Coming up to the end of my BA I have realised how much i attribute to the course and the tutors that have made it all possible for me. Before now I never really considered a masters because I always thought I wasn’t good enough for one, it was a lot of extra money and I felt I wasn’t going to need one. However, all these views have been turned around recently. These past three years have made me develop a love for photography and learning, something that I had lost during school and college. Therefore, I would really like to go on to get my masters and improve my knowledge further. However, before I go for my Masters Degree there are a few things i need to consider first.
First of all where to go. At this stage of my life right now I feel like its hard to know where i am going to be at the point of getting my Masters. For the next year I will be staying in Bath but i don’t know how long i’ll be staying there and corona virus could change those plans completely. However, I feel if I could go anywhere I would be interested in studying at UWE in Bristol or RCA in London, because I have done some brief research on both and spoken to photographers who have studied at both and have heard very good things. I know I can’t base my studies off of someone else’s experiences but right now I feel like its a good place to start. Furthermore, both Bristol and London are places I would want to end up in the future, which i think is also very important to consider because I will end up living there for the entirety of the degree and potentially after as well.
Furthermore, I will need to consider finance and my eligibility. Much like a BA course an MA costs a lot, we are talking £7,000 and up. Obviously this is a lot of money for anyone to come up with on the spot so I would definitely need to consider the prospect of getting funding. After researching on the Gov website, I think I would most likely be eligible for a Masters loan because I will be studying for an MA, I won’t be receiving any other student finance, I won’t have any other post graduate qualifications, i’m a UK National etc- these are all types of conditions that have to be considered.
With this all being said I don’t plan on doing my masters for a few years yet, currently I would like to complete it in the next 5 years or so to give me a break from my BA course, give me some time to settle down into life more and also earn some money first. Additionally, giving myself that extra time will allow me to do the necessary research as well as give me time to think about whether I definitely want to do the degree rather than rushing into it. On the other hand, I also need to consider the fact that I will be moving in with my boyfriend next year so i will need to consider where we will be living and working at that time too, so there will be more factors to consider in the future as well.
However, at this stage in my life I definitely plan on doing my masters so I can extend my knowledge in photography and use it to lead onto further career plans, such as lecturing. I am really hopeful that this plan will go forward in the future because it is definitely something I would love to pursue and push myself to do.