Help Astrid Achieve Her Master's Degree

My name is Astrid Bridgwood, Class of 2024 at Queens University of Charlotte, majoring in Art History with minors in Philosophy and Arts Leadership & Administration. I have been a Dean’s List student—now a President’s List student—throughout my undergraduate degree. I have received recognition at my university through research grants as a Noble Fellow, supported community and voter engagement throughout my campus and the wider Charlotte area as a Civic & Community Engagement Fellow, and worked both within and without my field. I have presented my research on art and philosophy at numerous state-wide conferences, and currently work as an Intern with the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, producing an article exploring and platforming North Carolina’s ceramic artists.

I’ve supported myself financially throughout the completion of my undergraduate degree, working numerous jobs to pay for university and living costs—covering my tuition, course fees, and book costs among other routine bills like rent and food. Now, at this vital stage in my life, I am graduating from my undergraduate degree and leaving North Carolina—and the United States—to pursue postgraduate education, a dream of mine since I was a child.

I have been accepted to the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland, to complete their year-long Master of Science program in Contemporary Art History: Theory, Curating, and Criticism. My undergraduate thesis topic supports the dissertation I will complete during this program, focusing on submerged voices in fine art ceramics, hoping to uplift contemporary minority artists who influenced the change in ceramics from craft to fine art sculpture. It has been my dream to attend the University of Edinburgh since I was in high school. However, like many low-income students, cost has proved a barrier in realizing this dream.

I am applying for a student visa, which amounts to £490, or $618. Furthermore, as an International student, my tuition costs are significantly higher than a UK student, amounting to approximately £28,000, or $35,326. I will also need to ensure I have enough funds to account for Edinburgh’s cost of living, which amounts to an estimated £900, or $1,136 before rent.

Though I have some savings, the necessary costs I have accounted for throughout my undergraduate degree have limited my ability to significantly save enough. I will continue working full-time this summer and saving as much as possible, despite bills and other expenses necessary for the high cost of living in Charlotte. I have applied for an institutional scholarship, and continue to apply for external funding to support my degree. However, it has become obvious that other external support will be required to realize my dream.

The value of this program cannot be overstated. This degree will prove essential for my future professional endeavors. A non-United States degree for my discipline (Art History) has greater hiring potential, and will allow for a greater likelihood of acceptance to prestigious doctoral programs in the future. It is significantly cheaper to pursue this one-year master’s abroad than to do so in the United States; this will prevent me from accumulating more student debt, which I am working to mitigate after accruing debt during my undergraduate degree.

I hope to teach Art History as a university professor; my educational pursuits support this end goal. As a university professor, I hope to welcome and support other low-income students like myself, who perhaps enter higher education feeling out of place and unsupported. Art History is a vital discipline, and allowing students with diverse perspectives to gain legitimacy through access to higher education, becoming professionals, will only improve our understanding of visual and material culture. I hope to be one such student and future educator. This is my greatest dream, and what I feel to be my life’s calling. Thank you for your support—it truly means the world to me.