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Photography BA(Hons)

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    Overview

    Interested in visual culture, visual communications, lighting, graphic communication, and art practices? You could explore all the above and more on this Photography BA(Hons), while focusing on the role of a photographer in society.

    You’ll also:

    • Explore commercial pathways available to you
    • Delve into the histories and contemporary practices of photography
    • learn how to discuss, present, exhibit and display your work, in person and through screen-based and generative methods.

    Why study Photography BA(Hons)

    Choose our Photography BA(Hons) and you’ll work with a team of internationally renowned photographers and academics, who bring extensive experience in a range of approaches to image-making and publishing.

    You’ll also experience our state-of-the-art photographic facilities, including studios, the latest professional digital medium format cameras, digital and analogue darkrooms and high-quality print and book-making facilities. We provide a professional-standard imaging environment in all aspects of production, as well, giving you the opportunity to produce still and moving images to the very highest professional standards. Experience of such environments is a vital indicator that you are ready to enter your chosen area of the creative industries.

    Your time on this course is designed to help suitably prepare you for a post-University career; you could go on to secure a role as, for example, a professional photographer covering areas such as fashion, documentary, editorial, generative image systems (A.I), film and commercial work.

    Cinematics and Photography subjects at Huddersfield are ranked top in Yorkshire for Learning Resources, too, scoring 93%, based on experimental statistics from the National Student Survey 2023.

    Entry requirements

    BBB-BCC at A Level or equivalent.

    120-104 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications.

    Merit in T Level .

    DMM-MMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.

    • Pass in Diploma Foundation Studies in Art and Design combined with A Level or BTEC qualifications, to total an equivalent of 120-104 UCAS tariff points.
    • Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Merit or above.
    • 120-104 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.

    Offers will be subject to a digital portfolio review, after which you will be invited to attend an Applicant Visit Day, at which you will have the opportunity to discuss and be given feedback on your portfolio. Read more about the portfolio review process on our Interviews, auditions and portfolio pages.

    If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

    Other suitable experience or qualifications will be considered. For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

    Course Detail

    Core modules:

    Introducing Techniques of Photography

    Technique is the creative application of technical skill. In this module you will encounter a diverse range of technical and professional methods of image making as you develop your confidence and competence as a photographer. Through demonstrations and collaborative workshops, and responding to briefs, you will work in the studio, darkroom and on location, building your technical and visual literacy, conceptual understanding, and practical proficiency.

    Breaking the Photograph

    This module introduces you to experimental practice as part of the creative image-making process. Sessions will focus on methods and approaches to producing photographic images that break with convention. You will respond to a variety of themes in quickfire, workshop-led projects.

    Experimental Practices of Photography

    Taking place in semester two, this module builds on Breaking the Photograph, further developing your engagement with practical experimentation. It encourages you to situate your image making as part of an expanded creative practice, considering how that practice enters into visual culture and is received by an audience.

    Introduction to Critical Languages

    This module introduces you to vital debates on the production and reception of contemporary visual culture. Interdisciplinary in nature and approach, you will explore the subject with reference to a wide variety of images and artefacts, applying your learning to your subject specialism. The module introduces you to the importance of independent research, critical thinking and informed opinion. You will learn to recognise and appraise key conventions and contexts and apply that knowledge to your creative practice through discussion and in written formats that recognise the breadth of styles deployed by today’s creative practitioners.

    Core modules:

    Collaborative Photographic Practice

    Collaborative Photographic Practice tasks you with developing and realising a body of work in relation to key themes of contemporary photography, encouraging you to situate your emerging practice in relation to questions of society and culture. As you develop your individual project, you will also work collaboratively to produce a group exhibition, assisted by tutorials, interim shows, exhibition visits, and workshops both technical and experimental. At the end of the module, you will have gained valuable experience of longer-term project development, an understanding of site-specific considerations in making work, and the professional skills required to realise a group show in a public-facing arena.

    Screen and Time

    Screen and Time establishes moving image as a fundamental aspect of photographic practice. It employs a combination of technical workshops in camera operation, sound, and editing software, and the critical exploration of creative practical approaches to the subject. You will be supported in developing and refining a range of technical and creative skills. You will work both collaboratively and independently to produce moving image to an increasingly professional standard.

    Narrative-Edit-Sequence

    This module is all about the photobook, a major element of contemporary photographic culture. From conception to realisation, you will consider the specificity of the book form, developing the practical and technical skills necessary for conceiving, designing, and fabricating a photobook. You will explore editing and sequence as key components of narrative, carefully considering the potential of design, paper-stock and binding as key aspects of concept, production and reception.

