My postgraduate journey at UAL

My journey to postgraduate study wasn’t linear. I took a two-year gap working, travelling and volunteering, before figuring out what I wanted to do next with my practice, career and returning to academia. Now, roughly two years on from receiving my first offers to study at my top-choice programme, I wanted to look back and reflect on the questions that many prospective students have when making these important decisions.

As a student ambassador on college tours, webinars and the Unibuddy platform, I've gathered most frequently asked questions. While I acknowledge that each situation is very different depending on your lived experience and expectations from the postgraduate journey, I want to share my perspective to provide reassurance for everyone who is just thinking about starting on this path.

Why should I choose postgraduate studies? Is it the right step in my career?

Postgraduate study can serve many purposes: exploring a new direction, making a career change, deepening expertise or finally dedicating time to the work you care about most. The doubt around timing and readiness is something almost everyone feels. What helped me move forward was a simple question from my mum: if I had the time, resources and support to bring my wildest passion project to life, would I take that chance? That reframe changed everything for me and helped write the project proposal.

Because my mum was right. Master's studies gave me a safe environment and the support to learn new skills and open up new directions. I attended the international summer school Shared Campus, presented at the London Student Sustainability Conference and opened my collaborative exhibition 4thwall.exe.

How do you choose the right course?

During the admission process, I treated the research phase as a second job. I first created a list of everything I wanted to learn and the values I wanted to pursue, with my focus on socially engaged and sustainability practices. From there, I started looking through course pages against my list of priorities. I was interested in the curriculum, lecturers' experience and alumni work. Even with all that research, I still applied to three courses at UAL, each with different approaches, portfolios and personal statements. While this process takes time and real personal investment, I think it puts you in the right headspace to outline your expectations and align with your values. And don't be afraid to reach out through UAL channels or to Student Ambassadors for advice.

How feasible is working during your studies? And what support do students have for future employment?

Most people I know combine part-time work with their studies. As an international student, you are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week during the academic year, though you should stay flexible around submission periods and make sure to give yourself time to rest. The university also has its own work agency, Arts Temps, through which I took on several paid roles.

UAL also has a Careers and Employability team that offers one-to-one and group sessions covering portfolio, CV and cover letter advice, as well as exciting opportunities such as hackathons and competitions.

What kind of activities can you get involved in, and is there a community for international students?

From the postgraduate community where you're reading this story now, to postgraduate interest groups (which you can also start yourself), the university offers a wide variety of events, symposiums and lecture programmes to get involved in, not to mention student culture, interest and sports groups through the Students' Union. While I started going to these events mostly for information, over time I found myself making genuine connections with people from different UAL colleges and courses. And as a small cohort, we also grew very close, not just with each other but with the students from the year before us. The network of people I met along the way became my support system: I now have a collaborator I started an art collective with, alumni mentors and close friends.

Hope it helps, good luck with your journey!