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The overall ranking is decided by students from this institution rating them in a 2026 Whatuni review. This forms the basis of the Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCAs for short).
4.03.04.3218 Student reviews
Sort:Latest reviewsPlease do not make the mistake I made by enrolling here, save yourself and study literally anywhere else. Goldsmiths may once have been a reputable organisation but those days are long gone. The uni is in serious financial trouble and the students are paying the price. To save money, Goldsmiths has "reorganised" almost all courses, combining groups of students in each module whether their courses are compatible or not. You are sharing classes with up to 3+ other groups and are forced to take modules irrelevant to your course for the sake of reducing their costs. There is almost no student support and what limited resources there are are being reduced by the day. No one to complain to who will hear your concerns. No effort to provide specialist teaching, and lecturers who have been made redundant are replaced with anyone available in the department with no concern for whether they are qualified in your specific subject. Constant disruption and disorganisation and no effort to rectify problems. Students are essentially being made to take modules and courses they did not sign up for but with no changes to the overall fees. Facilities are non existent. Cinema no longer exists, gym is gone too. Café and shop hours are scaled back. Student union has nothing to offer. Hardly any social activities or even places on campus to socialise. Campus is barely open after 4pm, a total ghost town. No one answers emails. Shocking that they can even call themselves a university. Avoid!
I’m a mature student doing the BMus Music part-time at Goldsmiths. I’ve just come to the end of the full-time first year (which has taken me two years). Headline is I’d really recommend this course – it was definitely a good decision to apply. Over the first year I’ve done 5 year-long modules and coming to the end I reckon they have given me a really solid foundation as a musician in terms of my ability to play, write, analyse and think about music.
18-24 years
First gen student
With the SMT once again announcing a detrimental restructure to the university, roughly around 300 teaching staff are being threatened with redundancies if they are viewed as not making a 'valuable' contribution to Goldsmiths. A vast majority of departments have been threatened with teaching and module cuts, including English, once again. It is ironic that they are saying they want to make back/ save around 20 million, yet they are looking to have an AI centre whilst neglecting the humanities departments that reside at the very heart of Goldsmiths. They do not have much care for practising free speech on campus as the SMT wanted to 'arrest' the group of us that had 1.) occupied a building on campus in protest against the way the university has conducted their weak response to the ongoing genocide in Palestine and 2.) those that actually took part in the protests that occurred on campus. How can you label your university as a 'creative powerhouse' and a 'melting pot' of ideas when you've conducted yourself in such a backward manner? The welfare team has little regard for you. I had applied for a hardship bursary, yet I was met with a foodbank voucher that could only be used on the week it was issued and for a place that was miles away from accom and only open for 4 hours on a Friday. Do not come to this uni if you are seeking a place that values academic integrity and the preservation of your course; alongside your welfare as a student. It's a shock that they can even call themselves an institution.
I feel like sometimes there isn’t enough equipment or cool facilities. It’s a great place to study because staff are friendly involved and passionate. The content of the course is non conventional and unique.
18-24 years
It is a stylish and laid-back uni. People are cool and friendly and you can have friends from a multitude of different backgrounds.
25-34 years
Goldsmiths has really shaped my university experience and given me great opportunities. From the amazing media department to incredible classmates. The campus is a great mix of modern and traditional buildings, with a 24-hour library and spaces to fit your study style. There are always events happening, both academic and social.
The best aspect about university is the library service and tutor modules responses for general enquires. The worst aspects is the location, the building and generally the university itself.
Best aspects: Great peers Attentive lecturers Small class sizes Interesting and alternative subject matter Worst: Very poor admin and organisation Attendance system completely broken High turnover of lecturers Lack of security Fewer options than thought Noticeable cutbacks to the history department in particular
Outside of goldsmiths is nice and spacious. The lectures are informative. It could be improved if the lectures was compressed into smaller parts.
I love the tight-knit community of Goldsmiths. Overall, the students are friendly, and the tutors are very approachable and helpful. I also benefit from the small class sizes; I get to engage in discussions regarding class material and receive a lot of small-group interaction with the tutors. At times, I do wish certain areas of campus felt more inviting. It would also be nice if there were more opportunities to interact with other students through student life and activities. Sometimes I feel a bit lost on what to do outside of the classroom.
