Course summary
We offer MPhil and PhD research programmes in 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:
- 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
- visual sociology
- 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.
- 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. To get a sense of how, come to the department to meet us and some of the students. Email us to book an appointment.
Modules
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 College 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 College 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 six to eight 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 method
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.
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 for some programmes if you aren’t 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. 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.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
No fee information has been provided for this course
Additional fee information
Unless otherwise stated the annual fee for part-time programmes is half the full-time fee quoted.
Provider information
Goldsmiths, University of London
New Cross
Lewisham
SE14 6NW