Why you should study this course
Our highly-esteemed Photography degree is designed to create ‘next generation’ photographers – independent, creative, critical, adaptable and professional. This course provides you with the following opportunities:
- We will work with you to help you to develop a high standard of technical and practical skills across a wide range of analogue and digital photography processes, and associated media equipment and platforms.
- All of our current staff are experienced practitioners, who work across the industries of photography. They draw upon their knowledge, expertise and experience of working with photography in a variety of professional contexts, as editorial photographers, curators, writers, researchers, picture editors, archivist, and educators for organisations such as the National Portrait Gallery, The Photographers’ Gallery, IC Visual Lab, Barbican Art Gallery, British Museum, Offprint, Photoworks, Artangel, Photofusion, Channel 4, Time Inc. and Conde Nast. (Please note that staff are subject to change).
- Using industry-standard equipment and software, you’ll be taught in open photography classes where you can take advantage of contributions from our network of photographic experts from across the globe. In the past, this has included workshops, lectures, collaborative projects and online international learning projects, for example, with the Universidad de Europa de Madrid, Spain and Universitatea Nationala De Arte, Bucharest.
- On UK and international industry fieldtrips (subject to availability and additional costs), we will seek to introduce you to publishers, agencies, studios, galleries and museums, such as Belfast Exposed Photography, Museo del Prado Madrid, Museum of Modern Art New York, Source, Rope Press, Self-Publish Be Happy, Museum of London, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Law Magazine, Aperture, Paris Photo, GRAIN and International Centre of Photography New York.
- We have excellent links within the industry, many of whom may provide employment, placements or professional guidance (subject to availability, application and additional costs), such as GRAIN, Photomonitor and Magnum Photos.
- We have a well-stocked Media Loan Shop so you can borrow an extensive range of specialist, professional equipment, including digital medium format camera equipment, large format cameras, Bowens lighting, Canon and Nikon full frame digital SLRs and a full range of film cameras.
- Our regular speakers programme features esteemed experts which in the past have included John Blakemore, Susan Bright, Pete Brook, Lewis Bush, Elinor Carruci, Bruno Ceschel, Emma Critchley, Elizabeth Edwards, Paul Gaffney, Patricia Holland, Tom Hunter, Lucy Levene, Sian Macfarlane, Rebecca McClelland, Kate McMillan, David Moore, Christiane Monarchi, Jennifer Pattinson, Martin Pover, Alafuro Sikoki-Coleman, and Simon Terrill. (Speaker programme is subject to availability)
What you'll study
The course is designed to be highly motivating – the teaching and learning activities are conceived to have clear relevance to your future career. We will focus on the development of problem solving, reflective practice, critical thinking, technical and practical skills related to photographic practice.
From the outset, we will provide you with the opportunity to develop your technical skills and teach you to understand what it is to situate yourself within a professional photographic environment. We’ll introduce you to wider thematic questions and encourage critical thinking about the medium to help to better equip you to think as an informed image-maker. You will be encouraged develop your understanding of visual communications within the context of different industries, ranging from fashion photography through to fine art.
Together, we will question and explore the latest developments in photography – recently this has included data mining, geotagging, gif making, glitching, distributed authorship, archives, hypertext navigation, collaborative photographic practices and much more.
Throughout the course, we invite the international photography community into our classroom (subject to availability), enabling you to engage directly with the industry. You’ll work on projects on location and in the studio, developing high levels of competence using industry-standard cameras, lenses, lighting equipment and editing software in the digital darkrooms
Year one
In the first year of study we help you to demonstrate the technical, conceptual and professional skills to realise your ideas through a variety of photographic forms and with knowledge of how these outcomes operate in commercial and artistic contexts.
Modules
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Histories and Practices - 30 credits
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Documents and Fictions - 20 credits
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Expanded Practices - 20 credits
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Representation and the image - 20 credits
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Professional Development - 10 credits
Year two
In year two you will have the chance to increasingly work beyond the university with exhibitions and experience opportunities. Alongside this you will be supported in developing your own, unique practice which will be taken into your final year and beyond.
Modules
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Concepts and Approaches - 40 credits
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Community, Culture and Identity - 20 credits
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Photography and Narrative - 20 credits
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Professional Experience - 10 credits
Final year
By the final year of the degree, you should have the knowledge, confidence and expertise to be publishing and exhibiting your work on international platforms, and leveraging those forces that are changing the face of the photographic world.
Modules
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Independent Research - 30 credits
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Independent Practice: Exploration - 30 credits
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Independent Practice: Realisation - 40 credits
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Professional Futures - 10 credits
