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BA (Hons) Photography
Some of the world's leading photographers such as Wolfgang Tillmans and Nick Knight started their careers on this leading photographic course.
Photography course information
We encourage experimentation and risk-taking on this visually-led course. You’ll engage with photography in a variety of contexts, taking an open-minded approach to possibilities of the expanding field of photography. You’ll mix theory and research with practical work to get a rounded view of photography and its place in culture.
You will be joining a course with an international reputation, a challenging curriculum, and inspiring teaching.
This course encourages students to engage with contemporary photography in an individually creative and experimental manner, supported by outstanding analogue and digital resources. This course is visually led, but you will learn how to place your practice within a historical and contemporary context, and define its audience. You will be introduced to a range of technical processes, from 19th-century alternative printing techniques in our traditional darkrooms to digital still and moving image capture, and post-production in our state-of-the-art lighting studios and digital suites. You will also be able to borrow an extensive range of analogue and digital kit from our professional standard technical store.
During your studies, you will be engaged in specialist professional practice units, and will be able to use our extensive alumni and professional network to help plan your career or prepare you to undertake postgraduate study.
Level 4 (first year)
In your first year, through group and individual learning, we will introduce you to the technical skills, historical and contemporary practices and theoretical issues that are fundamental to photography. You will work on a range of visual projects, develop your creativity and establish a strong grounding in photographic production. In support of this, a series of technical workshops will provide you with skills and working-knowledge of studio and darkroom practices, and digital image editing and printing.
Level 5 (second year)
In your second year, you will begin to define your own practice and engage with more complex issues in art and photography, as you continue to take risks, experiment further and test out potential modes of display. During this time, you will develop an understanding of the creative industries and start to consider future career directions.
Level 6 (third year)
In your final year you will refine your practice and produce a substantial body of work for exhibition. The relationship between theory, practice and technical skills will be consolidated and your knowledge of professional practice deepened. With the opportunity to use our extensive alumni and professional network you will be able to make informed choices in preparation for your future career.
All students are registered for the award of BA (Hons); however, exit awards are available if you leave the course early, having successfully completed one or two levels. If you successfully complete a level of the course, you will automatically be entitled to progress to the next level.
For the award of a Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE), you must have achieved a minimum of 120 credits at Level 4. This qualification may be awarded if you leave the University following successful completion of the first year of your course.
For the award of a Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE), you must have achieved a minimum of 240 credits of which a minimum of 120 must be at Level 5. This qualification may be awarded if you leave the University following successful completion of the second year of your course.
For the award of a BA (Hons) you must have achieved a minimum of 360 credits of which a minimum of 240 must be at Level 5 or above, of which a minimum of 120 credits must be at Level 6. This qualification will be awarded upon successful completion of your course.
A BA without Honours may be awarded if you have achieved 300 credits, at least 180 of which are at Level 5 or above, and at least 60 of which are at Level 6.
Course team
MA, PGCE, BA
MA, BA
MA, BA
PhD, MA, MA, BFA
MA, BA
MSc
MA Fine Art
Watch our course video
Course leader Simon Cunningham talks more about what you can expect from studying BA (Hons) Photography here at AUB.
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Accept to viewHow to apply
Once you've found the perfect Undergraduate course, you can apply to study via UCAS, including direct entry applications to second and third year.
When applying through UCAS, use the institution code A66. All of our courses take place on one site, so we don't have a campus code. We'll then use your completed UCAS form to make decisions about your application. You can find out more on entry requirements in our apply section.
When you apply to one of our courses, it's important that you help us get a good picture of both you and your work – so you'll need a great personal statement. We want to know more about why you're interested in the course, your key influences, and what you hope to do after your studies.
If you're invited for an interview, many of our courses will ask to see a portfolio of your work so we can get more insight into your ideas and abilities. To help you, we've created guidelines outlining what we expect from your portfolio for each course.
Student gallery
Looking for creative inspiration? Browse our gallery below to see the kind of projects that are students are involved with.
Students studying this course achieve great things and have won prestigious and high profile awards, such as:
- APHE Bursary
- Eizo Award
- Float Art Prize
- Photograd mentorship
- Portrait of Britain winner
- South West Graduate Photography Prize
Entry/Portfolio requirements
We're interested in your individual creativity and how you communicate to an audience using your photography.
Top tips on how to prepare your portfolio:
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Accept to viewFor courses that require a portfolio review or an audition, the Admissions team will be in touch with you and request a digital portfolio or audition.
We'll hold Offer Holder days in Spring and invite applicants to visit the campus and meet the course team, or if you're unable to visit us you'll be able to attend a virtual Offer Holder Day.
