A cursory glance at Goldsmiths’ alumni list goes some way in explaining its reputation as one of the world’s leading creative universities. Nearly a quarter of Turner prize winners have passed through its doors, from Steve McQueen to Damien Hirst, and Antony Gormley to Charlotte Prodger. Blur formed here (in the French department, if you believe Alex James). Sam Taylor-Johnson credits Goldsmiths with giving her the “power to think for myself”, while Linton Kwesi Johnson, James Blake and Katy B all burnished their artistic spurs at the London New Cross campus.
This summer, Goldsmiths will continue that tradition by launching five new fully online courses spanning tech, psychology and children’s literature. One of these programmes, the MSc AI and Creative Practice, is believed to be among the first postgraduate degrees globally to merge artificial intelligence with the arts. It might just produce the first Turner prize (or even Brit or Booker) winner to create work using AI.
“People will come away [from the course] thinking the future isn’t written,” says Dr Rachel Falconer, head of creative technology and the course’s designer. “There isn’t a doomsday model imposed on creativity with the adoption of AI. The course offers methods for collaborating with AI as a generative, exciting new entity that opens up possibilities for innovation, inspiration and critical applications to creative practitioners. The creative edge has always been in the storytelling. A Goldsmiths education exists to sharpen that critical capacity. AI just raises the stakes.”
“Different is what we do,” is a strapline often used by Goldsmiths. And it’s clear the five new interactive courses are anything but run-of-the-mill. This is partly thanks to their flexibility, which opens up Goldsmiths’ world-class education to those who might not have had opportunity to study before, such as those with full-time jobs, people with disabilities, carers or students who can’t afford to live near campus.
Celebrated children’s author Michael Rosen – who, as professor of children’s literature, is teaching on the new online version of Goldsmiths’ Children’s Literature MA/PGDip/PGCert programmes, with Dr Emily Corbett as programme convener – believes online education has enhanced learning profoundly.
For Rosen, who studied an MA at the University of Reading in his 40s, an online course would have been a godsend. “My journey to campus was two hours door-to-door after work; four hours a day was taken up by travelling,” he recalls. “Many students on the Children’s Literature MA are full-time teachers or librarians – not having to travel to campus for lectures will help them hugely.”
That’s not all. As befits a university with a home in one of the world’s most ultra-diverse cities, Goldsmiths has relaxed entry requirements to open the door to students from all backgrounds. The foundation in computer science, for example, accepts students with no prior coding experience, allowing them to build skills from scratch.
As Falconer puts it: “One of the reasons I was keen to design the AI and Creative Practice course is that it affords the possibility to have a different type of student coming into this, somebody who will benefit from skilling up and moving sideways across the creative industries.”
Once enrolled, students can expect to flourish: the 2026 Guardian University Guide ranked Goldsmiths as the UK’s leading university for academic progression.
This is partly down to the innovative curriculums, which Rosen describes as “combining the creative with the critical”. At a time when big tech and blue-chip companies are seeking candidates with storytelling, creativity and critical thinking skills to solve complex problems, the courses place students in an enviable position to find roles in these sectors.
Two other courses offer a gateway into an AI market projected to reach £1tn in the UK by 2035. The postgraduate AI and Machine Learning MSc/PGDip/PGCert immerses students in natural language processing and machine learning, while also sharpening their abilities to analyse data, bake ethics into AI systems and turn a critical eye to algorithms.
Meanwhile, the foundation in computer science prepares students for BSc-level degrees and careers in software development, data analysis and cybersecurity. On the AI and Creative Practice course, students will use AI to produce artworks such as images, poetry and videos (which will be shown in an end-of-term exhibition), as well as organising a virtual daylong symposium.
As AI continues to permeate everyday life, there’s a growing need for professionals to understand how humans think and act. Goldsmiths’ real-world-oriented Psychology MA/MSc/PGDip/PGCert is perfectly suited for this rising demand.
The university’s trademark socially conscious ethos is also evident in the Children’s Literature programmes where the wordless books of Jeannie Baker, Emil and the Detectives’ gritty Weimar realism and the 17th-century Orbis Sensualium Pictus (AKA the world’s first children’s picture book) all make curriculum cameos.
Students on all online courses will be supported by a suite of tools, whether the video platform Panopto (which records lectures), or AI detection software Turnitin. It all helps personalise learners’ needs and experiences – or what some scholars call “human-centred digital pedagogy”.
Students can choose from a series of vocational pathways best suited to their career ambitions in subjects such as data science, games development or illustration. Flexibility runs through every stage – from how students join to how far they take it – with options to study full or part-time, pause if life gets busy, and progress at their own pace, whether that’s gaining a shorter qualification or continuing further depending on their goals.
Learning from your peers
Support is on-hand from a specialist Goal team (Goldsmiths online and adaptable learning) which creates cloud-based learning spaces centred around reflection and discussions.
“The students appreciate Goldsmiths giving them space to express themselves,” says Rosen. “Education often follows a ‘jug and mug’ model [the idea that students are empty vessels waiting to be filled with information]. But it works much better when there’s healthy interaction between teachers and students, and between students themselves. When students voice what they’re learning, they’re actively putting together their ideas. The best part is there’s no intimidation – nobody’s saying, ‘Why didn’t you know that?’”
It’s a non-didactic approach that sees students learning just as much from classmates as their teachers. “The peer group network as a student is an incredibly rich source of learning,” says Falconer.
This is all underpinned by Goldsmiths’ innovative digital-first approach, which not only encourages students to think and create differently, but could also produce standout children’s authors, psychologists equipped to make sense of an increasingly complex world, or even AI-enabled, Turner prize-winning art.
“We’re using this technology to extend ourselves and widen the education experience,” says Rosen. “Just five or 10 years ago, somebody wanting to put their hand up to speak in a virtual meeting would have been complicated. Now, it’s so easy and we’re all benefiting from it.”
Applications are now open to study online at Goldsmiths, University of London. Find out more and apply today
New online degrees
-
Artificial Intelligence and Creative Practice (MSc/PGDip/PGCert)
-
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (MSc/PGDip/PGCert)
-
Psychology (MA/MSc/PGDip/PGCert)
-
Children’s Literature (MA/PGDip/PGCert)
-
Foundation in Computer Science
