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.

The first year is the beginning of three years of intensive studio and research laboratory practice. Each year you are allocated a studio space that forms the focal point of your activities. In the final year you mount an exhibition of your Studio Practice for assessment, which is then open to the public. 

Throughout the programme you'll be taught through individual tutorials in your studio, group tutorials, and mixed-year studio practice presentations. The parallel Critical Studies course is designed to support your practical work in the studios. The lectures and seminars introduce and develop key issues that inform diverse art practices and encourage you to extend your critical faculties and develop your ability to discuss, write about, analyse and judge contemporary art. In the third year you demonstrate your research skills and ability to pursue an argument of your own choice in a dissertation.

Assessment

Studio practice coursework is continuously assessed through individual tutorials and group seminars. This is complemented by studio presentations at Year 1, viva voce at Year 2, and a final exhibition at Year 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'll 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'll 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'll 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'll 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.

Learning and teaching

On this degree you'll be taught through intensive studio and research laboratory practice, tutorials, and mixed-year studio practice presentations. This will enhance your academic knowledge of the subject, improve your communication skills, and develop your technical and creative skills. You'll also attend lectures and seminars where you'll hear about ideas and concepts related to specific topics, and where you'll be encouraged to discuss and debate the issues raised. 

But this is just a small proportion of what we expect you to do on the degree. For each hour of taught learning, we expect you to complete another 5-6 hours of independent study. This typically involves carrying out research and producting work. This emphasis on independent learning is very important at Goldsmiths. 

Studio teaching

Each year you'll 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.

Studio 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.

Critical studies

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 practising 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.

Find out more about these learning and teaching approaches.

Skills and careers

Skills

All undergraduate programmes in the Department of Art aim to equip you with the necessary skills to develop independent thought and confidence in your practice. These skills will also be of use in other career paths you may wish to follow. You'll develop the following transferable skills:

• critical and analytical skills
• creative and practical skills
• ability to express ideas clearly
• IT skills

We provide 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 while they are here. 

Careers

Many graduates 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.

The interdisciplinary nature of the programme will enable you to work in a variety of fields (eg media, museums, education, the music business, and academia) and progress to a variety of careers, including:

• practising artist
• art historian
• arts administrator
• gallery curator
• arts journalist
• teacher
• lecturer
• writer
• conservationist
• designer

• Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths

About the Department of Art

We specialise in making, curating and writing about contemporary art in a dynamic, critical and interdisciplinary environment. We have 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.

Facilities

Our spectacular Ben Pimlott Building provides purpose-built teaching space on campus, including some of the art studios, lecture theatres, and digital media labs. The studios benefit from generous floor-to-ceiling windows. The department provides space for:

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

You also have access to College-wide facilities.

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's 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 occupied by students from all three years of the course. This arrangement maximises opportunities for conversation and exchange, and helps 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. Admission is free.

Open Days

Find out more about the Department of Art Open Days.

Find out more about Goldsmiths

• Student life
• Campus life
• Facilities
• Open days

Graduate and student profiles