The campus and buildings are not bad, and lecturers there are a few amazing lectures that will inspire you to want to do better. Student support is strongly lacking from my experience, even for those who require extra support. The amount of break downs had throughout our cohort and the cries for more support seem to have fallen on deaf ears for us, but will hopefully improve for future cohorts. The mental wellbeing support available sadly also drastically declined in the 3 years attended with me being left scarred by one staff member to a point I vowed never to seek support from them again. Due to our first year being online because of Covid, I feel our cohort struggled to bond properly, resulting in many 'missing out' on that 'campus life'. I found it a shame that I couldn't experience the same as what I had heard of from so many other people and feel like it reduced my overall experience of going to uni.
25-34 years
Goldsmiths university is a great place to study! The students are very welcoming and the campus has a good atmosphere. The university has a very chill feel to it however it can be quite disorganised. The years I attended they were centralising the departments hubs all into one, so sometimes it was difficult to find information and support on your particular course, they were better at generic queries. They also striked a lot while I attended which did affect letters attendance. However, the lecturers are very engaging and knowledgeable. They provide you with lots of core skills and a great foundation to go onto postgrad. Despite the university being disorganised they handed Covid-19 really well, adding a safety net to ensure our grades weren’t affected. Overall, the university is very supportive and friendly. The course was inspiring and a great base of knowledge. Just a shame they have a lot of change and disruption going on.
best place to study.
25-34 years
First gen student
Best - Great library facility, I love the green space inside campus, and loads of activities student lead both on campus and on the student union. Worst - not a lot of activities organised by the university.
My university has a brilliant student union who support you in every and any course but one thing I would say is the biggest let down is the amount of strikes we have had to experience do to the university board putting money above there students and staff, many facilities due to this have been closed. As a new student I was craving the uni experience but goldsmiths couldn’t provide that. I wish they helped students out more and fairly paid staff. Otherwise the curriculum and learning aspect is great. I have some of the most supportive lecturers who go above and beyond to help us.
I like the diversity of design this course provide me.
35-44 years
First gen student
Firstly I’m really proud of myself, because I didn’t think that I would be doing as well as I am in university. When applying for uni I was so nervous about my dyslexia and how I would get through academic life, but once I chose goldsmith, and expressed my fears I was supported through the process and can safely say this is now not something I let hold me back with the support I get. Starting university my expectations were different to what I have now experienced some good and some bad, however overall I am enjoying the experience and feel that the course is the right choice for me and at this time in my life. I have met an array of people and engaged in some meaningful, uncomfortable and heartfelt conversations, taken part in presentations and written three essays so far. This experience is growing my self confidence, and empowering me to continue to grow academically, and as a person who is passionate about my community and young people. I’m enjoying the experiential learning process on the course I’m doing, the support for the lectures hands down is great they all are amazing in allowing me to express, and self reflect without judgment but with compassion and understanding. Think all of the above make goldsmiths university a great place to study.
Great opportunity to study abroad in Japan through Erasmus. Great teachers and I like the location. Very poor management of Uni, continual strikes, poor attempt to bring students together after a year studying via Zoom during Covid.
Goldsmiths University is a good place to study if you're looking to have a causal student life, meaning there is nothing exciting going on. Most of my experience has been disrupted by strikes, from the first year until my final year. Most professor's are nice and caring but take part in strikes and therefore not always reachable which is of course understandable. Staff at the upper level do not care, alas the billion times of strike. Classrooms are very cold and some of them smelly, other facilities as well. The university is super unorganised, and proven so in a number of instances. I got to do a study abroad term in Japan and there was little to no support (except by one staff member), I had to do everything myself and when I came back different departments told me different things about how my grades would be converted. Due to their lack of communications with each other, I had to take extra classes in my final year leaving my schedule no room to breathe and double the workload. All of this could've been avoided if they had communicated before I departed to Japan. Overall, if I had to choose another University I would have. Over the three years, I only came for my classes whenever they were running, and went home straight after. I can only imagine how hard it was for international students and home students living in dorms.
3.8
Worst mistake I ever made, basically a ghost town, no one is ever in art studios and there is no support from tutors or staff. When I expressed I was considering leaving I was met with no support, they told me to fill out the form and leave without asking if I even had an alternative. Full of rich kids with egos who think they’re doing something important, accommodation is horrendous. Basically paying thousands for a one metre table to do art on, felt like an uphill battle to get anything done. Only good thing is the area of New Cross, please be incredibly warned, it’s going of a reputation from the 90s, it’s no longer what it was.
Course teaches you nothing, just paying for a studio space and facilities.
Mold infestation all behind blind and bathroom, was told they would fix it but never did. Horrendous smell the whole time, shower head fallen off. Decent if you go out a lot but if you’re more of a stay in kind of person it’s not great.