    Ecologies of Practice

    What is the critical function of photography today? How does photography connect with other disciplines? What skills, knowledges, and networks do I need to activate my practice in a wider visual culture? These are some of the questions the module asks you to explore and reflect on through practice-based, research driven workshops and outputs. The module focuses on the wider ecologies that photography is part of, developing essential skills to support your emerging practice.

    Expanded Critical Languages

    Expanded Critical Languages continues your exploration of thinking about and through visual culture, supporting you to further develop your contextual knowledge and understanding, and growing your skills and confidence as a researcher. You will engage with a variety of established research strategies and explore some of key issues relevant to your subject specialism and creative practice more broadly.

    Arts and Humanities Placement

    The placement year is your chance to gain hands-on experience and build on the skills you’ve developed in your first two years of study. You’ll spend up to 48 weeks (minimum 36 weeks) in a graduate-level role, sharpening your professional skills, exploring career options, and boosting your future job prospects. During your placement, you'll reflect on your performance, develop real-world skills, and learn to approach your role with a critical eye. Your placement will be monitored, and you’ll be assessed on your achievements, setting you up for success in your final year and beyond.

    Core modules:

    Advanced Research Strategies

    This module provides the space to explore the creative and critical foundations of your final major project. You will identify a theme/subject/issue relevant to your individual concerns and be supported in carrying out in-depth research and technical and methodological experimentation. You will begin to make work that you will develop and refine in the follow-on module, Personal Practice Portfolio.

    Applied Critical Languages

    This module takes place throughout the final year, focusing on contextual and professional issues appropriate to your individual practice and subject specialism. In the first semester, you will undertake research on a self-selected topic that complements your practical interests, developing a set of questions and ideas that build on the skills, knowledge and understanding acquired on your course. In the second semester, you will develop and refine a public-facing profile based on the audience and professional requirements for your chosen area of creative practice.

    Personal Practice Portfolio

    This module builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in Advanced Research Strategies as you work towards the realisation and production of a significant body of photographic work. Research, testing, reflection and analysis continue through the module, and in collaboration with staff, visiting specialists and your peers you will identify improvements in your critical understanding and practical skill set necessary to successfully resolve your project. On completion, you will have produced a body of work that demonstrates a high standard of professionalism and creative ambition, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding and articulation of your practice.

    On average, 24.2%* of the study time on this course is spent in tutorials, lectures, seminars, workshops etc.

    *based on 23/24 programme specifications.

    You'll have the opportunity to learn through lectures, studio-based projects, workshop demonstrations and practical sessions. An optional supervised fieldwork visit to a major overseas location normally takes place in Year 2.

    We support you and monitor your progress throughout the course, and your assessment will include production of photographic images in the studio, developmental studio work, exhibition and presentation of your work, as well as written assignments. Your module specification/course handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria applying to your course.

    Feedback (usually written) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results. Feedback on exam performance/final coursework is available on request after the publication of results.

    You'll be taught by staff who are highly experienced and regarded within their fields and who, alongside their academic qualifications, hold prestigious professional qualifications including Associateship Level Member of the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP), Accredited Phase One Certified Professional (POCP) and Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP).

    Inspirational field trips to destinations of educational and cultural significance are a component of the course and will be funded by the University. Study trips may include visits to galleries, museums, and exhibitions. Examples of recent trips include The National Media Museum, Bradford; Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield; the Brighton Photo Bienniel, Brighton; and the Format Photography Festival, Derby.

    Some students have won bursaries to continue their work post course, attending portfolio events and taking part in exhibitions held abroad, which have included Beijing, Seoul and New York.

    Further information

    The teaching year normally starts in September with breaks at Christmas and Easter, finishing with a main examination/assessment period around May/June. Timetables are normally available one month before registration.

    Your course is made up of modules and each module is worth a number of credits. Each year you study modules to the value of 120 credits, adding up to 360 credits in total for a bachelor’s qualification. These credits can come from a combination of core, compulsory and optional modules but please note that optional modules may not run if we do not have enough students interested.

    If you achieve 120 credits for the current stage you are at, you may progress to the next stage of your course, subject to any professional, statutory or regulatory body guidelines.

    1. The University of Huddersfield has been rated Gold in all three aspects of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023. We were the only university in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West to achieve Gold ratings in all three aspects of the TEF among those announced in September 2023. In fact only 13 Universities, out of the 96 that were announced in September 2023, were Gold in all three ratings.

    2. Further proof of teaching excellence: our staff rank in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates, who have higher degrees, and hold teaching qualifications (HESA 2024). So, you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.

