhibition of your Studio Practice is assessed at the end of the summer term. The final exhibitions are then open to the public as a Degree Show.

In Critical Studies you select a subject for independent research based on your understanding of your practice and the concepts explored throughout the degree. This is developed through a series of tutorials leading to a dissertation, in which you should demonstrate your research skills and ability to pursue an argument of your own choice. You present your dissertation for assessment at the start of the second term.

Skills and careers

Our Art programmes are aimed at equipping you with the necessary skills to develop independent thought and confidence in your practice. As well as this, these skills will be of use in other career paths you may wish to follow.

Our BA programmes enable you to progress to postgraduate level in art-related disciplines. In addition, the interdisciplinary nature of the programme will enable you to progress to a variety of careers: practising artist, art historian, arts administrator, gallery curator, arts journalist, teacher, lecturer, writer, conservationist or designer. Students have been successful in many fields including media, museums, galleries, education, the music business and academia.

While at Goldsmiths, our students actively seek opportunities to exhibit their work through external networks. Many have continued to be successful, practising artists long after graduating, winning major prizes and exhibiting around the world.

The Turner Prize shortlist has consistently included at least one of our former undergraduates, including Angela de la Cruz in 2010. Six of the prize-winners have studied here: Grenville Davey, Antony Gormley, Damien Hirst, Gillian Wearing, Steve McQueen and Mark Wallinger.

See a full list of Department of Art alumni who have been nominated for the Turner Prize.

The Department of Art provides you with a series of opportunities for specialist advice and further information to complement your studies and prepare you for professional life after graduation. Our students actively seek opportunities to exhibit their work beyond Goldsmiths through external networks whilst they are here. Many continue to be successful practising artists long after graduating.

The skills you'll develop

Critical and analytical skills; creative and practical skills; ability to express ideas clearly; IT skills.

• Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths
• Our alumni

About the department

The Department of Art

We specialise in making, curating and writing about contemporary art in a dynamic, critical and interdisciplinary environment. We've a world-leading reputation that brings together students and researchers from all over the world.

We work with a network of artists, curators, galleries and museums both in London and internationally to create an inspiring and dynamic place in which to study and develop an artistic practice. Many graduates of Goldsmiths Art Department are among the most recognised names working in art today.

The Turner Prize shortlist has consistently included at least one of our former undergraduates, including Angela de la Cruz in 2010. Six of the prize-winners have studied here – Grenville Davey, Antony Gormley, Damien Hirst, Gillian Wearing, Steve McQueen and Mark Wallinger. See the full list of Alumni Turner Prize winners.

The latest Research Assessment Exercise (2008) confirmed that Goldsmiths’ Department of Art has retained its position as one of the top Fine Art research departments in the country.

Goldsmiths’ Art students form an important part of the stimulating environment that is the London art scene. The Department’s international reputation enables it to establish and maintain links with many of the world’s most prestigious institutions and university Art departments. This, together with the cosmopolitan nature of the student body, provides unique opportunities to develop cross-cultural collaborative projects.

More information about the department can be found on the Department of Art's pages.

Open Days

Find out more about the Department of Art Open Days.

Please also see College-wide open days.

Facilities

Following rapid expansion in the Department of Art over the last two decades, our spectacular new Ben Pimlott Building opened its doors to students in January 2005. It provides purpose-built teaching space on campus, including some of the art studios, lecture theatres, and digital media labs.

The large north elevation of the building is entirely glazed, flooding the building with natural daylight and revealing the unique mix of studios and digital media research laboratories within. The studios are naturally ventilated and benefit from generous floor-to-ceiling windows.

A two-storey chunk of the box space has been removed at high level to leave a roof terrace, which is wrapped with a metal structural scribble making the building an unmistakable landmark on the south London skyline.

The department provides space for:

• art studios
• performance work
• installations
• temporary projects and exhibitions
• a range of research laboratories

You also have access to the Rutherford Building, which integrates library, computing and language learning facilities. It allows access to information for learning, scholarship and research at a single point, breaking down the boundaries between traditional and electronic resources.

Studios

All students have their own studio space. This is a place in which to work, to meet and spend time with other students, and to have tutorials. It is also a base from which to organise your work in other parts of the college – such as the various research laboratories, the workshops, and the library – as well as your research visits to galleries and exhibitions in London.

The studios are open, and are occupied by students from all three years of the course. This arrangement maximises opportunities for conversation and exchange, and helps greatly to encourage sharing of knowledge, interest and experience between students.

Further details on our Department of Art facilities and laboratories.

Staff

The Department of Art has 47 academic staff. We also have 19 technical staff providing a service from our research laboratories. See a full list of our Art academic staff and their research interests.

Annual Degree shows

Our annual undergraduate degree shows take place in June and are held at Goldsmiths.

Private View

Thursday 14 June 2012 from 6pm to 9pm

Open to public

• Friday 15 June 2012 from 10am-7pm
• Saturday 16 June 2012 from 10am-7pm
• Sunday 17 June 2012 from 10am-4pm
• Monday 18 June 2012 from 10am-7pm

Admission is free.

Student profiles

Drew, a former BA Art Practice (now BA Fine Art) student

"If you’re studying art, you hear 'Goldsmiths' a lot, and there are reasons to explain why so many celebrated artists in contemporary art have studied here. Fine Art study requires a lot of independent work and self-discipline, so I was very aware that a large institution like Goldsmiths would be very challenging. There is so much inspiration in the course; students have a variety of backgrounds and ideas towards their art and tutors are always there to accommodate those individuals."

Yuko, BA Fine Art

"Here, everything is questioned from the biggest theories to the smallest quotidian gestures. The College truly develops your curiosity, your desire to make the most out of your time and to enjoy the feeling of pushing yourself to the limits of your knowledge.

Here I found a space in which to get involved in the construction of a community that aims to learn, experiment and exchange ideas that defy the status quo."

Luana, BA Fine Art