Program Overview

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Key information

Study mode: | 100% online
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Duration: | 2 years, part timeNext start date: | 9 September 2025Application deadline: | 12 August 2025Intakes: | September 2025, January 2026, and May 2026Tuition fees: | £16,416* (funding options and instalments are available)

Course overview

The online Global Cultures MA equips you with essential interpersonal and cultural skills for today’s interconnected world. Current reports from the forefront of world industry highlight a significant gap in soft skills, suggesting that the most relevant abilities for the future are those that machines cannot learn, such as creativity, empathy, and an ability to understand and negotiate different cultural contexts.

In a globalised world, these skills are crucial for engaging effectively with diverse colleagues, customers, clients, suppliers, and partners. Whatever industry you work in, studying our Global Cultures MA helps you to succeed in the modern workplace.

Why choose this online MA?

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Become a culturally competent leader

Learn how to break down barriers and create meaningful connections, enhancing your leadership capabilities in a globalised environment. Gain the expertise to lead diverse teams effectively and inspire collaboration across cultures.

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Develop in-demand soft skills

Gain expertise in communication, leadership, critical thinking, teamwork, creativity, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. These are the vital, often overlooked, soft skills necessary for success in today's workplace.

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Meet a diverse cohort

Join a diverse and international community, studying alongside professionals from various backgrounds and specialisms. Engage in group assignments and social forums to develop a global mindset.

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Apply what you learn

The capstone research project allows you to apply your knowledge by focusing on aspects related to your workplace or career focus. Past projects have covered diverse topics such as diversity and inclusion practices in Hong Kong education institutions and the role of racism in the Canadian police.

Global Cultures Institute

The Global Cultures Institute aims to explore how we can understand and value our diversity and differences. We live in a time where ‘culture wars’ are relentlessly being pushed through our media landscapes. And so often, the power structures that underpin these differences are associated with harmful division. But how do we navigate and address these pressing issues?

A huge part of it involves understanding their origin and development. The Institute exists to promote this through research, education, and public and community engagement. It exists, in short, to talk beyond boundaries.

What you'll study

In the Global Cultures MA, you’ll explore how global cultures are defined, how they differ, interrelate, and coexist in today’s increasingly diverse and interconnected world. This understanding is crucial for developing the skills to communicate effectively across different cultural backgrounds.

Modules cover key concepts such as race, gender, language, and migration, deepening your knowledge of global cultures. Additionally, you'll learn essential cultural practices and how to creatively and critically apply this knowledge to real-world contexts.

Through individual and group projects, you will develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. Brainstorming and discussing ideas with peers will enhance your professional skills, flexibility, and adaptability. Encountering divergent opinions, styles, and approaches will foster your awareness and empathy, preparing you to navigate and contribute effectively to our interconnected global society.

Module overview

This online Global Cultures MA course is comprised of 11 modules, totalling 180 credits. You'll take four 15-credit Cultural Concept modules (60 credits), four 15-credit Cultural Practice modules (60 credits), and three Research modules (60 credits).

All 11 modules on the course are compulsory. The three research modules (Advanced Research Skills; Research Project Design; Independent Research Project) are core and you must pass them to complete the award. There is an optional (non-credit bearing) Study Skills module designed to prepare students who may have been out of education for some time.

Cultural Concept modules

You’re required to take the following four Cultural Concept modules:

Language and Global Identities

Many modern Western preconceptions about language and culture are shaped by ideas about the nation-state, national languages, and national literary traditions. But this often masks complex multilingual practices and complicated historical precedents. This module will unpack some of these complexities and help you understand a range of processes that underpin the relationship between language and global cultural identities.

Connecting Cultures: Migration and Immigration

Explore representations of the movement and displacement of people, whether forced or voluntary, across the Atlantic world. This module offers diverse perspectives on the issues arising from cultural encounters, for example, by conquest, colonialism, exploration, exile, slavery, diaspora, urbanisation, and economic migration.

Case studies from a variety of media will focus on themes such as alienation, belonging, assimilation, difference, cultural pluralism, borders, and otherness. These will be considered in terms of their specific local and national relevance and transnational implications.

