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Photography BA(Hons)

2024-25 (also available for 2025-26)

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Undergraduate Open Days
Undergraduate Open Days

Start date

16 September 2024

Duration

3 years full-time
4 years inc. placement year

Entry requirements

A Level - BBB-BCC

BTEC - DMM-MMM

See full entry requirements

Places available (subject to change)

55

Chat with our students  

About the course

Reasons to study

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

2. During this course, you’ll work from fully equipped studios in our £30-million art and design building – the Barbara Hepworth Building – which was custom-built for art education.  

3. Your studies will help to prepare you for a career as a professional photographer potentially covering areas such as fashion, documentary, editorial, generative image systems (AI), film and commercial work.  

 

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.

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.

Entry requirements

BBB-BCCat A Level or equivalent.

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

Merit at 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.

Applicants will be invited to attend an Applicant Visit Day, at which you will have the opportunity to present and be given feedback on your portfolio.

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 Where are you from information pages.

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

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

Student Work

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

Your career

This course aims to help you develop the skills needed to go in to roles such as freelance photographer, studio photographer, art director, visual stylist and image maker or manipulator. Previous students have also gone on to work in curatorial scenarios, and galleries or museums, as picture editors and archivists, or as part of social engagement programmes and finally some progress to postgraduate study. This is also a suitable first degree for entry into teacher training. In addition, there is support for students in setting up their own companies.

Some companies our graduates have gone on to work for include JD Sports, Fisheye Studios, Next and Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust in clinical photography.** 

 

*Percentage of our undergraduate students from this course go on to work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2019/20, UK domiciled, other activities excluded).

Source: **GEMS

90% Graduates employed*

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Important information

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

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. 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. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If 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

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 an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. 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 non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes 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), 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 or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. 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, or pandemics.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation. 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.

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 in accordance with the student protection plan.

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