Course summary
The MSc in Psychology of the Arts, Neuroaesthetics and Creativity is the first postgraduate programme in the world for the scientific study of aesthetics and creativity.
- At the intersection of the arts and the sciences, the programme introduces you to the psychology and the cognitive neuroscience of how humans generate new ideas, how we appreciate beauty, and how we form preferences.
- Aesthetic and creative decisions are relevant in the visual and the performing arts, and in many applied and commercial contexts, ranging from clinical interventions to curating exhibitions, from dance choreography to marketing and advertising.
- Based in the Department of Psychology, in collaboration with Computing, Media and Communications and the Institute of Management Studies, the course builds critical knowledge, research and communication skills across the arts and the sciences, centred around two key topics: the psychological and brain mechanisms of making (Creativitiy) and appreciating (Neuroaesthetics) art. Conducting a research project with an interdisciplinary focus will prepare you for a research career in aesthetic or creative science, working in the creative industry, or to develop your artistic practice.
- Goldsmiths is uniquely placed to offer this programme, with an internationally renowned reputation in the arts and the sciences. Existing courses combining art and psychology often have a largely therapeutic focus and rarely cover the psychology of aesthetic appreciation or creative cognition, in a broader profile. In contrast, business-oriented courses in marketing, advertising and consumer psychology often lack adequate scientific training in experimental psychology or cognitive neuroscience methods, which is required for a scientific approach to aesthetics and creativity.
- Optional modules based in the departments Media & Communications, Computing, and the Institute of Management Studies will complement and challenge the scientific perspective, acknowledging the richly diverse, unique and culturally-specific nature of human aesthetic and creative practice.
Modules
Compulsory modules On this programme, you will study the following compulsory modules. Aesthetic Science 15 credits Creativity 15 credits Statistical Methods 15 credits Research Skills 15 credits Research Design and Analysis 15 credits Foundations of Neuroscience 15 credits Research Project 60 Credits Option modules You will also take 30 credits of option modules from the following list. Programming for Artists and Designers 15 credits Advanced Quantitative Methods 15 credits Embodiment and Experience 30 credits or 15 credits Politics of the Audiovisual 30 credits or 15 credits Physical Computing 15 credits Physical Computing 2 15 credits Psychological Approaches to Music 15 credits Psychology of Marketing and Advertising 15 credits Consumer Behaviour 15 credits Please note: Physical Computing 1 is a prerequisite for Physical Computing 2, and the two modules must be taken together. *Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Entry requirements
You should have an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class in Psychology or a related subject (Cognitive Science, Neuroscience) with a research component. However, we explicitly encourage candidates with interdisciplinary and unusual biographies to apply. Applicants with undergraduate degrees in the visual or performing arts, design, humanities, business or other non-scientific subjects will be required to demonstrate sufficient background knowledge and experience with psychological or cognitive neuroscience approaches, including statistics. Please contact the programme leader directly if you are unsure as to whether you would qualify for this programme. Aside from an undergraduate degree with a result equivalent to a 2:1 or above, it is necessary to have sufficient knowledge of statistics and experimental design to apply for our programme. Many applicants for this course would arrive with a Psychology undergaduate degree where the statistics topics would have been covered extensively across three years. Students entering the MSc programme are assumed to have a good knowledge of experimental design, sampling, descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, correlation, and regression. These fundamental topics won’t be covered in our statistics and experimental design lectures. This leaves room to cover more advanced topics which you will need for writing lab reports across the year and your final project. For candidates with little or no statistical knowledge, we do offer a boot-camp that covers more basic statistical tests. This intensive course takes place in the summer. However, students with little experience in neuroscience/statistical methods should engage with the books listed on our website and/or complete a basic statistics course on a platform such as Coursera prior to applying so that they can demonstrate sufficient statistical background to enter the programme. 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.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
No fee information has been provided for this course
Additional fee information
No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Provider information
Goldsmiths, University of London
New Cross
Lewisham
SE14 6NW