The nature and level of the course means that students are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds with a variety of talents, aspirations and experiences.
We look for creative potential through the medium of photography and an indication of your personal ideas and interests, so bring with you any journals, idea books and sketchbooks together with your finished work.
The qualities we look for are reflected in the course structure:- a commitment to the medium,- sensitivity towards its capacity for making visual statements - an awareness of the importance of its history and contemporary practices.
An interest in broad cultural issues is also desirable (i.e. film, music, literature, fine art etc.). We are looking for an engaged attitude and a personality that is able to cope with academic study as well as studio practice. Above all, applicants must be able to generate ideas and work in a self-motivated way.
Typical questions you will be asked are:
- Why do you want to be a photographer?
- Who are your influences?
- What qualities would you bring to a peer group?
- What do you personally wish to achieve on the course?
- Discuss your ambitions.
The ability to contextualise and to talk about work is of particular importance for this course.
Universities interviewing for creative courses will expect to be presented with a portfolio to help them understand your ability and range of work. Your portfolio could be your golden ticket into receiving an offer so making sure it’s presentable, well-organised and accessible is essential.
Fees and funding
The fee that you pay the Arts University Bournemouth provides the necessary equipment and training for you to complete your course.
You may also choose to buy some items of personal equipment such as a laptop or tablet computer, but this is not required; desktop and laptop computers are available for you to use in common study areas, including a loan system in the Library.
Facilities
You will be introduced to our professional-standard production areas, outstanding analogue and digital facilities in the form of state-of-the-art lighting studios, traditional darkrooms and post-production suites. There, you can embrace a range of processes and technologies - from 19th Century to high-end digital, with the potential to create virtual and computer-generated imagery. You will be supported in all areas of the department by a team of highly skilled technical instructors and technicians.
- Photographic studios
- Automated film processing
- Colour darkrooms
- 30 inch AUTOPAN RA4 paper processor
- Black and white darkrooms, processing area and deep tank room
- Digital darkroom with colour managed workflow
- Professional print bureau
- Epson SC-P9000 A0 large format printer and proofer
- Chromira 30 inch RA4 Digital Printer
- Frame-making equipment and workshop area for producing high-quality bespoke exhibition-ready work
Equipment store
We provide an extensive range of professional analogue and digital cameras and ancillary equipment that you can access for use in the studio or out on location.
- Film cameras 35 mm, medium format, large format field/monorail cameras up to 10 x 8
- Pinhole cameras, 35 mm, medium format and large format
- Full frame DSLR cameras - Digital medium format cameras, including Hasselblad and Phase One
- Location lighting equipment
- Broncolor Parabolic
- Specialist video, sound, image stabilisation and continuous lighting equipment for moving image
- Wind machine, reflectors, gels, clamps, portable backdrops, data projectors, developing tanks, Wacom tablets, and more…
Teaching and learning
Honours study combines independent learning and taught sessions.
The course objectives are met by deploying a wide variety of teaching and learning methods including projects, lectures, seminars, group critiques and tutorials. In consultation with the Course Leader, staff are responsible for co-ordinating individual units of study, and for selecting appropriate methods of delivery according to subject matter and student experience.
The methods employed induct you to the disciplines required of a creative practitioner and promote the development of transferable and adaptable skills
The study time allocated to each unit in the course incorporates a balance of formal teaching, tutorial support and independent learning. The course is structured progressively to provide increased opportunities for independent learning as you reach the later stages of the course.
The progressive promotion of independent learning reflects your anticipated maturity as a student and allows you to direct your learning towards individual goals. The teaching in Level 4 is directed at providing you with the knowledge, concepts and skills to take increasing responsibility for the management of your own learning.
Teaching is directed at supporting individual engagement in learning, although there will be opportunities for you to work in teams to enable you to learn the value of peer co-operation.
Contact hours include all scheduled teaching sessions, but also supervised time in the workshop or studio. In line with national guidance, we include in our calculation of contact hours all the time which is scheduled in the studio for independent study which is also supported by staff (either academic staff, or technicians).
The information provided below gives the proportion of your study time which constitutes contact hours. Where there are optional routes through the course, we have used the figures for the most popular option.
In 2020/21, visitors to the course include:
- Silvia Rosi
- Tomoko Sawada
- Lorenzo Vittori
- Asa Johannesson
- Yushi Lee
- Bruno Ceschel (Self Publish Be Happy)
- Eugenie Shinkle
- Aron Morel (Morel Books)
- Eleonora Agostini
- Thomas Brown (Webber Represents)
- Lucy Soutter
- Kate Steciw
- Spectrum Photographic
Assessment and feedback
Each unit is assessed separately, and the assessment forms part of the unit. Assessment both provides a measure of your achievement, and also gives you regular feedback on how your learning is developing.
