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Course information

Department

Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies

Length

3-4 years full-time or 4-6 years part-time

Course overview

Goldsmiths is an exciting space for postgraduates, with numerous international speakers passing through, a huge range of interdisciplinary seminars and reading groups and a very open and warm environment for the exchange of ideas.

  • The MPhil/PhD programme in Religious Studies is part of the internationally renowned Faiths & Civil Society Unit, where an annual series of public seminars attracts speakers and delegates from all over the world, and a permanent group of 12 Fellows resources the Unit with ideas and connections straight in to the worlds of policy and practice.
  • Supervision is available for studies with a focus on any aspect of religion, belief and spirituality in the contemporary world, especially as studied interdisciplinarily, though including a focus on theology and/or religious studies, and/or the study of religion sociologically. A particular specialism which is distinctive to Goldsmiths is the connection between religion and belief and social and public policy. Engagement between faith and the public professions (social work, teaching, youth work, health, community work) is another distinctive area of expertise and applications in these areas are particularly welcome.
  • Much of the work of a PhD is organised through one-to-one supervisory sessions. You will also be able to participate in a range of methods training courses in both quantitative and qualitative methods, which will introduce you to the tools of the trade as well as innovative advanced methods.
  • These methods training courses are designed to help you with your MPhil/PhD study but also to help you become a full and capable social researcher equipped with the range of advanced methods skills that we are able to offer.
  • Assessment is by thesis and viva voce. 

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Professor Adam Dinham or Dr Panagiotis Pentaris.

Entry requirements

You should normally have (or expect to be awarded) a taught Masters in a relevant subject area. 

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.

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 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 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.

Fees, funding & scholarships

Annual tuition fees

These are the fees for students starting their programme in the 2023/2024 academic year.

  • Home - full-time: £4712
  • Home - part-time: £2356
  • International - full-time: £16610

If your fees are not listed here, please check our postgraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.

It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time under a student visa. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.

If you are looking to pay your fees please see our guide to making a payment.

Additional costs

In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page.

There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments.

Funding opportunities

Find out more about postgraduate fees and explore funding opportunities. If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an application deadline.

AHRC studentships.

How to apply

Apply now

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
  • Contact details of a second referee
  • A personal statement – This can either be uploaded as a Word Document or PDF, or completed online
  • Contact potential supervisors from STaCS department and name a supervisor in the application who is willing to oversee your project

          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)
  • Details of your research proposal

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.

Before you apply for a research programme, we advise you to get in touch with the programme contact, listed above. It may also be possible to arrange an advisory meeting.

Before you start at Goldsmiths, the actual topic of your research has to be agreed with your proposed supervisor, who will be a member of staff active in your general field of research. The choice of topic may be influenced by the current research in the department or the requirements of an external funding body. 

If you wish to study on a part-time basis, you should also indicate how many hours a week you intend to devote to research, whether this will be at evenings or weekends, and for how many hours each day.

Research proposals

Along with your application and academic reference, you should also upload a research proposal at the point of application. 

This should be in the form of a 2,000-word statement of the proposed area of research and should include: 

  • delineation of the research topic
  • why it has been chosen
  • an initial hypothesis (if applicable)
  • a brief list of major secondary sources

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 conditional on you achieving a particular qualification. 

If you're applying for external funding from one of the Research Councils, make sure you submit your application by the deadline they've specified. 

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.

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