    3. We are first in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 22 since 2008 (2023 data).

    4. We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).

    At Huddersfield, you'll study the Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside your degree* so that you gain valuable qualities and experiences that could help you to get the career you want, no matter what your field of study is. On completion of the Award, you'll receive a GPA certificate from the University of Huddersfield, alongside the specialist subject skills and knowledge you gain as part of your degree, which may help to set you apart from other graduates.

    Giving students access to the Global Professional Award is one of the reasons the University won ‘Best University Employability Strategy’ award at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2021. Find out more on the Global Professional Award webpage.

    *full-time, undergraduate first degrees with a minimum duration of three years. This does not include postgraduate, foundation, top-up, accelerated or apprenticeship degrees.

    Placements

    The course offers an optional one-year (36 weeks minimum) work placement after the second year, in the UK or abroad. This will give you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, insight into your chosen career and open up your graduate employment prospects. Our Placement Unit and academic staff have excellent industry links and can support you in applying for and finding your placement(s), as well as during your placement year.

    Students on the course have previously taken up placement opportunities with companies including: Photography Works – Mirfield; Box Photographic – Huddersfield; Flawless Photography Studios - Manchester and Chique Photography - Huddersfield.

    You can find out more information on placements here.

    I knew a year in industry would give me valuable experience. I was paid for photoshoots and after six months hired as a part-time photographer. After my placement, I stayed on at Baby Art Studios whilst finishing my degree. I now have a full-time managerial role in my dream career doing my dream job.

    Placement student

    Abigail Lee, Photography BA(Hons), placement with Baby Art Studios in Manchester

    A gallery of work by our Photography students and graduates. Click on each image to find out more.

    Photography studios in Barbara Hepworth Building
    Phase One camera equipment
    Photography student using our Darkroom
    Vintage Cameras
    Printing bureau
    Canalside view of the Barbara Hepworth Building
    Create Lab

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    Important information

    We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

    Changes to a course you have applied for

    If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment.

    Cancellation of a course you have applied for

    Although we always try and run all of the course we offer, we may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants to ensure you have a good learning experience. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will contact you to discuss other suitable courses with us we can transfer your application to. If we notify you that the course you have applied to has been withdrawn or combined, and you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

    Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

    We will always try to deliver your course and other services as described. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below:

    Changes to option modules

    Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have a range of options to choose from and we will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

    Major changes

    We will only make major changes to the core curriculum of a course or to our services if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change in this context is a change that materially changes the services available to you; or the outcomes, or a significant part, of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), classes, type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.

    For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators; to meet the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body; to improve the quality of educational provision; in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback; and/or to reflect academic or professional changes within subject areas. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment.

    Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but this may not always be the case. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation with affected students. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

    Termination of course

    In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed and we will notify you as soon as possible about what your options are, which may include transferring to a suitable replacement course for which you are qualified, being provided with individual teaching to complete the award for which you were registered, or claiming an interim award and exiting the University. If you do not wish to take up any of the options that are made available to you, then you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the course without liability to the University for future tuition fees and you will be entitled to a refund of all course fees paid to date. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

    When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. These include regulations regarding the assessment of your course, academic integrity, your conduct (including attendance) and disciplinary procedure, fees and finance and compliance with visa requirements (where relevant). It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to. You should read these carefully before you enrol. Please note that this information is subject to change and you are advised to check our website regularly for any changes before you enrol at the University. A person who is not party to this agreement shall not have any rights under or in connection with it. Only you and the University shall have any right to enforce or rely on the agreement.

    Equal opportunities

    The University of Huddersfield is an equal opportunities institution. We aim to create conditions where staff and students are treated solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential, regardless of gender, age, race, caste, class, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, family responsibility, trade union activity, political or religious belief, or age. Please visit our website to see our Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy

    Data protection

    The University holds personal data on all enquirers, applicants and enrolled students. All such data is kept and processed in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Legislation. The University’s Data Protection Policy and Privacy Notices are available on the University website.

    Students’ Union membership

    Under the 1994 Education Act, students at all UK universities have the right to join, or not to join, the Students’ Union. There is no membership fee. If you choose not to join you have the right not to be disadvantaged; however, you are not entitled to vote, take part in elections, or hold any office. The following arrangements apply in order that non-Union members are not disadvantaged: Non-members are welcome to take part in the activities of Affiliated Clubs and Societies on payment of the appropriate subscription. However, they may not vote or hold office in the society or club. Union members may be offered a discounted subscription. Non-members are free to use Union facilities on the same basis as members. Welfare, catering and shops are available to non-members as well as members. Union members may be offered a discounted price.

    The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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