London - its history, communities, art, culture and architecture - is the subject of a groundbreaking new University master's degree, set to start in September. Students on the MA London Studies will follow a multidisciplinary approach - giving them a unique insight in to themes of urban form and culture in the context of London.

The University has for a number of years offered a range of public events in conjunction with London's museums and galleries, featuring leading figures from the capital's cultural life, including author Peter Ackroyd talking on Shakespeare's London.

The new MA forms part of a suite of master's programmes - under the title Cultural, Critical and Literary Studies - based within the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages (SSHL). Also newly validated is the MA Cultural and Critical Studies, while existing master's degrees in English Literature and Visual Culture are still on offer.

The dean of SSHL, Dr Jeremy Colwill, said: 'We're very excited by these two new courses. The London Studies programme is particularly innovative, pulling together its content from a number of different disciplines and offering an overview of many critical areas of London life in a way no other course does.

'This University, with its origins as the Royal Polytechnic Institution in Regent Street, has had an important part to play in the life of the capital. This course builds on our history and location to offer a new perspective on London.'

The National Portrait Gallery was the venue in February for the first in a new series of events focusing on London, entitled The Senses and the City. A sell-out audience heard writer Will Self discuss how the capital has often been interpreted through its distinctive and changing smell.