History and Journalism
History and journalism is a combination that rewards those who want to understand the world in depth and to communicate that understanding effectively and urgently to a public audience. History develops your ability to evaluate evidence, construct sustained arguments about complex causation, and understand the context that gives current events their shape and meaning. Journalism develops your ability to investigate, to write clearly and compellingly under time pressure, and to hold institutions and individuals to account through the craft of storytelling.
At Goldsmiths, which has a distinctive tradition in both humanities and media education, this three-year full-time degree develops your competence in both disciplines simultaneously. You will engage with historical periods and themes alongside journalism practice, developing your understanding of how the past informs the present and how that understanding can be communicated to non-specialist audiences through the forms and conventions of contemporary journalism. Goldsmiths' location in south London and its connections to the media industry give the journalism component a strong professional dimension, while the history curriculum engages with the critical theory and analytical approaches that characterise Goldsmiths' intellectual culture.
Graduates of history and journalism programmes are well placed for careers in news journalism, broadcast media, digital media, magazines, and public affairs, as well as in the many other fields where the ability to investigate, understand, and explain complex material is valued. Employers across the public sector, the charity sector, and in communications and public relations also value this combination. The historical depth that the degree provides is particularly useful for journalists covering politics, foreign affairs, culture, and investigative subjects where context matters.
Postgraduate study in journalism, history, or media studies is a common next step for those who want to develop further.