PG student Meghan Strachan

As part of the Sussex Masters event taking place on April 27, we take a look at a current student who has taken that well-trodden journey from Sussex undergraduate to Sussex postgraduate.

With a new fee regime unveiled by the government and a selection of Sussex postgraduate scholarships the route into further study has never been easier.

Meghan Strachan – Digital Media MA

I chose Digital Media because after doing my undergraduate in Sociology, which was an essay-based subject, I wanted the opportunity to gain the practical skills that this course could offer. I thought Digital Media is also a very current field to study as many jobs that are available at the moment involve some form of media or digital marketing. 

I chose to stay on and study at Sussex because I have grown very attached to both the university and the city of Brighton and did not feel ready to leave. I had a very good experience at Sussex while studying my degree as I made good friends with other students and had very helpful tutors so I was keen to continue studying here.

I have found the most interesting aspect of studying my MA to be the diversity of the course, I have studied a range of modules from Photography and Data Visualisation to more sociological topics such as Gender and Sexuality in Digital Culture, with a nice balance of practical and theory. I have also worked with a variety of tutors and students whose range of different backgrounds are reflected in their contribution to the classes, making it an interesting environment to learn in.

I have two days of uni per week, and a typical day would consist of 4 hours of contact time, divided into a two-hour seminar and a two-hour workshop for practical modules. During the seminar we will discuss the theoretical ideas surrounding the practice and talk about what we have read that week. There is often a short presentation from some students at the beginning about the topic for that week. During the workshops we will get a chance to develop our practical skills, for example for Photography we will be taught how to use the camera to create different effects, how to use Photoshop and also get time to work on our ongoing projects. During the rest of the week I spend a lot of time in Silverstone (the media building) working on my projects and doing the reading for the seminars. I also occasionally attend lectures by guest speakers that are organised by the media department, as these can be very interesting.  

I would like to pursue a career in the field of social and digital research or digital marketing. I feel like the skills I am learning in this MA such as data visualisation and digital research have complimented the qualitative research skills that I learnt during my degree, and both have equipped me well for pursuing a career in this field.

I would advise a current undergrad student who is looking to do a Masters to not be afraid to branch out into a subject that is different from their undergrad, as although it may be slightly more challenging and daunting at first, it is very rewarding and can open more doors for you after you leave. 

I’m from south west London so choosing Sussex was a relatively easy decision for me, it also stood out from the other universities that I was considering, partly because of the friendly people and lovely campus.

One of my favourite things about Sussex is the fact that it is a campus uni as I feel like it creates a strong sense of community, and I also like how close it is to Brighton because there is always interesting things going on.

Something I am writing at the moment is about increasing automation in society and the effects of this on the workforce focusing on what would happen to society if machines replaced labour and people no longer had to work.