U C A master in the making, I hope!

Sometimes you have to leave the city to find the fashionable people; a few musings on studying an MA at UCA Epsom.


I curiously flick through the pages of Katie Grand's new magazine Love, and I realise that I have just spent the morning with one of the featured journalists, learning how to write articles successfully. I wanted my MA to put me in touch with the fashion industry; I don't think it gets much more in touch than this.
I am no longer a student apparently, I am a freelance writer. However, I am a freelance writer with a safety net in the shape of a plethora of skilled journalists and designers that are not there to make my MA in Fashion and Lifestyle Journalism at UCA easy, but to make it achievable and exciting.

It is quite a daunting task entering a university at one of the highest levels, yet regardless of my degree, age or past experience I am neither a novice nor an expert and undertaking the task of completing a Master of Arts makes me feel like I should know everything. The truth is sometimes I just want to stay in bed and read Vogue ~ Luckily for me this can count as research, but to be honest when you are constantly immersed in the arts and fashion like you are at Epsom you have far too much to think about to ever want to just stay in bed!

I never thought as I perused the exhibition of the 2008 MA graduates that I could ever be able to complete a masters, leaving the comfort of BA student-hood behind. Yet, I then find myself scribbling notes at a Sonia Rykiel exhibition at Les Arts Decoratifs in Paris with five MA friends from five different countries for a fashion blog I am now writing I realise that work is not always that hard when you love what you are doing.
Of course there are times when I wonder what the Foucault all those Barthes theories mean and would love to know how Wintour would finish her Burberry catwalk report, but when I get the opportunity to interview award winning graduate designers and have the chance to create, edit and style my own magazine, all the hard work, late nights and travel cards certainly seem worth it.
There is a wonderful sense of equality studying at M level in UCA, the staff will just as readily enlighten me with feedback for ongoing work as they will chat about their own exciting projects, sometimes you even have to opportunity to work with them. There is nothing more reassuring to know that the person teaching me is not only interested in my work as they are in my own life, everything you do is a potential story or source of inspiration. Never before could I have seen myself throwing questions at renowned blogger Susie Bubble or having the opportunity to attend talks from top graphic designers such as Jonathan Barnbrook and fashion insiders like the Dazed Digital team. Nor would I have met so many interesting people from so many different backgrounds to study with and hopefully holiday with.

I am still unsure exactly where I'll end up once I graduate, but if I need a reference for a job in fashion I know I'll be heading straight back to Epsom to get one.


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