Photography BA(Hons)
Start Dates
21 September 2026
Duration
3 years full-time 4 years inc. placement year
UCAS Tariff
120-104
Overview
Why choose Huddersfield for this course?
- Develop your own photographic vision in a supportive and professionally minded creative community.
- Access professional-grade studios, darkrooms, cameras, and print facilities.
- Build a distinct portfolio through projects, live industry briefs, and exhibitions.
Photography has shaped and continues to shape the world. Studying Photography at Huddersfield gives you the opportunity to explore and engage with a medium that continuously impacts our lives, from daily posts on social media, through fashion and fine art, to explorations of Mars, and everything in between.
You’ll explore a wide variety of cameras, approaches and techniques, working with still and moving image, generative media, and both digital and analogue processes. You’ll learn to present, exhibit, and communicate your work with confidence. From the moment you join, our team of internationally recognised photographers and academics, whose professional experience informs every part of the course, will encourage you to push boundaries and take risks in developing your creative voice and professional practice.
The course encourages you to consider numerous aspects of historical and contemporary photography practice and culture, alongside a range of professional pathways. Field trips, collaborative projects, and live industry briefs will inspire your practice and connect you with the wider creative industries.
At the core of the course is a commitment to practical experimentation, technical excellence and innovative modes of visual communication, supported by our state-of-the-art facilities, based in the award-winning Barbara Hepworth Building. You’ll have open access to wide range of environments and equipment, including fully equipped professional-grade studios, Phase One digital medium-format cameras, analogue and digital darkrooms, industry standard software, and high-quality print and book-making spaces—available to you beyond timetabled sessions so you can refine your craft. You’ll also benefit from dedicated support from expert technicians who know you, understand your work, and are there to help you realise your ambitions.
Whether you want to pursue a photographic career in fashion, documentary, fine art, editorial, commercial, generative imaging, film, or the wider creative industries, by the time you graduate you’ll have the confidence, critical awareness, and technical skills to succeed in a diverse range of creative roles.
Career opportunities after the course *
Photographer
Videographer
Production Manager
Video Editor
*Lightcast
Entry Requirements
BBB-BCC at 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.
Merit in UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma.
Merit in RSL 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.
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.
If you do not have the appropriate qualifications for direct entry to this degree you may be able to apply to our Art, Design and Architecture Foundation Pathway Degree.
Course Details
Teaching and Assessment
Discover what to expect from your tutor contact time, assessment methods, and feedback process.
Global Professional Award
At Huddersfield, you’ll study the award-winning Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside your degree* — so you’re ready for the career you want, whatever subject you choose.
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.
I knew a year in industry would give me valuable experience. After six months, I was hired as a part-time photographer. I now have a full-time managerial role in my dream career doing my dream job.
- Abigail Lee
Photography BA(Hons), placement with Baby Art Studios in Manchester
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.**
Source: **GEMS
75%
Percent of graduates from this course were in work or further study 15 months after graduation
* HESA Graduate Outcomes 22/23, UK Domiciled
The University was an excellent place for me to get prepared for the industry of my career. In addition to having excellent facilities available for my use, my tutors advised me to push myself to work in other areas of photography which led me to create my best work.
- Silvana Trevale
Photography BA(Hons) graduate and award winning photographer.
Fees and Finance
This information is for Home students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.
Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy.
From January 2027 the UK government is launching a new student funding system for people starting university education. Read more about the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE).
For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/study/fees/
This information is for international students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.
Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy.
For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/international/fees-and-funding/
Home
The tuition fee for a placement year is £1000. If you go on work experience or work placement, you will need to fund your own travel and/or accommodation costs to and from the placement. Please be aware that if your placement is outside of the UK, you will still be responsible for your travel and living expenses and may need to consider issues like health care and insurance costs.
International
The tuition fee for a placement year is £3,300. If you go on work experience or work placement, you will need to fund your own travel and/or accommodation costs to and from the placement. Please be aware that if your placement is outside of the UK, you will still be responsible for your travel and living expenses and may need to consider issues like health care and insurance costs.
Materials:
You’ll need to cover the costs of printing and presenting your work during the course. These costs may vary based on the materials and quality you choose and there is no limit on the amount you may wish to spend. As a guide, the total cost of this in recent years has been approximately £70 to £100 in the first year, £150 to £200 in the second year and £500 to £1000 in the final year per student. Many students opt to undertake fundraising activities to support the costs in the final year.
Scholarships and Bursaries
Discover what additional help you may be eligible for to support your University studies.
Tuition Fee Loans
Find out more about tuition fee loans available to eligible undergraduate students.
What’s included in your fee?
We want you to understand exactly what your fees will cover and what additional costs you may need to budget for when you decide to become a student with us.
