Curating

Entry requirements

There's no preference for art/art history and students from a non-art background are welcome to apply. However, the course is run by the Department of Art, and students should consider themselves to be curating practitioners.

Applicants for Year One (Diploma stage): undergraduate degree of at least second class standard (or international equivalent) plus an element of professional experience (interning in a gallery or equivalent institution, curating own shows or degree shows etc).

Applicants for entry directly onto Year Two: full-time or part-time routes must show through interview and, where appropriate, portfolio that they have established a professional practice and have already completed and passed the coursework of one year for an equivalent Masters programme in Curating.

Work experience is absolutely essential to demonstrate that you have a clear sense of current trends and activities in contemporary art. This should be demonstrated through your experience, and expanded upon in your personal statement.

Months of entry

September

Course content

MFA Curating is designed for students who wish to take up the challenge of artistic, social and critical curating with a contemporary approach to the subject. It also helps students to develop their professional practice.

• In the MFA Curating at Goldsmiths, you’ll get to explore curating from a contemporary perspective. We’ll cover the subject from many different angles, including aesthetic, social, political and philosophical enquiries, practices and discourses relevant to present-day culture.
• You’ll learn about the history of curation through the study of the genealogies of curating as a discipline, but this degree is firmly focused on contemporary practices and the future of curation.
• This degree provides a practice-led research context for aspiring curators, cultural organisers and producers. It’s also open to creative practitioners at an early stage of their professional development, and professionals looking to take a different route in their career in the arts sector.
• As a two-part programme, MFA Curating gives you the freedom to experiment and innovate in the expanded and interdisciplinary field of curatorial practice through your Independent Research Project.
• Teaching on this programme is dynamic. You’ll expand your artistic and curatorial knowledge through ongoing conversations in the form of seminars, collective research and presentations, tutorials and reading groups.
• You’ll gain a practical understanding from site visits and writing classes in year one. In year two you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with fellow students through knowledge-sharing workshops.
• The MFA Curating is interdisciplinary and promotes the principles of critical thinking, listening and collaboration. This will help you develop the style and area of curatorial practice that you want to pursue. Whether exhibition-making, public programming, commissioning social or public projects, or working with artists and practitioners from other disciplines, this degree will give you the skills and confidence to take your next steps into the professional world of curating.
• Based in our world-renowned Department of Art, this degree allows for dialogue and potential collaborations with emerging practitioners about contemporary and future practice, and the most pressing concerns of our day.
• The MFA Curating is a leading programme in its field. It’s recognised worldwide for producing highly qualified curators and arts professionals, as well as those pursuing further academic study at the PhD level.
• Our graduates find employment in a range of leading arts-based organisations and sectors. Recent graduates have gone on to work in international museums, commercial galleries, art fairs, magazines, alternative spaces and not-for-profit organisations. Others choose employment as artists’ studio managers, arts education programmers, museum public talks and events organisers, gallery archivists, editors, and registrars.
• As well as being taught by leading academics from the Department of Art, you’ll also learn from some of the art world’s most influential professionals through our visiting lecture and guest speaker programmes. Recent speakers include independent curators, artists, and professionals from galleries such as the Tate Modern.
• This MFA gives you the chance to develop your practice. You’ll have the opportunity to work with organisations like Chisenhale Studios, Kunstraum London, and Cubitt Artists to develop curatorial projects. Placement opportunities and internships with the likes of Tate Modern will underpin your learning and give you the practical skills you need for your future career.
• Students of MFA curating also have the unique opportunity to engage with Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art on their public events programme.
• Upon graduation, graduates are eligible for one of three Junior Fellowships, designed to further their professional development. Currently, we offer one fellowship to work with the MFA Curating courses itself, taking part in the delivery of an academic programme, and two fellowships based at Goldsmiths CCA, supporting the delivery of exhibitions and public programmes.
• Why not visit one of our Postgraduate Art Open Days? You can also visit our Exhibitions and Events Archive.

Information for international students

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 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 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-level study.

Fees and funding

Find out more about postgraduate fees and explore funding opportunities. If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an application deadline.

There are also funding opportunities available on our departmental awards page.