English and Creative Writing degrees in Clearing

Literature and creative writing at Goldsmiths is bold, flexible, and richly diverse. You'll be taken on a thrilling intellectual and imaginative journey, asking challenging questions about how literature should be read in all its cultural, artistic and political contexts.

Clearing 2024 is now closed. If you're interested in applying to study at Goldsmiths, you can browse our degrees through our course finder.

If you'd like to get a better understanding of how Clearing works you can explore our Clearing Hub for further advice.

Why study English and Creative Writing at Goldsmiths?

You'll be encouraged to explore literature beyond the canon – from the impact of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements on 21st-century literature, to the role of the British Empire in the 18th- and 19th-century novel
You'll travel across histories, cultures, and languages and be encouraged to engage in a huge variety of debates around topics like gender and sexual identity, the Transatlantic slave trade, climate change, feminism, and philosophical ideas about what it means to be human across time
Our syllabus covers a diverse range of writing and writers, and you'll be taken on a thrilling journey from the Caribbean, New York, and Victorian London, to the American South via 1980s Northern Ireland, South Korea, Zimbabwe, Belarus, India, and Algeria
Our graduates have gone on to win prestigious awards including The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year and the Orange Prize for
Fiction, while others are now working as publicity directors, content producers, marketing officers, editors and teachers
London is the perfect place to study this subject – home to writers from Zadie Smith to Charles Dickens, you'll be able to wander the neighbourhoods where your favourite books and plays have been set, and you'll be connected to the city's vibrant publishing scene

I look back on Goldsmiths as a life-changing experience. I'm really happy and comfortable with who I am today, but I wouldn't have ended up as this person had I not gone to Goldsmiths.

Johnny, English literature graduate

Piles of copies of the Ali Smith book, 'How To Be Both' — We are home to the Goldsmiths Prize, which celebrates fiction at its most novel and brings contemporary writers to campus for readings and talks

A musical theatre production, featuring four students sitting on chairs while wearing formal clothing — There are lots of inspiring cultural events taking place on campus each week, from theatre productions to music shows

Applying through Clearing could lead to many new adventures, find out from our students what studying at Goldsmiths is like

Why choose Goldsmiths, University of London?

Goldsmiths was founded in 1891 and has been part of the University of London for nearly 120 years. Alongside this history comes an innovative and creative approach to the subjects you can study, and a commitment to social and environmental justice.

As a Goldsmiths student you'll enjoy a single-site campus in New Cross, South East London. It's in Zone 2 and just 10 minutes by train to Central or East London. So you can access the best of the world's top student city while still enjoying a friendly and supportive student community.

An aerial view of the Goldsmiths campus, with the College Green in the foreground and the back of the redbrick Richard Hoggart Building in the background — Enjoy a single-site campus experience just 10 minutes by train to Central or East London

London's Piccadilly Circus by night, featuring a London Underground sign in the foreground and big neon screens in the background — Make the most of being in London, voted the world's top city to be a student (QS Best Student Cities 2024)

Goldsmiths had a studenty buzz and a creative atmosphere, and the lecturers and tutors were very open to exploring new ideas.

Sara, English graduate and published writer

Want to know more about applying to Goldsmiths through Clearing? Explore our webpages for more information: