MPhil/PhD
Visual Sociology
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Why study MPhil/PhD Visual Sociology at Goldsmiths
We offer MPhil and PhD research programmes in Visual Sociology for full or part-time study.
- The Department of Sociology is home to some 40 scholars and researchers whose work is known and cited internationally.
- We offer a stimulating research environment for undertaking postgraduate research in a wide range of sociological fields, including:
- Visual sociology
- Race, ethnicity, religion and nationalism
- Gender and social life
- Sociology of culture
- Inventive and sensory methods
- Urban culture, world cities, economies and social exclusion
- Migration
- Medicine and the life-sciences, health, illness and disability
- Science and technology
- Children and young people
- Human rights and political sociology
- Socio-legal studies and global justice
- Social and cultural theory
- Political theory and political sociology
- Philosophy of social sciences
- We particularly encourage cross- and interdisciplinary research in emerging fields of study and creative practice.
- The MPhil/PhD in Visual Sociology offers candidates the opportunity to submit a portfolio of practical work as part of their thesis alongside a reduced textual component. The programme is supported by the Visual Sociology Lab, providing access to an extensive range of technical resources for audio/visual production.
Contact the department
If you have specific questions about the degree, contact the Postgraduate Research Officer, Sociology.
Length
3-4 years full-time or 4-6 years part-time
Fees
Home - full-time: £TBC
Home - part-time: £TBC
International - full-time: £19000
Department
You'll research
Our community of postgraduate researchers is an integral part of the department's vibrant research culture. We actively foster the full participation of our research students in the work of our research Centres and Units. This includes contributing to departmental publications, running research blogs, hosting student-led seminars, conferences, and reading groups, constructing new platforms for mediated intellectual spaces, and much more.
Doing a PhD is an amazing discipline. It shapes you in terms of your career, but also personally in terms of how you think about the world and yourself. It also has the potential to make an impact on the world.
Structure
First year
In the week before the beginning of the academic year in September there is an Induction Programme for all new research postgraduates at Goldsmiths. You will be introduced to Goldsmiths-wide and departmental facilities and procedures, and attend workshops on what is involved in doing a research degree.
In the first year, work on your own research project is coupled with general training in sociological research methods – run both within the department and by the Goldsmiths Graduate School. Mandatory training modules take place during the first term of the first year (for full-time students) or can be spread over two years (for part-time students). You may apply to be exempted from mandatory training modules if you can demonstrate that you have already received equivalent training of comparable, MA-level standard as part of a previous qualification.
Training for students on the MPhil/PhD in Visual Sociology consists of:
- Visual and inventive practice
- Core qualitative research methods
You may also take other modules depending on your specific training needs, such as learning a language, or auditing an MA course, either in the department or elsewhere, of particular relevance to your research project. You are also encouraged to attend seminars in other parts of the University of London, attend conferences, and go on outside modules such as those organised by SeNSS (South East Network of Social Science) or CHASE (Consortium for the Humanities and Arts South East England).
From the beginning of your programme you will receive regular supervision, and you will be expected to produce work to be discussed in supervision. In May/June of each year your progress and any outstanding training requirements will be formally reviewed by the Departmental Postgraduate Research Advisory Committee.
Fieldwork, upgrade from MPhil to PhD, and writing up your thesis
Unless you are writing a theoretical dissertation, your fieldwork or other process of data collection will typically start sometime between your first and your second year – in any case, after you have obtained ethical clearance for the research (theoretical dissertations are also subject to a research ethics approval process).
Between 18 and 24 months from your initial date of registration you are required to present a detailed thesis outline and two draft chapters for consideration by an internally appointed panel of examiners. This formal assessment (also referred to as 'upgrade') includes an oral examination and normally sanctions your transfer from MPhil to PhD registration.
You are expected to complete a PhD in three to four (full-time registration) or four to six years (part-time registration).
Teaching experience
Ideally, we would like all our students to gain some teaching experience. The department has Graduate Tutors and Post-Doctoral Teaching Fellows who do undergraduate teaching.
