Charlotte will be investigating early specialisation and healthy engagement in dance and aesthetic sports. She says:

“As soon as I graduated from the MSc Dance Science at the University of Bedfordshire, I knew I wanted to continue my academic journey further. The university is full of highly ambitious and passionate lecturers, who gave me the confidence to pursue a career in academia. During my MSc I had some fantastic guest lecturers. I even had a Skype seminar with Sanna Nordin-Bates, who is now my PhD supervisor at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences

The units I studied at the University of Bedfordshire were a fantastic introduction to the theories that I will be building on within my PhD. My thesis is on early specialisation and healthy engagement in aesthetic sport and dance. I will be focusing on how early specialisation may be associated with psychological factors including perfectionism and motivation.

One of my first tasks as a PhD student has been to write an in-depth plan of my research thesis, including methods. Before doing the MSc Dance Science at the University of Bedfordshire, I had never conducted scientific research. The Research Methods unit gave me a fantastic overview of how to structure and plan scientific research.

I have chosen to include both quantitative and qualitative methods in my PhD, both of which were covered in the MSc course. Although, my questionnaires are in Swedish, so that has been a steep learning curve!

I am in the early days of my PhD but I feel prepared for what lies ahead. And I know I can always contact the staff at the University of Bedfordshire for support.”