Education, Culture and Society
UCAS Code: X390
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including a number of distinctions/merits in subject specific modules
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Including three Higher Level subjects at 655
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
This degree will develop your knowledge of the education system in the UK and beyond. You'll enter into key debates about policy issues with a focus on social justice and equality, and get to understand education from a multidisciplinary perspective.
**Why study BA Education, Culture and Society at Goldsmiths?**
- You'll gain an understanding of the role of education in diverse societies and how the education system continues to be shaped by social, political and economic factors. You'll use this knowledge to address a broad range of themes and ideas including gender in the early years, alternatives to schooling, mental health and wellbeing, and institutional racism.
- You’ll be encouraged to think about the ways people are excluded from education and society, and explore possible reasons for, and alternatives to, this. We're interested in the tensions that can arise in a system that advocates education for all but mediates against the full participation of some groups.
- We proud of the strong creativity strand that permeates the programme and reflects our expertise in visual and performing arts. If you are interested in employment in the creative industries, with a focus on education, this is the degree for you.
- You’ll have the opportunity to gain work experience at a range of organisations. Previous students have worked on literacy with Bengali women, developed educational materials at a city farm, and put together an art exhibition at a pupil referral unit for excluded secondary school students.
- As well as taking on a work placement, you’ll have the opportunity to study abroad in China or Luxembourg which will give you the chance to explore how education, culture and society can be interpreted in a new context.
- We offer support for your personal and career development through our personal progress programme. You’ll have access to a professional network made up of departmental and university staff running tutorials and workshops to help you reflect on your personal, academic and employment goals.
- If you already practice in an education or community setting, we’ll work with you so you can use your experience to inform your studies. Past students have interviewed young people they have been supporting, and have created resources for children with special educational needs from countries where they have connections, such as Ghana and Slovakia.
Modules
Your pathway through the degree is individually designed, offering you the opportunity to create combinations that match your interests and/or intended career route. You take part in seminars, lectures, tutorials, studio practice, performances and personal research.
Year 1 (credit level 4)
Culture and Identity
Learning and Thinking
Creativity and Learning
The Curriculum: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives
These modules introduce you to key concepts in relation to the psychology, sociology, history and philosophy of education and provide the foundation for selecting options offered in the second year. In Year 1 there is also a study skills module that is integrated across the four core units. It is designed to support the development of the skills you need to be a successful student at university level.
Year 2 (credit level 5)
For the second year you choose a combination of three modules from the options available. These are likely to be informed by both your interests and intended career paths.
In addition all students follow a compulsory unit on research in Education which prepares you both to read and evaluate educational research and to conduct a small research project of your own.
All Level 5 options build upon and further explore the issues raised in Level 4 modules. Please note that options are regularly reviewed and new modules developed.
Year 3 (credit level 6)
At Level 6 you study two further advanced modules and undertake a dissertation. You determine the focus for your dissertation in collaboration with an allocated dissertation tutor. The dissertation offers you the opportunity to work with a leading academic on a one-to-one basis and the possibility of making links with a sector you intend to work within once you've graduated. A short research methods module will equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to undertake the dissertation confidently.
A distinctive element of the third year is the opportunity to spend time studying abroad. Goldsmiths has close links with a number of universities with which it undertakes student exchanges.
Please note: certain Level 6 options require a specific module-unit to have been taken in Level 5. This will be explained in detail before choices are made. New modules are developed in response to changing contexts.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Assessment methods
You'll be assessed through a combination of essays, examinations, written assignments, exhibitions, presentations (including multimedia), reports, practice-based assessments and dissertation.
The Uni
Goldsmiths, University of London
Educational Studies
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Education
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Academic studies in education
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
When you look at employment stats, bear in mind that a lot of students are already working in education when they take this type of course and are studying to help their career development. This means they already have jobs when they start their course, and a lot of graduates continue to study, whilst working, when they complete their courses. If your course is focused on nursery or early years education, a lot of these graduates go into nursery work or classroom or education assistant jobs; these jobs are not currently classed as 'graduate level' in the stats (although they may well be in the future as classifications catch up with changes in the way we work), and many graduates who enter these roles say that a degree was necessary.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Education and teaching
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£17k
£20k
£27k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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