School of Creative Industries

BA (Hons) Photography

BA (Hons) Full-time 3 years, Part-time 6 years

Be part of one of the longest standing photography courses in the UK and control how your images operate in a professional context of your choice. 

Be part of one of the longest standing photography courses in the UK and control how your images operate in a professional context of your choice. 

Award
BA (Hons)
Start date(s)
16 September 2024
UCAS Code
W640
Course specifications
Course length
Full-time (3 years),Part-time (6 years)
Campus location
Wolverhampton City Campus
School
School of Creative Industries
UCAS points calculator

Why choose this course?

Be part of one of the longest standing photography courses in the UK and control how your images operate in a professional context of your choice. Photography in the Post-Digital era is a dynamic, inter-disciplinary practice with rich histories, diverse identities, and evolving dimensions. At the Wolverhampton School of Art, we explore these legacies through a synergy between contemporary practice, critical theory, and professional contexts. Live briefs and Graduate awards will support you in pursuing professional career paths. Our graduates excel in the creative industries with successful careers that span from internationally exhibiting profiles to top managerial positions in global brands such as Vice, Google, and Apple.

Live briefs will equip you with invaluable experience for a broad set of career pathways. You will work towards publishable outputs with the support of your tutors, vital for pursuing professional career pathways in the arts, cinematics, advertising, editorial, fashion, photojournalism, and sports photography. Graduate awards give you the chance to receive career development opportunities and mentoring. Take a look at our industry standard photography facilities

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Photography Facilities >>

The BA Photography course is taught by internationally exhibiting specialists in documentary and landscape photography, portraiture, performance art, identity politics, and virtuality. You will work alongside staff and visiting professionals to become a confident and critically-aware contemporary photographer. Live projects and off-site shows provide invaluable professional experiences and networking opportunities for developing a career, whilst considering the role of audience and appropriate publication platforms for future employment.

During your degree, you will work in our exceptional darkrooms (black and white, colour), digital scanning and editing suites, a digital printmaking facility, and spacious, purpose-built studios that are all supported by subject-specific technical specialists. We provide all photographic equipment – from cameras to darkrooms and lighting kit – in order to facilitate the successful production of your work throughout the course.

What's unique about this course?

  • One of the longest standing photography courses in the UK

  • Live Briefs will equip you with invaluable experience for a broad set of career pathways.

  • Work alongside curators, designers, magazine editors, musicians, actors, athletes, and nurture lasting relationships with established businesses.

  • Our graduates excel in the creative industries with successful careers that span from internationally exhibiting profiles to top managerial positions in global brands such as Vice, Google, and Apple.

  • Have exclusive access to Graduate Awards with Kodak and Multistory.

What happens on the course?

The BA (Hons) Photography is distinctive in its approach because you will:

  • Produce 100% coursework
  • Become an active member of a rich creative culture
  • Collaborate with students in the Wolverhampton School Art (Fashion, Drama, Music, Sports)
  • Have open access to industry-standard studios, equipment, darkrooms and digital facilities - check them out here
  • Be supported by staff who are published, exhibited and specialists in their areas
  • Undertake Live Briefs in the Arts, Fashion, Sports, Live Events, and Journalism.
  • Publish your work in professional contexts of your choice.
  • Establish your Professional Profile based on your individual strengths.
  • Have exclusive access to Graduate Awards with Kodak and Multistory.
  • Have open access to industry-standard studios, equipment, darkrooms and digital facilities - .

 

The course structure offers the freedom and support to explore, challenge and interrogate established photographic genres that will allow you to engage and promote your ideas through a number of key assignments. Whilst examining creative methods and conceptual planning, you will form the basis of your critically engaged practice. Simultaneously these conceptual ideas, contextual knowledge and understanding are the essence of a successful engagement with live industry briefs and external projects that will develop your professional profile.

Professional Development

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Studio and workshop culture is core to our courses and you will be encouraged to become part of the art and design community through time spent working in the studios, workshops and labs available to students across the week. Our contacts with galleries, curators, publishers and editors offer the opportunity for you to work on live projects. As a result, individual student development is enriched through valuable professional experience and the production of a specialist portfolio - both necessary in the competitive and demanding professional world.

