First INS Masters by Research projects completed.

INS has recently celebrated the first two completions of its new Masters by Research (MRes) degree. An MRes is an advanced research degree which involves the production of a 40 000 word thesis on a specialist topic. Andrew Parkinson’s research focused on the engagement of three artistic figures with Rackwick in Hoy: Poet George Mackay Brown, painter Sylvia Wishart, and composer Peter Maxwell Davies. Spencer Rosie’s thesis analysed the royal charters of Kirkwall in detail, considering their influence on life in the burgh during its earliest centuries within the Scottish kingdom. Congratulations to both!

Pictured: Andrew Parkinson in Rackwick (L); Spencer Rosie (R)