We also encourage our students to do some teaching at other institutions. However, we require that all students who wish to teach have successfully upgraded to PhD status before doing so.
Assessment
Assessment for the PhD in Visual Sociology consists of a written thesis (not exceeding 60,000-80,000 words) as well as a visual/aural component.
Careers
You will develop advanced research skills covering a wide range of qualitative and quantitative sociological methods, and an ability to develop advanced and extended forms of written argument and scholarly practice.
Our PhD students have taken up academic posts in sociology and related fields all over the world. Some have joined NGOs, GOs, or companies in the private sector, and taken employment as researchers, teachers, designers, and managers.
Staff and their research
Research by staff in the department is esteemed internationally, and has been externally funded by the ESRC, the AHRC, the British Academy, the Wellcome Trust, the Leverhulme Trust, and the European Research Council.
Find out more about research in the Department of Sociology – including the work of our research Centres and Units – and our staff.
Entry requirements
You should normally have (or expect to be awarded) a taught Masters in a relevant subject area, of at least high merit standard. We normally also expect an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class standard.
You might also be considered if you are not 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.
You do not need a degree or MA in Sociology to apply to do a PhD in Sociology, but you will need to be familiar with sociological ideas and debates. If you don’t have a background in sociology, you may be required to sit additional courses in order that you become familiar with the discipline.
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 7.0 with a 7.0 in writing and no element lower than 6.5 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 study.
Fees and funding
Annual tuition fees
These are the PG fees for students starting their programme in the 2025/2026 academic year.
- Home - full-time: £TBC
- Home - part-time: £TBC
- International - full-time: £19000
If your fees are not listed here, please check our postgraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.
It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time under a student visa. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.
If you are looking to pay your fees please see our guide to making a payment.
Funding opportunities
You may be eligible for the following funding:
Paying your fees
Find out about paying your tuition fees.
Additional costs
In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page.
There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments.
How to apply
You apply directly to Goldsmiths using our online application system.
We welcome proposals for research in any area of sociology. We give priority to those with proposals for research within the areas of interest of our staff. We are only able to offer you a place on the programme if a suitable supervisor has agreed to supervise your proposed research. Before you apply for a research programme, we advise you to study our staff pages to identify one or more potential supervisors for your research, and to get in touch with them to discuss your plans. Your prospective supervisor will need to confirm their willingness and ability to supervise your thesis before an offer can be made.
Before submitting your application you'll need to have:
- 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
- Details of your research proposal
- If available, an electronic copy of your educational transcript (this is particularly important if you have studied outside of the UK, but isn’t mandatory)
You'll be able to save your progress at any point and return to your application by logging in using your username/email and password.
When you apply, please indicate your intended research area and any preference for a particular supervisor. If you wish to study on a part-time basis, you should also indicate how many hours a week you intend to devote to research, whether this will be at evenings or weekends, and for how many hours each day.
How detailed a research proposal are we looking for on the application form?
What you put on the form and exactly what you end up researching may be rather different, but in order to judge whether or not to offer you a place, the department needs to know whether you have the broad outlines of a viable project. This means:
- A project that is both worthwhile and interesting, but not over-ambitious
- A project that can realistically be achieved within the confines of PhD on a full-time or part-time basis
- We need to be sure that you have thought about it carefully and are fully committed to the research
- We need to be sure that you understand what is involved in doing a PhD
- Your research proposal should give us enough information to be able to reach a decision about whether to interview you
When to apply
Applications from candidates who are self-funded are accepted throughout the year. Interviews will be arranged on an ad hoc basis.
If you're applying for external funding from one of the Research Councils, make sure you submit your application by the deadline they've specified.
We encourage you to complete your application as early as possible, even if you haven't finished your current programme of study. It's very common to be offered a place conditional on you achieving a particular qualification.
Selection process
Admission to the programme is based on an interview and the panel’s assessment of your application. Online interviews can be arranged when necessary.
Further guidance
Find out more about applying for a postgraduate research degree.
