Global Futures: Culture and Creativity MSc

Royal Holloway, University of London

The course

Our world is rapidly changing before our very eyes. Increased artificial intelligence, mobility, polarising political landscapes, environmental catastrophe, rising inequality and contested ideas of history and heritage raise fundamental questions about our cultural identities and lives. How we work together creatively to tackle these issues is more important than ever. The MSc in Global Futures: Culture and Creativity at Royal Holloway, University of London equips students with a foundational understanding of how culture and creative practices are vital in tackling these global issues and shaping our global futures.

Whether you are still an undergraduate or someone already in a professional career, graduates of this course will gain a Masters of Science in an area offering excellent employability prospects. Graduates go on to work in a range of sectors, including the arts and cultural sector, publishing, planning and urban policy, private and public sector research and insight work, as well as many carrying on to doctoral e curriculum includes innovative placements and research engagements with some of the world’s top cultural institutions and creative organisations, located on our doorstep in London. Study an MSc Global Futures: Culture and Creativity at Royal Holloway and you’ll graduate with a range of transferable skills to take with you into the workplace or further postgraduate study.

In the Department of Geography you’ll join a vibrant research community (ranked 2nd in the UK for research excellence in the most recent REF2014 assessment) and contribute to our renowned research culture with your own independent dissertation project. In particular, you will work with the leading researchers based in our Social, Cultural and Historical Geography (SCHG) research group, and benefit from their links to the interdisciplinary Royal Holloway Centre for the GeoHumanities.

The course attracts diverse students from a range of backgrounds, not just those with geography degrees. Engage with some of the most profound challenges of our times in this exciting Masters degree.

Teaching & assessment

Assessment is by coursework only. Formative feedback and detailed ongoing discussion of work before final submission is a central part of the teaching ethos of the course. Students also have significant autonomy in the selection of topics for coursework and dissertation allowing them to develop particular interests and specialisms.

Your future career

Graduates of this course will possess in-depth social scientific research skills and critical knowledge of contemporary geographic issues. Also, there is the opportunity to develop important public engagement skills, as well as to undertake placements and volunteer work in external institutions. The department has excellent links with a range of national and international charities business and cultural institutions such as Kew Gardens, The Science Museum, the BFI, the Museum of London, V&A Museum and many others. These are actively used during the teaching of the course (via external speakers and field visits), and so students gain first hand experience and invaluable networks with this broad range of specialist institutions,

As such this is ideal preparation for careers in a wide-range of sectors including consultancy, government research, charities and the cultural sector such as museums, art galleries, and the creative industries.