MPhil/PhD Art  MPhil/PhD Art Goldsmiths, University of London ../webroot/files/Institutions/cover_photo/1534093864Goldsmiths,-University-of-London.jpg

We support innovative art research in Fine Art, Curating, Art Writing and across disciplines.

The MPhil/PhD Art is a 3-4 year (full-time) or 6-8 year (part-time) research project, the pursuit of which may involve your already-established practice, or may require the development of new modes of practice specific to the project.

There are three different pathways that you can choose to study:

• Pathway 1: Thesis by Practice
• Pathway 2: Thesis by Practice and Written Dissertation
• Pathway 3: Thesis by Written Dissertation

To find out more about each of these pathways, please see the ‘Structure’ tab below.

We consider all elements of the MPhil/PhD to be sites of rigorous experimentation and encourage researchers to pursue their projects through processes of making, thinking, collaborating, investigating, experimenting, analysing and speculating. Bearing this in mind, we understand that the shape and trajectory of your research may change as you make connections and develop your practice throughout the course of your research. We will work with you to develop the most appropriate – and generative – means of pursuing, documenting and disseminating your findings, as best befits your project.

Throughout the course of your research, you will relate your research to the work of other artists and cultural workers in the field. As befits your project, you also make connections beyond the field with the work of writers, philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists and others. In this respect, the model of the PhD encourages you to follow your curiosity for, and make connections with and between, the thought, work and action of others.

Another distinguishing aspect of art research is the need to document process, and you will be encouraged to think expansively about how you do so. How might documentation become a space for reflecting on decisions made, however intuitively you arrive at these in the first instance? How might documentation communicate the mode of enquiry as much as the findings? How might documentation draw attention to detail and process and the complexity inherent in thinking, making, questioning and communicating art?

You'll be part of an active and collaborative research community that is there to provide support as well as to challenge you throughout.

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.