Cultural and Critical Studies MA
London, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
01 Jul 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
Jan 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 15,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international | UK: £8,500
Open Days at University of Westminster
Undergraduate Open Day 23 November 2024/ Postgraduate Online Open Day 26 February 2025
Introduction
The Cultural and Critical Studies MA is part of the Cultural and Literary Studies Suite, a cluster of four MAs that bring together academics, curators and practitioners who share a commitment to investigating modern and contemporary culture from aesthetic, critical, literary and experiential perspectives. You'll share classes with students from the Art and Visual Culture MA, the English Literature: Modern and Contemporary Fictions MA and the Museum, Galleries and Contemporary Culture MA, joining a fruitful and intellectually rigorous environment designed to facilitate interdisciplinary thinking.
The Cultural and Critical Studies MA offers you the rare opportunity to study contemporary critical and cultural debates across a wide range of fields. Exploring a variety of different visual, textual and popular forms of culture, the course will particularly appeal to those with wide-ranging interests in the arts and humanities, as well as those interested in cutting-edge theoretical debates.
We also draw upon a long tradition of practical engagement with the applied arts and culture. Our location in the cultural heart of London offers a unique educational experience, and as one of the most internationally diverse universities in the UK, you’ll also be studying alongside students from a wide range of different cultural backgrounds. You'll be supported on the course through a series of academic skills workshops on subjects such as improving academic writing and undertaking research projects, which are designed to support you in your progression to essay and dissertation writing at the postgraduate level.
Modules are taught by expert staff from a number of different disciplines, giving you the flexibility to follow the themes that most interest you. Our staff's published work is at the forefront of radical and experimental interdisciplinary areas such as memory studies, urban culture, digital culture, migration studies and contemporary critical theory. As postgraduate students, you'll also become members of the Institute of Modern and Contemporary Culture and enjoy the opportunity to engage with a rich and diverse program of research events.
Westminster is a leading provider in this academic discipline and is ranked first in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2022 for Research Quality in Art and Design.
Top reasons to study with us
- Our course offers a rare opportunity to undertake an interdisciplinary study of textual, visual and popular forms of culture in light of cutting-edge theoretical debates
- You'll be taught by experts in cultural and literary studies, critical theory and philosophy, archival practice, urban studies, art and visual culture, and museum studies
- You can enjoy studying in the heart of London and benefit from close links with cultural institutions such as the Photographers’ Gallery and the Museum of London
Why study this course?
- Institute for Modern and Contemporary Culture
Through our Institute, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy events including research seminars, symposia, guest lectures, conferences and screenings. - Gain industry experience
If you choose to study our Work Placement in Cultural Institutions module, you'll have the opportunity to network and develop your professional profile. - Learn from experts
You'll be taught by experts in cultural and literary studies, critical theory and philosophy, archival practice, urban studies, art and visual culture, and museum studies.
Career Opportunities
Graduates from this course have gone on to pursue a wide variety of careers both within the educational, cultural and creative sectors and beyond.
- Prepare for a career in the cultural sector
In our interdisciplinary course, you'll study textual, visual and popular forms of culture in light of cutting-edge theoretical debates. - Experience cultural London
- Based in the heart of central London, you'll be ideally placed to explore the city's cultural institutions and immerse yourself in London's arts scene.
- Employers around the world
The University’s Careers and Employability Service has built up a network of over 3,000 employers around the world, helping all our students explore and connect with exciting opportunities and careers.
Work experience
Study our Work Placement in Cultural Institutions module to gain industry experience and develop your professional or freelance profile.
Recent work placements on the module have taken place at institutions, including:
- British Film Institute
- British Museum
- Film London
- Jessica Carlisle Gallery
- Museum of London
- Wellcome Trust
Graduate employers
Graduates from this course have found employment at organisations including:
- BBC
- Plan International
- Queen Mary University of London
- Stonewall
- United Nations Development Programme
Job roles
This course will prepare you for a variety of roles, including:
- Editor
- Educator
- Journalist
- Digital content producer
- Museum, gallery, library or archive professional
- Public relations or communications professional
- Researcher
Westminster Employability Award
Employers value graduates who have invested in their personal and professional development – and our Westminster Employability Award gives you the chance to formally document and demonstrate these activities and achievements.
The award is flexible and can be completed in your own time, comprising a set of core and optional extracurricular activities.
Activities might include gaining experience through a part-time job or placement, signing up to a University-run scheme – such as mentoring or teaching in a school – or completing online exercises.
Admissions
Curriculum
The Cultural and Critical Studies MA is delivered in both full-time and part-time modes, with both September and January start dates. This means that when you start your course, you will be joining a lively community of new and continuing students.
The course is modular, with every single module valued at 20 credits and the dissertation at 60 credits. For the MA, you'll be required to accumulate a total of 180 credits over the course of your degree. Normally, full-time students take one core module and two options per semester and work on the dissertation in the summer. Part-time students would typically take one core module and one option module per semester in the first year and complete further two option modules and the dissertation in the second year of their MA.
The course consists of two core taught modules, Problems and Perspectives in Cultural Studies and Capitalism and Culture, which establish a theoretical framework for the close analysis of central debates around the production of culture. A core dissertation of 12,000 words, which can be written on an appropriate topic of your choice, will also be completed at the end of your studies. You'll also be able to choose four additional modules, of which the following are indicative of what you could choose from.
Core modules
- Capitalism and Culture
- Dissertation
- Problems and Perspectives in Cultural Studies
Option modules
- Digital Cultures
- Engaging the Archive
- Experimental Women's Writing, Photography and Film
- Queer Now
- Representing World Cultures
- Trauma in American Modernity: The Nation and its Limits
- Urban Cultures
- Work Placement in Cultural Institutions
Program Tuition Fee
Scholarships and Funding
The University is dedicated to supporting ambitious and outstanding students and we offer a variety of scholarships to eligible undergraduate students, which cover all or part of your tuition fees.