This time last year I was frantically finishing up my
application essays, thesis proposal and scholarship application – feeling
excitement and nervousness. I’m now six months into my Masters degree in the
History and Culture of Fashion at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, and am currently
doing an Erasmus study exchange programme with Stockholm University, which was
both unexpected and unplanned.
Education is expensive, there’s no two ways about it. The
fees are prohibitive, the loans restrictive, but what’s even harder is funding
your own maintenance. I chose to study a Masters in my home city of London, and
spent my first term working two jobs in order to support myself during
full-time study. It was pretty exhausting. I have ended up moving back home to
cosy suburbia for the last portion of my degree, as I couldn’t afford to pay
market rents. This is a serious barrier
for many people dreaming of continuing, or re-entering education.
Saving money in London by biking a 14-mile round trip to uni |
It’s my personal opinion that nobody really needs a degree. I’ve always been a
staunch advocate for vocational training and apprenticeship programmes, as my
experience has been that formal education doesn’t prepare students well for the
practical and social realities of the workplace. What it does do, however, is
teach you how to think. It gets you questioning the world, how things work, and
why they have come to be in a certain way. It exposes you to ideas and
practitioners that you’d never have heard of or discovered on your own. And of
course, it’s a gateway to the many positions that often don’t recognise
qualifications outside of the UK university system.
But despite the stress of deadlines, the engulfing black
hole of research, occasional feelings of frustration and even disappointment,
I’m happier than I have been in years. A Masters degree is a luxury that most
people don’t get to experience – but for me, it was worth saving for 4 years to
do. Whilst you certainly don’t need a
Masters level qualification for many jobs in the arts, if you were considering
it, making some initial enquiries, or just on the fence, here are my reasons
why I think it’s worth doing:
1. Shortcut to a
career change. This one’s the most obvious: if you already have a
bachelor’s degree, a Masters qualification offers the opportunity to specialise
further, or do something completely different. And the more years of work- and
life-experience you have before starting the Masters, the better it will inform
and shape your studies.
Remi questioning the male barbie installation at London College of Fashion |
2. Question the
status quo. My favourite thing to do. University doesn’t necessarily teach
you things, but it teaches you to think. Rather than being spoon-fed ideas, you
are encouraged to do most of the learning yourself. Debate is encouraged, in an
intelligent and considerate manner (not like that bloke down the pub).
Intellectually considering Lucy Sparrow's felt sex shop installation in Soho, October 2015 |
3. Take time for
reflection. Studying give you a passport to stand aside from your social
and personal life, try on different hats, and work out your own stance on
things. We don’t often get time to do this – or we don’t make time for it. With
20 hours or so a week of study, taking time out from your daily life is a
requirement.
One of my research sources - an advertisement from Vogue Paris 1951 |
4. Make new work.
Whether it’s designing the collection you’d always thought about, making a
series of sculptures, or (like me) combining postcolonial ‘speaking back’ and
globalisation theory with the history of dress, this is a truly unique
opportunity to make a contribution in your field. And as it’s a focussed amount
of time (sometimes 24 months, but in my case 12 months), you have to stay
focussed and keep moving forward.
Getting to see Dior's 1947 Bar suit in real life at the V&A Clothworkers archive. |
5. Do new things,
meet new people! Lastly, and
importantly, university is an amazing networking hub! You will have the opportunity
to meet people you would never have encountered, whether it’s one of your
classmates, or the author of an inspiring book that may happen to give a guest
lecture. You might not make new best friends or business partners, but you will
encounter people outside of your normal social circles who will make you think
in different ways. I unexpectedly became the first person on my course to do a
study exchange abroad, which has fostered links both for me, and between the
two institutions. Comparing the two education systems has been really
insightful, and I’ve had the additional cultural experience of living in a
country I’d never have considered living in before.
Embodying contradiction: looking/feeling extremely frazzled, but secretly loving it, during a stressful month of essay-writing in December. |
Though it’s certainly not been all easy, my first 6
months of Masters study has already enriched my life in many ways. Whilst the
future is still unclear, and the job market as terrible as ever, I feel more
confident in my mind and my choices. I had to make compromises and some
sacrifices to study a Masters, which will differ for everybody. I’ll disclose
here that I was fortunate to get partial fees funding from scholarships (though
I still had to pay several grand!!). But I’ve found that it’s definitely been
worth it, and it could be great for you too.
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