Loughborough has been nothing less than a life-changing experience for me. It has changed me into a completely different person academically, professionally, and personally.
I was fortunate enough to receive the School of Design and Creative Arts Postgraduate Excellence Award for my master’s and receive funding from the University for my PhD as well. I am very grateful to Loughborough for helping me reach my goals and at the place I always wanted to be as a person.
There were many reasons to choose Loughborough, including ranking as one of the best design schools in the UK during the time I planned on pursuing higher education as a career. The campus also drew me in, coming from a big city, a quieter town was my preference and Loughborough made me feel as though I would fit in well here.
All the teachers I worked with during my master’s were beyond supportive and helpful. They were extremely thoughtful and encouraging throughout the year. The facilities in the creative arts building (where I was primarily based) made my experience way better than expected. As master’s students, we had our own studio and a range of workshops to explore including drawing, printing, photography and more. We had a lot of space and opportunities to get involved in practically that helped in facilitating learning.
The most important thing I learnt during my masters was how to research. I definitely think I came out of my master’s with much better writing and reading skills. Also, a master’s does teach you how to work in groups, how to communicate your work better and how to work under pressure during the last three months of the thesis. As an international student, this was my first time studying abroad so there was a lot of personal skill development involved as well when partaking in various societies, sports and activities.
My final project was focused on design thinking pedagogy and curriculum design in graphic design higher education. I redesigned one of the modules I studied in my first semester here at Loughborough titled ‘Exploring Materials, Processes and Techniques’. It was a practice-based module that focused on the practical side of exploration in design. It has been so far the most interesting project I have done considering I was designing something I had just studied myself and had my fellow peers to gather some feedback from as well.
During my master’s, soon after the first semester, I was accepted as a PhD candidate in the School of Design and Creative Arts, so I am currently researching graphic design pedagogy amongst undergraduate students. I am also employed at Loughborough University as a casual teacher teaching undergraduate Graphics students.
My advice to future international students would be to trust your instincts. If this is what you want, you should go for it. It’s not easy and has its challenges, but it’s the challenges you will enjoy and look back at once you graduate. As a PhD student now, I deeply miss my time as a master’s student because it was more of a carefree period for me and living on campus made my experience even better. So, if possible, I would suggest stay on campus as a postgraduate student. You get to be a part of the diverse community Loughborough offers. It is an unforgettable experience, and you definitely won’t regret it.