When an accident left Fine Arts student Siobhan McCallum with her arm in a cast and unable to paint, she had no choice but to pick up a camera to finish her undergraduate degree. Having got the bug - and thanks to the Vice-Chancellor’s 2020 Scholarship - she then opted to do a master’s in Photography.
The Vice-Chancellor’s 2020 Scholarship offers a tuition fee discount of up to 50 per cent on selected full-time and part-time postgraduate courses. Based on academic achievement and merit, it is automatically applied to all home and EU graduates who achieve a 2:1 or higher and who are graduating or have graduated within the past two years. Individual faculties may also set their own eligibility criteria, terms and conditions.
Arriving at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) for the first time, the thought of a career in photography was simply not on the radar for Siobhan. Paints were her passion - but once she picked up a camera, she did not want to put it down. Nor did she want to say goodbye to DMU - “I love the university” - and says DMU is the perfect place for anyone looking to create innovative work, because of the encouragement to embrace innovative approaches, and the support of talented people.
Siobhan said: “The approach to photography in terms of picture-making ensures you think about your work from every angle. All the tutors are very talented and very inspiring, which means you can really develop your skills. Access to the photographic history research team is invaluable.”
She added: “It is great to bounce ideas off other people and the sheer diversity of the students brings a whole new slant to things. Friends doing different master’s can meet in the postgraduate study rooms to discuss ideas.”
To improve her employability, she also joined DMU’s Frontrunners scheme and worked in the university’s Arts collection, archiving past students’ work and liaising with organisations holding art collections on loan.
Posted on Monday 11 May 2015