MA Music graduate, Harry Docherty, discusses his choice to continue his academic career through a Masters at Edinburgh Napier University.
Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Harry Docherty, I recently graduated from my Masters in MA Music and am going on to study for my PhD.
What were you doing before your Masters?
Before my Masters, I studied my Bachelors in Music at Edinburgh Napier University. After that, I went straight on to doing my Masters because I wanted to keep
up the momentum of studying and I was strongly encouraged to do so by the people around me and my lecturers.
I’m glad because I think it was a really good time to do it and it made more sense as opposed to taking a year out so that I could keep in the academic mindset.
What made you decide to do your Masters?
I wanted to do a Masters because I saw the academic route as the most suitable one for me. It doesn’t restrict me to only studying because I’m still pursuing other career paths as well, but I wanted to see the academic route all the way through – I’m now going on to study my PhD in music.
How did the timing of your Masters work for you?
The timing, for me, going from my Bachelors going on to my Masters felt a bit daunting at first but the more time that passed between the degree and going on to do my Masters, that long break in Summer, it was enough for me to gather my thoughts and clear my head a bit.
So, it started off daunting and then it became exciting and then it felt more natural the more I did it. It was definitely the right choice to go straight into it.
How did you find the application process?
The application process for me was quite straightforward. I think because I was a returning student, it was already all familiar to me. It was all very smooth.
Being a returning student, I was allowed a significant discount on my tuition fees, so that was really helpful with going into the Masters. I felt like the university strongly encouraged us students to come back and continue our studies which was nice.
Did you access any funding?
As a Masters student, I was able to be funded by SAAS because they were able to cover five years of study – for me that was my four-year Bachelors degree and my Masters.
It was ideal for me; it was readily accessible and easy to apply for as well. Without that, I think I really would have struggled to find funding.
Where do you hope your Masters will take you in the future?
Studying my Masters has helped me on to doing my PhD which I’m starting soon. On top of that, there are other career paths that I’m pursuing at the same time; those include creating my own music and becoming a recording artist, doing composing work and lecturing and teaching.