Career development opportunities whilst studying an Education MA

Education MA international graduate, Nadja Jepsen, tells us how studying at Brighton helped her to pursue a career in the education sector supporting other students to apply for scholarships.

“I choose to study the Education MA in the UK after being awarded the Santander Masters scholarship which made Brighton a more economical option than studying back home in California.”

“I had always had a passion for teaching and gained experience as an English language teacher in Seoul, South Korea for three years. It was during this time I became interested in the policy and administrative side of education. After some research, I discovered that a master’s degree was becoming an expectation for leadership positions in education so I started looking at course options and found Brighton.”

“The scholarship made it possible for me to focus on my education and opt-out of a student loan.  This impassioned me to pursue a career supporting students in their college access journey, with a focus on college affordability.”

“After graduation, I was initially laser-focused on getting a job at a university and applied to dozens of openings. While waiting for interviews I went to a course information night at a local college. Another participant talked about their job and their organization sounded like it aligned with my career interests. I jotted down the name hoping for job openings, and there were!”

“I ended up in the Scholarships Department at College Track , an education non-profit in the US. My work revolves around scholarships that College Track pays out to our scholars, who are low-income and first-generation students pursuing their bachelor’s degree. It has been an exciting time in the world of scholarships, I’ve experienced their transformational power from both the student and scholarship provider perspective. I’ve been able to take what I have learned and now present at industry conferences and webinars about scholarship related topics.”

“Though my time in Brighton was short, I made a great group of international friends who I still keep in contact with today. We did group dinners, nights out, and trips to London and Bath. They were a great support and it is nice to know that I have friends all over the world.”

“My advice to students and recent graduates is to not get too fixated on what the first post-grad job needs to be. I never even knew that a career in scholarships existed, and I am so happy to have found a niche that I enjoy and can see the positive impact on the students I support.”

Find out more about the Scholarships offered by the University of Brighton on our website.