For every unit of your course, we will inform you of what you are expected to learn; what you have to submit; how your work will be assessed; and the deadline for presenting your work for assessment. This is made available through Unit Information, which is on your course blog.
You will receive a final mark for each unit in the form of a percentage, which will be recorded on your formal record of achievement (transcript). Each component of assessment is graded using a notched marking scale, whereby only certain marks are used within each grade. The only marks available within any ten-point band are *2, *5 and *8 (e.g. 62, 65, 68). These marks correspond to a low, mid, and high level of achievement within each grade band.
The University has agreed that, during 2019/20, it will run a pilot project. This will mean that on some courses, one unit at Level 4 will be assessed on a Pass / Fail basis only, with written feedback but no numerical grade. If your course has been selected for the pilot, your Course Leader will tell you this, and the details will be clearly expressed on the Unit Information Sheet.
All learning outcomes must be passed to successfully complete the unit.
On successful completion of your Honours degree course, you will be awarded a degree classification based on your unit marks. The final classification is determined using all unit marks at Levels 5 and 6 using two different algorithms, which are detailed in the HE Student Regulations. If the two algorithms produce different results, you will be awarded the higher class of degree.
If you have joined Level 6 through either the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) route or having completed a Foundation Degree (FdA), the final classification is determined using only your unit marks at Level 6.
For further information on assessment, progression, awards and classifications, please visit https://viewpoint.aub.ac.uk
Japan Now 2020
Tomoko Sawada photography masterclass and artist talk for BA (Hons) Photography students!
Sawada’s practice as a photographer and performance artist has made her one of the leading Japanese artists of her generation, winning her many awards including the Kimura Ihei Memorial Photography Award for Young Japanese Photographer and the International Centre of Photography Infinity Award for Young Photographers. Her work explores assumptions about gender roles and cultural stereotypes, identity, status, society and individualism.
In partnership with Modern Culture and The Japan Foundation.
What our graduates are doing
The expansive nature of the BA (Hons) Photography course means our graduates find employment in many areas of the creative industries worldwide.
The expansive nature of the course has enabled graduates to work in all kinds of roles, in many areas of the creative industries worldwide. Where will this course take you?
Contemporary Artists and Photographers, exhibiting in commercial galleries and museums worldwide. Commercial Photographers and Directors working for the most prestigious clients worldwide, represented by leading agencies such as Webber Represents. Artist Filmmakers, winners of the 2019 Jerwood/FVU Award. Film Directors, commissioned by BBC New Creatives 2019. Museum Directors, Gallerists, Gallery Managers, worldwide. Creative Producers, working for Apple in San Francisco, California. Photographic Agency Directors. Advertising Directors. Art Directors. Art buyers. Photographers Assistants. Photographic Technicians. Lighting Technicians. Studio Managers. Studio Assistants. Creative Retouchers. Artist Assistants. Art Handlers. Installation Technicians. Fine Art Framers and Fabricators. Picture Librarians. Archivists. Curators. Gallery Education Officers. Teachers. Technician Tutors. Lecturers. Course Leaders.
The expansive nature of the course has enabled graduates to work in all kinds of roles, in many areas of the creative industries worldwide. Where will this course take you?
Ellen Stewart
I’ve just graduated from the Arts University Bournemouth. The university itself has supplied me with the most valuable mentorship...
Thomas Brown
Since graduating from AUB BA (Hons) Photography, Thomas Brown has been shooting and directing in London...
Webb Ellis
Caitlin and Andrew Webb-Ellis are a British/Canadian artist duo. Working primarily with moving images and sound, their process is fluid...
Students studying this course achieve great things and have won prestigious and high profile awards, such as:
- APHE Bursary
- Eizo Award
- Float Art Prize
- Photograd mentorship
- Portrait of Britain winner
- South West Graduate Photography Prize
Trips and visits
As part of your course you may also get the opportunity to take part in course trips, previous trips have included:
- Paris
- Moscow
- Berlin
- Kraków
- Amsterdam
- New York
- London
*These trips are optional and some may incur additional costs
The Earth Issue Freedom Fundraiser
The Freedom Fundraiser: A print sale for the Black Lives Matter movement
Ninety global artists and photographers, including current student Myles Bailey and several AUB alumni, have donated prints to The Earth Issue’s Freedom Fundraiser, raising in excess of £200,000 to support organisations fighting for social justice, peace and freedom.
The Earth Issue was founded by BA (Hons) Photography alumnus, Elena Cremona
