MA Children's Literature

You should have (or expect to be awarded) an undergraduate degree of at least second class standard in a related field.

You might also be considered for some programmes if you aren’t a graduate or your degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that you have the ability to work at postgraduate level.

Additional Entry Requirement for the Creative Writing Pathway

To apply to study on the Creative Writing Pathway you should follow the usual application process, submitting a substantial piece or pieces of original creative writing, up to a maximum of 3,000 words, with your application. This work does not have to be in the form of writing for children/young adults. It will be considered by the Module Leader of the Workshop in Creative and Life Writing.

Your submission should include one item from the following list: 1 short story; 7-10 poems; 1 or 2 extracts from a novel; 1 or 2 extracts from non-fiction writing, for example, memoir.

International qualifications

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 7.0 with a 7.0 in writing and no element lower than 6.5 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study.

Find out more about tuition fees.

Additional costs

We produce reading packs electronically and in hard copy format. There’s a small charge for the hard copy reading packs. You may also be asked to contribute towards trips and some materials for your modules.

Find out more about funding opportunities for home/EU applicants, or funding for international applicants. If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an application deadline.

Funding may be available from schools’ Continuing Professional Development (CPD) budgets.

You apply directly to Goldsmiths using our online application system. 

Before submitting your application you’ll need to have:

• Details of your education history, including the dates of all exams/assessments
• The email address of your referee who we can request a reference from, or alternatively an electronic copy of your academic reference
• A personal statement – this can either be uploaded as a Word Document or PDF, or completed online

           Please see our guidance on writing a postgraduate statement

• If available, an electronic copy of your educational transcript (this is particularly important if you have studied outside of the UK, but isn’t mandatory)

You'll be able to save your progress at any point and return to your application by logging in using your username/email and password.

When to apply

We accept applications from October for students wanting to start the following September. 

We encourage you to complete your application as early as possible, even if you haven't finished your current programme of study. It's very common to be offered a place that is conditional on you achieving a particular qualification. 

Late applications will only be considered if there are spaces available.

If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an earlier application deadline. 

Selection process

Admission to many programmes is by interview, unless you live outside the UK. Occasionally, we'll make candidates an offer of a place on the basis of their application and qualifications alone.

Find out more about applying.

Careers

Graduates will be well placed to specialise in children’s literature in a range of careers:

• Teaching
• Publishing
• Children’s media
• Writing texts for children
• Librarianship
• Academic study
• Youth and community work

Skills

You will acquire a wide-ranging understanding of the field of children’s literature and the social, political cultural processes that surround it. You will also develop your critical thinking, communication and research skills.

Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths. 

Michael Rosen

Award-winning author Michael Rosen, who has written more than 140 books and was the fifth British Children's Laureate, is one of the leading teaching staff on the programme. Michael’s appointment at Goldsmiths has a personal element to it. He is following in his mother’s footsteps as she taught in the same department (Educational Studies) from 1963-1966.

"I'm very excited about the idea of developing an MA in Children's Literature at Goldsmiths, especially as there's a huge appetite for it in inner London. We have potentially a huge number of people who want to study this fascinating subject.

There are so many interesting elements to Children's Literature that perhaps aren't obvious; psychological and anthropological elements for example. Children's Literature is essentially a human practice, it's part of how we initiate our children into life, but also how we begin to shape how they think about and question what they are doing.

Goldsmiths has been on my radar for a long time. My mother taught there in the 1960s at a time when Goldsmiths was becoming an incredibly prominent Higher Education institution."

Staff who teach on the programme include:

• Professor Len Platt
• Dr Julia Hope
• Dr Vicky Macleroy
• Maggie Pitfield
• Dr Laura Teague
• Alison Griffiths
• Dr Sarah Pearce

Find out more about staff in the Departments of Educational Studies and English and Comparative Literature.