Level 4 

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You will be introduced to the key themes, media, and methods of the BA Photography Programme through a number of practical assignments. You will be encouraged to begin thinking independently about the selection and choice of theme, ideas and processes employed in your assignments whilst receiving instruction in the photography workshops and equipment. Assignments will allow you to produce portfolios of images in areas of your choice.

Level 5 

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You will initiate self negotiated projects and materials as you begin to define your practice as a photographer and image-maker in professional contexts. You will be supported in developing independent thinking about the selection and choice of theme, ideas and approaches employed in your projects whilst receiving advanced supervision in the photography facilities and equipment. Advanced workshops led by the academic staff will broaden your conceptual and contextual knowledge in specialist fields of contemporary photography. You will create work that is outward facing, has an audience and is published.

Level 6 

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You will manage the production of projects as you define your practice within the Creative industries. Specific audiences and modes of publication will drive your selection of themes, development of ideas, and refinement of specialist methods and media. Live briefs and public facing assignments will allow you to produce portfolios of images that promote your professional skills in contemporary formats: exhibition, dissemination, and publication.

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Additional Information

BA (Hons) Photography

Wolverhampton School of Art

  • For more information about the Wolverhampton School of Art: visit our home page.
  • Discover more about our outstanding facilities – visit our facilities pages.
  • Learn about the creative industries and everything we do to to make your creative career a reality on our Creative Futures page.
  • Check out the work of our 2023 graduating students on our Degree Show and MA Show pages.
  • Find out what our students say – view testimonies from successful graduates on our Case Studies page.
  • Research – learn about the Centre for Art and Design Research and Experimentation (CADRE) and FEINART, our ambitious and innovative pan European training network.
  • Wolverhampton School of Art hosted the prestigious British Art Show 9 in 2022. 
  • Artsfest – our established programme of arts and cultural events continues to bring you the very best this region has to offer!

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Course Modules

Potential Career Paths

Additional Information

Everything you need to know about this course!

The School of Art houses a range of purpose-built studio spaces and workshops with an extensive range of professional equipment not available in schools and colleges. Students at the School of Art are taught by practicing artists and designers working in academic and technical roles. These specialist practitioners teach both fundamental skills, support experimental and speculative practice and ensure practice is underpinned by knowledge and awareness of contemporary contexts.

The course is taught by internationally exhibiting specialists in portraiture, performance, landscape, phototherapy, personal identities, archives – stories and narratives and the everyday. You will work alongside staff and other professionals to become self-motivated and critically-aware of the developing careers within contemporary photographic practice. Live projects and off-site shows provide additional professional experiences and networking opportunities whilst considering the audience, appropriate publication and future employment.

During your degree, you will work in our exceptional darkrooms (black and white, colour), digital scanning and editing suites, a digital printmaking facility, and spacious, purpose-built studios that are all supported by subject-specific technical specialists. We provide all photographic equipment – from cameras to darkrooms and lighting kit – in order to facilitate the successful production of your work throughout the course.

The BA (Hons) Photography in particular is distinctive in its approach because you will:

  • Contribute to a creative student culture
  • Share and collaborate your ideas and practice within an Art School
  • Work with staff who are published, exhibited and knowledgeable
  • Undertake contemporary and live assignments
  • Publish work
  • Have open access to professional darkrooms and digital facilities
  • Create personal and professional portfolios using our industry standard studios and equipment

The member of academic staff who leads this course is Dr. Euripides Altintzoglou

 

The Photography course provides you with all the necessary skills that enable you to thrive in the exciting and fast-moving creative industries. Typical employment for our alumni includes work as magazine editors, exhibiting photographers, artists and curators, freelance studio and fashion photographers, editorial and documentary photographers including sport and those who work in the broader industries of publishing, museums and galleries, community artists, curators and educators. These diverse career paths are introduced to you through a number of ‘live’/professional projects giving invaluable professional experiences and real assignments during study. A number of our students opt for further study either at Masters level or study for a PGCE and these individuals are seeking to develop their skills in practices such as arts and health, art curatorial practices and other Masters degrees by research.

