Goldsmiths was recently placed in the world's top 100, and the UK's top 20, universities for the arts and humanities. It also offer subjects covering the social sciences, cultural studies, computing and entrepreneurial business and management. Many former Goldsmiths students have become leaders and innovators in their chosen fields, including Antony Gormley, Mary Quant, Katy B and Sam Taylor-Wood. The past 12 months has been an exciting year for former Goldsmiths students – director Steve McQueen won the Best Picture Oscar at this year's Academy Awards for 12 Years A Slave, James Blake won the Mercury Prize for his album Overgrown, and Laure Prouvost was named winner of the Turner Prize, making her the seventh former Goldsmiths student to receive the award. The college is based on one site in New Cross, south-east London, an area regularly described as "up and coming". It has excellent links to the centre of London and a burgeoning artistic scene. You are, however, deep in the urban sprawl, with everything that brings with it. There is plenty of creative energy flowing among the 9,000 or so students; a high proportion are mature and a quarter come from outside the UK, which makes for a diverse student body. Add to that the potential of one of the world's greatest cities and you can pretty much do whatever you set your mind to at Goldsmiths. Accommodation Goldsmiths offers a range of accommodation options: • Goldsmiths halls of residence on campus • Off-campus halls of residence • Flats and houses leased by the University of London • Privately rented flats and houses The average weekly cost for a single room in 2015: • £102-117.91 – Goldsmiths halls of residence (rooms with a shared bathroom) • £141.36-147.50 – Goldsmiths halls of residence (en suite rooms) • £145-180 – Off-campus halls of residence managed by a private provider Priority is given to new full-time undergraduate students living outside London travelcard zones 1-9. Facilities An award-winning student union, including a state-of-the-art gym and fitness centre, a well-equipped library (including excellent IT and media facilities), wireless hotspots and a virtual learning environment. Departmental facilities include nine specialist research labs; workshop facilities; studio space; a 160-seat theatre and three performance studios; and photography, radio and TV studios. Over the past few years Goldsmiths has invested £6m improving the campus. Recent developments include: a new recording studio, giving music students the chance to record with state-of-the-art equipment in a professional setting, the transformation of our flagship Richard Hoggart Building, including an area for outdoor arts and events. Developments also underway include creating a new art gallery on campus, and transforming a 19th-century church building into a space that will be used for teaching, exhibitions, performances and studios. Transport Goldsmiths has great travel connections to central London - just 15 minutes by train. The campus is also well placed in terms of bus (including night bus) routes and Deptford Bridge DLR station (which links to the tube network) is a 10-minute walk away. The London overground network now extends to the area, providing quick and easy access to east London and Highbury and Islington in the north, and Croydon in the south.