Thoughts about applying for a master’s degree

Recently I have been toying with the idea of applying for a master’s degree. Having spoken to various lecturers at the University of Cumbria (where I am currently studying a BA hons degree in photography) I have weighed up the two options of either continuing with photography or branching out to fine art.

The reason for branching out counts on where my work is heading. The ideas I have for my final show are leaning towards installation pieces rather than straight prints on the wall. I feel taking two years to study fine art would broaden my horizons and allow me to further explore the subjects that I study.

On the other hand further study into photography could help me to build up on my existing knowledge, although I feel for what I want to photograph my skills are adequate if not good enough to produce work similar to those who are very accomplished in the field of photography. In theory fine art should allow me to expand the space where I work, extracting the limits of a two-dimensional space.

Speaking to Mark Wilson from the fine art department, I gained insight into what kind of work I could be producing on this course. Working with taxidermy as a subject himself, he was able to show me that if I were to continue with this subject, I could create work that would have a greater contextual meaning.

After this talk I am more certainly leaning towards the fine art course, purely for change. I believe that if I were to be studying fine art as a BA, I would be looking at photography for a master’s degree.