Goldsmiths, University of London, is a public research university specializing in the arts, design, humanities, and social sciences. It is a constituent college within the University of London. It was founded in 1891 as Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in New Cross, London. It was acquired by the University of London in 1904 and was renamed Goldsmiths' College. The word College was dropped from its branding in 2006, but "Goldsmiths' College", with the apostrophe, remains the institution's formal legal name.
The university has a distinguished history of contributing to arts and social sciences. Its Department of Art is widely recognised as one of Britain's most prestigious, producing the YBA's art collective and over 20 Turner Prize nominees. Goldsmiths is also known for design, psychology, drama, sociology, music, politics, media and cultural studies, languages and literature, visual cultures, anthropology and educational studies.
Nearly 20% of students come from countries outside the UK, and 52% of all undergraduates are mature students (aged 21 or over at the start of their studies). Around a third of students at Goldsmiths are postgraduate students.
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise Goldsmiths came 9th in the UK for world-leading research (shown by the top 4* grade). The Department of Sociology performed particularly strongly, and was placed joint first with three other institutions. And in the Department of Media and Communications 80% of activity was in the highest two bands.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Campus and location
3 Research and teaching
3.1 Faculties and departments
3.2 Rankings
4 Student life
4.1 Sports, clubs and traditions
4.2 Student Media
4.3 Student housing
4.4 Students' Union
5 Notable alumni
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
History[edit]
The Richard Hoggart Building
In 1891, the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, one of the City of London Livery Companies, founded Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute (more commonly referred to simply as the "Goldsmiths' Institute The Goldsmiths' Company was established in the 12th-century as a medieval guild for goldsmiths, silversmiths and jewellers; as such, the university is proud to remain connected with its original educational roots. The Livery Company dedicated the foundation of its new Institute to "the promotion of technical skill, knowledge, health and general well-being among men and women of the industrial, working and artisan classes". The original Institute was based in New Cross at the former Royal Naval School building. (This building, which was designed by the architect John Shaw Jr, is now known as the Richard Hoggart Building and remains the main building of the campus today.)
Goldsmiths College students at the University of Nottingham in 1944
In 1904, the Institute was merged with the University of London and was re-established as Goldsmiths' College. (The apostrophe was removed in a rebranding in 2006). At this point Goldsmiths' was the largest teacher training institution in the country. Training functions were later expanded to include refresher courses for teachers, the University Postgraduate Certificate in Education and an Art teacher's Certificate course. The College also ran its own Nursery School. Shortly after the merger, in 1907, Goldsmiths added a new Arts building, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, at the back of the main building. During the Second World War it was decided to evacuate the faculty and students of the College to University College, Nottingham, a decision which proved wise both at the time and in hindsight, since the main building was struck by an incendiary bomb and gutted in 1940 (and not finally repaired until 1947).
During the 1960s Goldsmiths attracted a rapid expansion in its number of students. It is during this period that Goldsmiths began to establish its reputation in the arts and social science fields, as well as offering a number of new teacher training qualifications. The original main building was expanded, and the Lockwood Building, Whitehead Building, Education Building, Warmington Tower and St James's Hall were all built during this period in order to accommodate the influx of new students. The university also acquired a number of historic buildings in the surrounding area, including the splendid former Deptford Town Hall and Laurie Grove Baths buildings. The Richard Hoggart Building, Deptford Town Hall and the Laurie Grove Baths all retain Grade II listed building status.
The Ben Pimlott Building
In 1988, Goldsmiths became a full College of the University of London and in 1990 received its Royal Charter. Among its wardens have been Richard Hoggart, Andrew Rutherford and Ben Pimlott. The current Warden is Pat Loughrey.
Campus and location[edit]
Deptford Town Hall Building
Goldsmiths is situated in New Cross, a highly populated area of south-east London with a considerable art and music scene. The area is well served by London Overground trains at New Cross and New Cross Gate. These former East London Line stations were integrated into the London Overground network in May 2010 with services northbound to Highbury and Islington; and southbound to Crystal Palace and West Croydon from New Cross Gate only. National Rail services still run from both New Cross and New Cross Gate stations to central London termini (i.e. London Bridge, Cannon Street and Charing Cross).
The main building, the Richard Hoggart Building, was originally designed as a school (opened in 1844) by the architect John Shaw, Jr (1803–1870). The former Deptford Townhall Building, designed by Henry Vaughan Lanchester and Edwin Alfred Rickards, acquired in 1998 and is now used for academic seminars and conferences. In addition to this Goldsmiths has built several more modern buildings to develop the campus, including the RIBA award-winning Rutherford Building completed in 1997, the Ben Pimlott Building designed by Will Alsop and completed in 2005, and the New Academic Building which was completed in 2010.
The library, or the Rutherford Building, has three floors and gives students access to an extensive range of printed and electronic resources. The third-floor library is believed to house the largest collection of audio-visual material in the UK. Goldsmiths' students, like all other students in the University of London, have full access to the collections at Senate House Library at Bloomsbury in central London.
The £10.2m, seven-storey Ben Pimlott Building on New Cross Road, complete with its distinctive "scribble in the sky" (made from 229 separate pieces of metal) has become a signature of modern Goldsmiths. It contains studio and teaching space for the Department of Art, as well as housing the Goldsmiths Digital Studios and the Centre for Cognition, Computation and Culture.
The New Academic Building, situated next to the green, is now home to the Media and Communications department and the Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship (ICCE). Facilities include a new 250-seat lecture theatre, seminar and teaching rooms, as well as a cafe with outdoor seating.
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