Program Overview

MRes Media & Communication

The Master of Research (MRes) degree prepares you for study at MPhil/PhD level.

Why study MRes Media & Communication at Goldsmiths

• We welcome proposals for research in any area connected with media, communications, and cultural theory and practice.
• The programme combines taught modules in research methodology with a 20,000-word dissertation, and offers advanced-level training to appropriately qualified students.
• We give priority to those with proposals for research within the areas of interest of our staff.
• You will be assessed through your research dissertation, and a portfolio of two essays.
• The Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies has been ranked second in the UK for 'world-leading or internationally excellent' research (Research Excellence Framework, 2021) and 16th in the world (third in the UK) in the 2024 QS World Rankings for communication and media studies.

Length

• 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time

Entry requirements

• You should have an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class standard in a relevant 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.

International qualifications

• We accept a wide range of international qualifications.
• 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.

Fees

• Home - full-time: £9150
• Home - part-time: £4575
• International - full-time: £19000

Department

• Media, Communications and Cultural Studies

How to apply

• Apply directly to Goldsmiths using our online application system.
• We advise you to get in touch with the programme contact before you apply for a research programme.
• 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.

Submitting your application

• 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
• If available, an electronic copy of your educational transcript
• Details of your research proposal

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 2-5 page 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 1 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.

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.

Fees and funding

• Annual tuition fees:
  • Home - full-time: £9150
  • Home - part-time: £4575
  • International - full-time: £19000
• Funding opportunities:
  • ESRC/SENSS Doctoral Studentships
  • Fully funded ESRC studentships are available to research students via this Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP).

Research in the department

• Launched in 1978, Goldsmiths’ Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies (MCCS) is one of the oldest and largest media departments in the UK.
• The Department has equal research strengths in media and communications and in cultural studies research, in humanities and in social sciences approaches, and in theory- and practice-driven work.
• Many of the projects undertaken within the Department are collaborative in nature.
• Members of the Department have published many books with high-impact international presses, on a diverse range of topics.

Five research strands

• Our current research centres are:
  • Digital Culture Unit
  • Centre for Feminist Research
  • Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre
  • Centre for the Study of Global Media and Democracy
  • Topology Research Unit
• The Department’s research falls into five main strands which make up our research groupings:
  1. Media and Democracy
  2. Economy, Culture and Communication
  3. Media Futures
  4. Gender, Feminism and Contemporary Cultures
  5. Screen Cultures and Media Arts

Careers

• The Department of MCCS aims to develop students who should be able to express themselves creatively and self-critically in theoretical and/or practice work.
• You'll also develop:
  • An understanding of the workings of the media and their broad cultural and social impacts
  • An understanding of the pleasures of media consumption