BA (Hons)
Curating
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Why study BA Curating at Goldsmiths
This degree will advance your knowledge of contemporary art and nurture your skills for a career in curating and curatorial practice.
- The degree will support you in developing a wide set of curatorial skills. Over three years you will work on a variety of assignments, closely mentored by course staff and practising curators. This will encourage you to become a more critical thinker and confident researcher, able to shape your curatorial projects successfully and communicate your work to a wide variety of audiences.
- Alongside compulsory modules on the history, theory and practice of curating, you will be able to choose from option modules in areas such art history, fashion, technology and performance, allowing you to focus your interests and get the most out of your degree. You will gain a good understanding of both the history of art and the history of exhibitions, learning how curatorial work shapes our understanding of visual culture.
- You'll become familiar with the dynamics of different professional settings – from large museums to volunteer-run organisations and digital spaces – through visits and on-site project experience.
- A core component of the course is a placement within an arts organisation during the second year. In the past, students have worked with the Wellcome Collection, Whitechapel Gallery, Sir John Soane’s Museum, Cubitt Artists, Women’s Art Library, Bethlem Gallery, The Showroom, Gasworks, Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Queens Museum (NY) and Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art.
- In your third year, you'll work collaboratively with peers to organise a public exhibition with partner institutions, which will further develop your skills in planning, programming and publicising exhibitions and events.
Contact the department
If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Dr Janna Graham.
UCAS code
P130
Entry requirements
A-level: BBB
BTEC: DDM
IB: 33 points overall with Three HL subjects at 655
Length
3 years full-time
Fees
Home - full-time: £9250
International - full-time: £20160
Department
What is curating?
Curating refers to a wide range of activities including the care of collections and the development of exhibitions, festivals, screenings, digital platforms and more. Curators engage with historical knowledge and respond to urgent social issues, staging culture as a way of bringing together different people.
Goldsmiths has its very own public art gallery on campus, where you can experience world-class exhibitions by international artists.
The annual Goldsmiths Degree Shows attract industry interest and are an inspiring celebration of student creativity.
Find out about your course
What you'll study
Year 1
Compulsory modules
You'll take the following compulsory modules:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Modernities | 30 credits |
| Curating and the Public Sphere | 30 credits |
| Seeing and Showing | 30 credits |
| Space and Time | 30 credits |
Note about optional modules (if available): The above is indicative of the typical modules offered, but is not intended to be construed or relied on as a definitive list of what might be available in any given year. The module content and availability is subject to change.
Teaching style
This programme is taught through scheduled learning – for example, through a mixture of lectures and seminars. You’ll also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study. This includes carrying out required and additional reading, preparing topics for discussion, and producing essays or project work.
How you'll be assessed
You’ll be assessed mostly through coursework. Normally this consists of essays, sometimes accompanied by creative projects, group projects, multi-media projects, presentations, symposia, reviews, and studio work.
Credits and levels of learning
An undergraduate honours degree is made up of 360 credits – 120 at Level 4, 120 at Level 5 and 120 at Level 6. If you are a full-time student, you will usually take Level 4 modules in the first year, Level 5 in the second, and Level 6 modules in your final year.
A vibrant and inspiring learning environment
Fostering collaboration and peer support is a crucial aspect of the course. BA Curating students benefit from their own dedicated room, which they can use to stage work-in-progress, organise events and socialise around their course commitments. As a student here you'll be encouraged to initiate your own projects or join some of the existing ones, to enrich your studies.
You can also get inspired by a varied programme of public events within the Department of Visual Cultures and the wider Goldsmiths community, as well as the world-class exhibitions at the Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA).
Our London location means that there are lots of opportunities to benefit from a rich network of art organisations, with some of the teaching delivered through gallery visits. Studying in London means you’ll never run out of art spaces, events, museums and visual culture to explore.
London is a hotbed of visual culture – you'll find world-renowned galleries and museums but also other thought-provoking material all around you.
South East London has a rich tradition of creativity and curatorial practice, including regular arts festivals and public engagement activities.
Careers
BA Curating is a great platform from which to launch a career in the cultural sector. The degree will prepare you for life after university, ensuring you graduate with the ability and confidence to forge a successful career. Graduates are well placed to pursue careers in:
- Galleries and museums – for example as curators
- The art world – for example as artists, art historians or theoreticians
- The cultural sector more widely
- Journalism and the media
- Teaching and research
- The commercial world
Indeed, many of our alumni are active in the contemporary art world, whether working for major art and cultural institutions, or having set up cultural initiatives of their own.
Other graduates choose to continue their studies to Masters level and beyond.
You can read more about the career options open to you on our dedicated Visual Cultures careers page.