Gender and Globalisation: Transhistorical and Transcultural Approaches

The module introduces the key questions and concerns in gender theory, their histories and some of their disciplinary and cultural variances. You’ll discover the fields of research that have been instrumental in developing a critical understanding of gender roles and relations, systems, and identities.

With a focus on the Atlantic World, you’ll learn how gender materialises through culturally and linguistically specific practices at local and transnational scales. You'll also explore how gender manifests in literary, visual, and popular culture.

Race and Ethnicity in a Global Context

Adopting a global lens, focusing on theory and cases from across the world, this module introduces you to theoretical, historical, and contemporary debates around ethnicity and race. You’ll explore key theories used to analyse the production of race, racism, and colonialism in a historical and contemporary framework.

You’ll examine the role of race in contemporary debates around equality, diversity, and inclusion. You’ll also consider the ways in which various categories such as class, gender, sexuality, among others, intersect with race.

Cultural Practice modules

You’re also required to take four Cultural Practice modules:

Diversity and Inclusion in Practice

This module prepares you to develop an applied practice of diversity and inclusion. You’ll critique diversity and inclusion policies and initiatives from a range of professional and organisational settings in relation to their cultural values and contexts.

You’ll consider how popular interventions such as ‘unconscious bias’ training intersect with understandings of systemic inequality and personal responsibility. Using critical analytic tools such as intersectionality, you’ll also consider the relationship between knowledge, power, and discrimination.

Communicating Global Cultures

How do cultural producers communicate across geographical and linguistic divides? How do they adapt material for different audiences? What narratives do they seek to tell, and how? What motivates individuals and organisations to share their personal cultural perspectives online?

In this module, you’ll compare and critique different methods of cultural communication and the innovative ways to communicate complex ideas through various media.

Creating Connections: Integrating Knowledge in a Fragmenting World

This module seeks to trace, trespass, and redraw the boundaries we so often unconsciously construct and defend as we create and share knowledge. It considers important paradigm shifts, notorious controversies, the latest interdisciplinary theories, and inspiring advancements in understanding.

You’ll consider a range of cultural and professional case studies which challenge silo-thinking and institutional orthodoxies, and the new possibilities that lie beyond them.

Creative Leadership for Global Challenges

As a global citizen, you’ll think in a sustained and critical way about how studying global cultures can serve to create social good. Taking an experiential, challenge-centred approach, you’ll choose a real social issue relating to your region.

You’ll then conduct research into its origins and key factors and consider how the concepts and approaches you have learned might offer creative solutions. For the assessment, you’ll complete a consultancy report evaluating the problem, designing a creative solution, and a leadership strategy to implement it.

Research modules

You’re also required to take three research modules:

Advanced Research Skills

This module prepares you to conduct your independent research project by seeking to develop the advanced skills required to conduct and communicate original postgraduate research.

This encompasses best practices in locating primary and secondary sources independently, appropriate use of online databases and archives, research ethics, citational and bibliographical practice. It’ll also include in-depth training in key methods for research in global cultures, including critical analysis of texts and sources in a variety of media (textual; visual; audio; audio-visual; digital).

Research Project Design

This module will guide you through selecting and defining the scope of your Independent Research Project. It aims to develop the essential skills for research in arts and humanities, including the design of a relevant proposal and how to select, review, synthesise, and integrate information and data into your proposal.

You’ll be encouraged to develop advanced analytical skills by challenging, interpreting, and exploring views and perspectives of a given topic related to global cultures.

Independent Research Project

Guided by an experienced supervisor, you’ll carry out independent research on a topic of your own choosing, pursuing your interests in greater depth. In the past, for example, projects have covered:

• Diversity and inclusion practices in Hong Kong education institutions.
• Systemic racism in the handling of missing and murdered Black and Indigenous women and girls in the US police force.
• The role of racism in the police practices in Canada.
• The intersection of migration policies with gender and racial inequalities.
• Decolonisation in cultural heritage practices.
• Affirmative action for gender equality in Japan.
• Diversity and inclusion (D&I) practices with a focus on gender in Latin America.
• The impact of D&I practices in graduate recruitment in the legal sector.