If you have any questions about Fees and Finance, please email the Student Finance Team.
Gallery
See below for a glimpse at some of our facilities
Photography studios in Barbara Hepworth Building
Student using camera in studio
Photography student using our Darkroom
Vintage Cameras
Barbara Hepworth Building
Digital Print Centre
A gallery of work by our Photography students and graduates
Sophie Buckley
This image is taken from Sophie’s portfolio of work made while shadowing the world’s then most followed beauty influencer and now Tik Tok sensation and pop star, Abby Roberts. She has since gone on to be Roberts’ full-time photographer (and best-friend-wife).
Amy Moran
Ephemeral was Amy’s graduate project. The work drew on the colours, shapes and forms found in the natural world to inspire gesture, pose and palette in the creation of fashion editorials and still lives informed by contemporary commercial aesthetics.
Lucy Hodge
Following a successful placement year working in a commercial studio, Lucy set herself the task of developing an industry-ready product photography portfolio. Immediately after graduating, she secured herself a full-time job as an in-house photographer at Home Bargains.
Heidi Reece
Heidi’s Final Year project, Dear Uncle Eddy, I Want To Be Defined By A Grapefruit explores the artist’s struggles with obsessive and compulsive thoughts. Playfully examining documentary convention and artifice, the work unfolds through the outsourcing of the artist’s decision-making to an AI-generated uncle. It was selected as one of the Source Graduate Photography 2025 guest selections.
Olivia Senior
In her finale year, Olivia’s work focussed on the beauty and fashion industry. Through collaboration with other women, her project explored the embodiment of male and female gazes.
Explore More
School Brochure
Discover more about The School of Arts and Humanities in our brochure
Stay connected with the course
Keep up to date with Photography work, news and events.
Connect with the School of Arts and Humanities
Keep up to date with the School of Arts and Humanities news and events.
Why Hud
Explore the unique opportunities and resources that make our institution a top choice for students seeking a well-rounded and future-focused education.
Explore Huddersfield
Make Huddersfield your home. A Yorkshire town, surrounded by beautiful countryside, with easy access to neighbouring cities; Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield. You’ll find plenty of places to eat, drink, shop and socialise, there’s ambitious plans for future development. Our campus is situated next to the town centre - making your commute a breeze.
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Your Student Experience
Get involved in great opportunities helping you to make friends from all across the world and create lifelong memories. Join one of over 100 societies with the Students’ Union, experience new cultures through global events, earn whilst you learn and build your skills via our Global Professional Award.
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Budget Friendly
Huddersfield is not only one of the friendliest towns, it also offers you a lower cost of living than most big cities. This means you could have more money to spend, making your uni experience even better. On campus you’ll also find plenty of facilities and services to help you budget and make your money go further.
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Sustainability Matters
We’re committed to sustainability and aim to be carbon neutral by 2030. Our plan includes reducing emissions, enhancing biodiversity, and improving wellbeing through sustainable buildings. We’re investing in digital solutions, low-impact travel, and embedding sustainability into teaching and research, investing over £1m in carbon reduction.
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Committed to Your Future
Since 2015, we’ve invested £198 million to create spaces where you can learn, collaborate and thrive. We’re continuously investing in our campus with your wellbeing in mind—adding features that make our buildings healthier, more supportive and better places for you to succeed.
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Careers support
We know you’re coming to university to study on your chosen subject, meet new people and broaden your horizons. However, we also help you to focus on life after you have graduated to ensure that your hard work pays off and you achieve your ambition.
Find out more about careers supportStudent 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.
See our support servicesTeaching Excellence
Great teaching is engaging and inspiring — it helps you reach your full potential and prepares you for the future. We don’t just teach well — we excel — and we have the awards and recognition to prove it.
Find out moreInspiring Academics
Our researchers carry out world-leading work that makes a real difference to people’s lives. Staff within the Department of Design and Architecture may teach you on this course.
Find out more about our staffResearch Excellence
You’ll be taught by staff who want to support your learning and share the latest knowledge and research.
Find out moreAccommodation
Looking for student accommodation? Huddersfield has you covered. HudLets has a variety of accommodation types to choose from, no matter what your preference. HudLets is the University’s approved accommodation service, run by Huddersfield Students’ Union.
Take a look at your optionsFurther Study
If you want to continue your learning beyond your undergraduate degree, there is a range of financial support available for postgraduate study, including discounts for Huddersfield graduates.
Discover postgraduate coursesLegal information
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 if you are unhappy with the change 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 being unable to teach due to illness, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to pandemics, other disasters (such as fire, flood or war) or changes made by the government.
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 consult with affected groups of students and any changes would only be made in accordance with our regulations. 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 let us know before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for any additional tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so and you may be eligible for an exit award depending on how far through your course you are.
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.