Alan Brown, part-time MA Photography
A desire to gain a deeper understanding of contemporary photography led retired teacher Alan Brown to the doors of the University of Sunderland.
Alan says he now has a grasp of what motivates him as an artist having completed a part-time MA Photography programme.
But it was the flexibility of the part-time course which the amateur photographer says made a huge difference in settling into university life at the age of 65.
"I wanted to make sure I could prolong my experience of university life which is why I opted for part-time study over two years, Sunderland suited my needs perfectly," explained Alan.
"Of course, at times there would be pressure on you, but overall I managed the work quite comfortably.
"One of the main aspects which made my time so enjoyable at Sunderland was the experience of tutorials and seminars where you were encouraged to engage with other students and their ideas. It really galvanised your thinking.
"The lecturers were approachable and friendly and adopted the right stance given the broad range of backgrounds of students we had in our group."
For his dissertation, Alan, from Whitburn, South Tyneside, produced a warts-and-all photographic record of a Labour candidate's election campaign trail as she battled it out for a hotly contested seat in the North East.
In exchange for making a photographic documentary book charting Julie Elliott's bid to replace Chris Mullin as MP for Sunderland Central, Alan was allowed to select whatever images he wished from the assignment to use as part of his dissertation, which focused on the issue of gender and politics.
