BA (Hons) Photography

You'll 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'll learn how to place your practice within a historical and contemporary context, and define its audience. You'll 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'll also be able to borrow an extensive range of analogue and digital kit from our professional standard technical store.

During your studies, you'll 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.

All undergraduate courses at AUB offer an optional placement year, to be taken between your second and third years of study.

If you’re unsure about this optional placement, you don’t need to decide now. Once you’re here and studying with us, the course team will discuss the placement options with you, so when the time comes, you can make a decision that’s right for you.

If you’re required to have a Student Visa to study in the UK, it won’t be possible to undertake the one-year placement option; there’ll be other opportunities for you to engage with industry during your study at AUB.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 and gallery managers, worldwide
• Creative producers – working for Apple in San Francisco, California
• Photographic agency directors
• Advertising directors
• Art directors and buyers
• Photographic assistants and technicians
• Lighting technicians
• Studio managers and assistants
• Creative re-touchers
• Artist assistants
• Art handlers
• Installation technicians
• Fine art framers and fabricators
• Picture librarians
• Archivists and curators
• Gallery education officers
• Teachers, lecturers, technician tutors, and 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?

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

Over the years, visitors and guest speakers have included Francesca Allen, Thomas Brown, Damian Griffiths, Eugenie Shinkle, Hannah Archambault, Åsa Johannesson, Jake Elwes, Jennifer Martin, Spectrum Photographic, Dominic Bell, Ibrahim Azab, Yushi Li, Tereza Cervenova, Simone Mudde, Duncan Wooldridge, Dr Lucy Soutter, Aron Morel (Morel Books), Bruno Ceschel (Self Publish Be Happy), Folium, Eleonora Agostini, Silvia Rosi, Lorenzo Vittori, Thomas Brown (Webber Represents) and Kate Steciw.