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Course information

Length

1 year full-time

Department

Centre for Academic Language and Literacies

Course overview

This Diploma is a Pre-Masters programme aimed at postgraduate students who are looking to develop or consolidate their language skills in academic English and study some background theory in these subject areas.

You'll also have the opportunity to study some background theory, familiarise yourself both with ways of working in British academic culture and in the standards required at Masters degree level.

If you wish to go on to study either at Goldsmiths or elsewhere in Britain you'll be given help and support in finding an appropriate programme.

If you pass the programme at the required level (a pass in all modules with an overall score of 50% or more), you can progress onto one of the following MA programmes:

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Margaret Remana or Marl'ene Edwin.

What you'll study

Overview

Core English for Academic Purposes modules concentrate on different areas of language development, made up of the following two 15-credit modules:

  • Academic Writing and Grammar Development
  • Academic Listening and Speaking

Two further modules consider interdisciplinary themes and integrate academic content with language and study skills development. These modules provide a useful background for students in European intellectual approaches and some key theories of relevance to a range of academic disciplines.

Finally, you will attend a number of lecture modules taking place in other academic departments, putting into practice your developing language and study skills.

You will have a personal tutor and will receive support in researching and considering various MA degree options for your future studies.

You are encouraged throughout the programme to work independently and in particular to use the resources available in the Goldsmiths Library.

Assessment

Continuous assessment includes regular seminar presentations and researched essays. There will also be written, listening and oral examinations.

Module title Credits
Contemporary Theories

Contemporary Theories

30 credits

This lecture-based module takes you through the major intellectual ideas and the major thinkers associated with them, from the period of the European Enlightenment in the 18th century until the contemporary period.

 30 credits
Images and their Interpretations

Images and their Interpretations

30 credits

The aim of this module is to provide students with a brief introduction to some of the tools available in interpreting the kinds of images that surround us in everyday life. Initially, the module will focus on Barthes’ original approach to Semiology, the ‘study of signs’, and how these signs create a ‘system of representation’ and meaning through both language and image.

From this initial discussion, the module will progress on to what may be considered as an extension of Barthes’ focus on the everyday. Reference will be made to the concepts of ‘otherness’ and the ‘male gaze’ and how these concepts can be utilised in an examination of the images within such historical contexts as the colonial project and in more contemporary contexts such as the portrayal of the black body and the female body in the media and contemporary art.

 30 credits
Issues around Modern Knowledge, Modern Power

Issues around Modern Knowledge, Modern Power

15 credits

The aims of this module are: to introduce students to key sociological approaches to social divisions and differences; to foster students’ knowledge and understanding of the development of sociological thinking through the study of classical and contemporary accounts of social power, identity and inequality; to enable students to analyse and contrast differing approaches to the study of core sociological topics, including class, gender, race, religion and nation.

Prior to the lectures, pre-reading classes contextualise the lecture content, introducing students to key concepts and vocabulary. Post-lecture feedback classes enable students to compare their notes, check their comprehension and discuss key arguments and themes.

 15 credits
Issues around Media and Technologies

Issues around Media and Technologies

15 credits

What is the role of media and technology in cultural and social change? How do media affect us as bodily, psychic and social beings? How do digital technologies interact with older, analogue media and media-content? How do new media technologies connect to personal and group identity, social experience, political community, social and economic power, and the circulation of information within and across cultures?

These are the questions we shall pursue in this module, exploring the relationship between media and technologies - both old and new - in diverse areas of culture and society.

 15 credits

Credits and levels of learning

An undergraduate honours degree is made up of 360 credits – 120 at Level 4, 120 at Level 5 and 120 at Level 6. If you are a full-time student, you will usually take Level 4 modules in the first year, Level 5 in the second, and Level 6 modules in your final year. A standard module is worth 30 credits. Some programmes also contain 15-credit half modules or can be made up of higher-value parts, such as a dissertation or a Major Project.

Download the programme specification.

Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.

Between 2020 and 2022 we needed to make some changes to how programmes were delivered due to Covid-19 restrictions. For more information about past programme changes please visit our programme changes information page.

Entry requirements

International qualifications

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

Additional Requirements

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

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.

For this programme we require: UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) IELTS 5.5 overall with no component lower than 5.5. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for degree-level study.

Fees & funding

Annual tuition fees

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

  • International - full-time: £TBC

Find out about our postgraduate tuition fees and funding opportunities.

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. Please check the programme specification for more information.

How to apply

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.

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.

Staff

Joan Turner
Director of Centre for English and Academic Writing, Senior Lecturer.
Research: language in higher education; English for Academic Purposes; academic writing research;  academic literacies; intercultural communication; cross-cultural pragmatics; conceptual metaphor; English as an international/transnational language. Find out more about her book, 'Language in the Academy'. 

Timothy Chapman, BA, MA, DELTA
Academic writing; discourse communities; learner identities; interculturalcommunication; Computer Assisted Language Learning.

Dr Stella Harvey, BA, RSA Dip TEFLA, MA PhD
Discourse analysis; intercultural communication; home students' academic writing; EAP for PhD students; EAP for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship; content-based EAP for Arts and Humanities; translation; Guillevic.

Julia Lockheart BA MA MA 
Design and language; metadesigning, languaging, collaborative writing, co-authorship, cross-disciplinarity, writing purposefully in art and design (Writing PAD)

Paul Stocks BA, MA
English for academic purposes; academic writing; the East Asian learner; English for media studies; English for theatre and drama; English for computing.

Gary Riley-Jones MPhil (Cantab) MA PGCE BSc RSA Dip TEFLA 
Language and linguistics; English for Academic Purposes; Content-Based Language Teaching in the Arts; Critical thinking; Rancière; Teacher training; Academic writing.

Julia Lockheart BA MA MA 
Design and language; metadesigning, languaging, collaborative writing, co-authorship, cross-disciplinarity, writing purposefully in art and design (Writing PAD)

Paul Stocks BA, MA
English for academic purposes; academic writing; the East Asian learner; English for media studies; English for theatre and drama; English for computing.

Gary Riley-Jones MPhil (Cantab) MA PGCE BSc RSA Dip TEFLA 
Language and linguistics; English for Academic Purposes; Content-Based Language Teaching in the Arts; Critical thinking; Rancière; Teacher training; Academic writing.

Marl’ene Edwin, MA
Caribbean oral literature; creolistics; orality.

Careers

This programme will develop your skills in:

  • Critical reasoning
  • Textual interpretation
  • Oral and written communication

Successful completion at the required level will guarantee you a place on a relevant Goldsmiths degree programme.

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