Study Skills module (optional)

This module provides additional training in the key skills required to study global cultures online. You’ll learn how to analyse primary and secondary sources of research, use evidence critically and rigorously, and cite material appropriately and avoid plagiarism.

Some of the core academic writing skills covered include handling and organising information and data, note-taking, critical reasoning, verbal, and written presentation skills.

Entry requirements

Standard entry requirements

You’ll need to meet ONE of the following criteria:

• A high 2:1 (65% or above) honours degree (or above) or international equivalent in any subject area.
• A 2:2 honours degree or international equivalent in a relevant subject area (humanities, law or social sciences).

If you have a lower degree classification , or a degree in an unrelated subject, your application may be considered if you can demonstrate significant relevant work experience, or offer a related graduate qualification (such as a master's or PGDip).

Non-standard entry requirements

You’ll need to meet ONE of the following criteria:

• A 2:2 honours degree or international equivalent in a non-relevant subject area. Your application will need to be supported by a CV and a 500-word written statement (see details under ‘Written statement and supporting information’ below).
• An ordinary or third-class honours degree or international equivalent in any subject area. Your application will need to be supported by a CV and a 500-word written statement (see details under ‘Written statement and supporting information’ below).
• A master's degree at merit (or above) or international equivalent in any subject area.

English language requirements

English language band: B

To study at King's, it is essential that you can communicate in English effectively in an academic environment. You’re usually required to provide certification of your competence in English before starting your studies.

Nationals of majority English speaking countries (as defined by the UKVI) who have permanently resided in this country are not usually required to complete an additional English language test. This is also the case for applicants who have successfully completed:

• An undergraduate degree (at least three years duration) within five years of the course start date.
• A postgraduate taught degree (at least one year) within five years of the course start date.
• A PhD in a majority English-speaking country (as defined by the UKVI) within five years of the course start date.

Career options in Global Cultures

The online Global Cultures MA equips you with the crucial skills for success in any field: the ability to navigate cultural differences and engage effectively with colleagues from global businesses. This awareness of cultural nuances and the ability to collaborate across international boundaries are invaluable in today’s interconnected world, ensuring that you stand out in the competitive job market.

Graduates of the programme will possess highly sought-after soft skills, including communication, leadership, critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, creativity, adaptability, empathy, and emotional intelligence. These skills are essential for building effective relationships, motivating teams, and communicating across diverse backgrounds.

The online Global Cultures MA can open doors to a wide range of roles across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, regardless of the industry. Businesses and organisations increasingly value cultural awareness and diversity, making this MA highly relevant in today’s globalised world. International organisations, charities, and governments specifically seek staff with deep knowledge and appreciation of different cultures and languages.

No matter what success looks like to you—whether it's leading people, becoming a better communicator, or facilitating group interactions—this course can help you achieve your goals.

Hear from a graduate

"After completing the course, I returned to Japan and am now working on international academic and student exchanges at the University of Tokyo. What I learned at King's broadened my horizons and helped me to add new and more rewarding dimensions to my career."

- Dr Sayoko Oda, online Global Cultures MA

How you’re assessed

Assessments are crafted to evaluate your knowledge, understanding, and critical awareness of course topics. They also assess your ability to analyse and apply specialist knowledge to practical situations. These assessment methods may vary between modules. They’re likely to include one or more of the following:

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Group presentations

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Written coursework

(essays and reports)

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Online exams

Meet your Programme Director

Dr James Corke-Webster

Dr James Corke-Webster is a classicist and historian. Before joining King’s College London in 2017, he studied Classics and Theology in Oxford, Cambridge, and Manchester. He was subsequently awarded a Fulbright Scholarship at Berkeley. An expert in early Christian and late antique history, James held lectureships at Edinburgh and Durham before coming to King’s. His research interests include the development of Christian thought, the socio-political changes of late antiquity, and the historiographical methods of early historians like Eusebius of Caesarea.

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