All of our students have the opportunity to engage with an additional ‘Employability Award’ associated with their degree, and a high percentage of our students achieve the gold standard.

All courses in the School of Art are now available with a professional placement option (Sandwich Year). A professional placement provides an opportunity for professional development in the workplace and as such, greatly enhances the students’ prospects of finding rewarding and relevant employment at the end of their studies. The school assists students in securing work placements, undertaking live briefs, engaging directly with employers and developing key employability skills. The School is committed to raising student awareness of the opportunities that exist post-graduation.

Location Mode Fee Year
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2022-23
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2023-24
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2023-24
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2024-25
Home Part-time £3120 per year# 2022-23
Home Part-time £4625 per year# 2023-24
Home Part-time £4625 per year# 2023-24
Home Part-time £4625 per year# 2024-25
International Full-time £13450 per year 2022-23
International Full-time £14450 per year 2023-24
International Full-time £14450 per year 2023-24
International Full-time £14950 per year 2024-25

Additional Course Costs

Additional Materials: £50 to 250 per semester - Prices vary according your subject of practice.

Additional Field Trips: £50 to 500 - Prices will vary according to location.

Additional Events: £350 - Degree Show/New Designers. Costs will vary according to the medium and mode of your practice but considerations will be around materials, installation and presentation.

Further information on these additional costs will be provided prior to the start of your studies.

Further information on these additional costs will be provided prior to the start of your studies

The University is committed to a transparent fee structure, with no hidden costs, to help you make an informed decision. This includes information on what is included in the fee and how fees are calculated and reviewed

Typical entry requirement: 96 UCAS points including a level 3 qualification in Art and Design.

  • A Levels - grades CCC / BCD
  • BTEC L3 Extended Diploma or OCR Cambridge L3 Technical Extended Diploma - grades MMM
  • BTEC L3 Diploma - grades DD
  • Access to HE Diploma (60 credits) of which a minimum of 45 must be at Level 3 (96 UCAS point equivalence, minimum 45 credits at merit)
  • UAL L3 Extended Diploma in Art and Design - grade M

Use the UCAS Tariff calculator to check your qualifications and points

Other Requirements

Those meeting the entry requirements may be shortlisted for a Portfolio Review. Further details can be found at https://www.wlv.ac.uk/apply/how-to-apply/4---after-youve-applied/subject-specific-applications/. Applicants will also be required to provide satisfactory reference.

Students must have studied a minimum of two years post GCSE level. However, it is expected that some applicants will be mature students with work experience, who wish to further their career development. These applicants will be processed through standard procedures, which may involve an interview as part of the process. Please see http://wlv.ac.uk/mature for further information.

Tuition Fees Loan (Home Fee Status):

Most students will be able to apply for a loans to pay for these subject to eligibility. To find out more information please refer to the government Student Finance website.

Changes for EU students:

The UK government has confirmed that EU students starting courses from 1 August 2021 will normally be classified as having Overseas Fee status. More information about the change is available at UKCISA:

EU citizens living in the UK with 'settled' status, and Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland, will still be classified as Home students, providing they meet the usual residency requirements, for more information about EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) click here.


Self-funding:

If you don’t want to take out a loan to pay your fees or if you aren’t eligible to receive a loan, you might want to take advantage of the University’s scheme to pay by instalments: See How to pay.

For more information please contact the Gateway.


Your employer, embassy or organisation can pay for your Tuition fees:

If your employer, embassy or organisation agrees to pay all or part of your tuition fees; the University will refer to them as your sponsor and will invoice them for the appropriate amount.

We must receive notification of sponsorship in writing as soon as possible, and before enrolment, confirming that the sponsor will pay your tuition fees.


Financial Hardship:

Students can apply to the Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund.

for help with course related costs however this cannot be used for fees or to cover general living costs.


Bursaries and Scholarships:

In addition the University also offers a range of Bursaries and Scholarships packages

You can find more information on the University’s Funding, cost, fee and support pages.

Telephone

01902 32 22 22

Email

enquiries@wlv.ac.uk

Online

Order a prospectus

How We Compare

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