Skills
Through practical assignments and industry experience, students on the BA Curating degree will develop a number of attributes and skills that will prepare them to work in the cultural sector and beyond.
Some of the skills you'll develop during the degree include:
- Knowledge of contemporary art and culture
- The motivation and agile thinking required to get new projects off the ground
- Project management skills, including making things happen with small budgets and to tight deadlines
- Planning, programming and publicising exhibitions and events
- The ability to collaborate and forge strong working relationships with others
- The ability to communicate your work through presentations, digital platforms, and in writing
- A critical understanding of the opportunities and challenges of the cultural sector
- Strong research skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Creative thinking
- Resilience and resourcefulness
- The ability to question existing ideas and concepts
- A commitment to ethical and sustainable ways of living and working, to social justice and racial equity
By remaining attentive to the different audiences their work seeks to address, graduates learn to foster new connections between people and create new opportunities for collaboration.
'Model for a Virtual Exhibition', Palina Shturma (2020)
This project by Palina Shturma was developed in response to a first-year assignment brief for the module ‘Curating and the Public Sphere’. “I made a model for a virtual exhibition on the topic of contemporary superstitions that focuses on the impact of post-truth era fake news and alternative worldwide web networks,” explains Palina.
'Viva Las Projectionistas: ARLIS celebrates women's art through slides', Agata Hosnova and Marie Kordova (2019)
Third-year students invited artist Gisou Golshani to engage with the slide collection of the Women’s Art Library at Goldsmiths. The result was a sound performance and interactive slide game for visitors to the Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) within an exhibition dealing with the digitalisation of archives.
'Mapping Well/Being', Anika Tabachnick for the Ableism Research Group in collaboration with the Visual Cultures Society (2020)
'Mapping Well/Being' was a series of workshops and a common space to map how we experience mental wellness, mental illness, disability, and the effects of neoliberal discourse around 'mental health' in the university. Students engaged in guided exercises to explore different elements of 'wellbeing' and disability support around the Goldsmiths campus. The workshops culminated in an exhibition and celebration of the work and ideas which emerged from them, including an artist talk by Leah Clements.
Learn from experts
You will be taught in the Department of Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, which has been at the forefront of curatorial research and practice for well over a decade, and has helped to redefine the profession.
The BA Curating programme draws on this research, and is taught by leading curators, theorists and researchers. The degree combines a strong grounding in art history and contemporary cultural theory with the development of practical know-how and industry experience.
Core staff
In addition to the programme leaders above, core teaching staff on the programme include:
- Dr Alice Andrews
- Dr Yaiza Hernández Velázquez
- Dr Adnan Madani
- Dr Emily Rosamond
- Professor Irit Rogoff
- Dr Nicole Wolf
Entry requirements
A-level: BBB
BTEC: DDM
International Baccalaureate: 33 points overall with Three HL subjects at 655
UAL Extended Diploma: Merit overall
Access: Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including 30 Distinctions and a number of merits/passes in subject-specific modules
Scottish qualifications: BBBBC (Higher) or BBC (Advanced Higher)
European Baccalaureate: 75%
Irish Leaving Certificate: H2 H2 H2 H2
Alternative qualifications and experience
See our full list of undergraduate entry qualifications.
We welcome students with a range of educational experiences. If you believe you may not meet the standard qualification requirements we would still encourage you to apply because we consider all aspects of your application when making a decision.
We’ll pay particularly careful attention to your personal statement, which is your opportunity to demonstrate your interest in the subject you’ve applied for. Your referees are also welcome to include any relevant contextual comments around your academic achievements. We’ll look at all these things when making a decision on your application, as well as your qualifications and grades, and may still be able to offer you a place.
International qualifications
We also 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 6.0 with a 6.0 in writing and no element lower than 5.5 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for degree-level study.
Fees and funding
Annual tuition fees
These are the UG fees for students starting their programme in the 2024/2025 academic year.
- Home - full-time: £9250
- International - full-time: £20160
If your fees are not listed here, please check our undergraduate 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 if you require a Student Visa, however this is currently being reviewed and will be confirmed in the new year. Please read our visa guidance in the interim for more information. 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
We offer a wide range of scholarships and bursaries, and our Careers Service can also offer advice on finding work during your studies. Find out more about funding your studies with us.
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. Please check the programme specification for more information.
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Hero image credit: BA Curating Placement host, Ofri Cnaani, 'Schoooooool With Many Wholes, Amos Rex Museum, Helsinki, 2019 with collaborators Warda Ahmed, Minna Henriksson, Tellervo Kalleinen, James Prevett, Vidha Saumya / Museum of Impossible Forms, and Caroline Suinner / Ruskeat Tytöt.
