Photography (with Foundation Year)
UCAS Code: WPQ5
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Art & Design or related subjects preferred.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Grades in a related subject in addition to other qualifications or evidence of experience in Art
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
You may also need to…
Attend an interview
About this course
This is a four year course with a fully integrated foundation year.
Engage with photography in an experimental, creative and critical environment.
- Hands-on, experiential approach with the emphasis on developing your individual interests and ability.
- Opportunities to work on live briefs and a range of professional workshops with our industry partners.
- Great links including the Royal Photographic Society and Association of Photographers.
Photography at Bath Spa University gives you space to explore, actively enquire, challenge and define the role of the photographic image.
We’re committed to teaching the craft of photography. Analogue techniques are thoroughly explored and equip you to engage more proficiently with digital methods. We explore the ways in which digital technological change impacts on photography, and we also fully utilise new technologies.
The curriculum is broad, with an emphasis on practical learning. Content is delivered by a team of full-time and visiting specialists who are active practitioners and researchers in the field.
**Integrated Foundation Year**
Explore art and design through an integrated Foundation year before you progress onto your chosen BA (Hons) degree.
Evolve. Build your confidence, skills and knowledge in preparation for your undergraduate course.
Develop. Challenge perceptions, make, explore and investigate new territory through active projects.
Realise. Pursue your undergraduate specialism and benefit from scholarships at each level of your BA studies.
We want to ensure that you reach your full potential. That's why we've devised an intensive and experimental Foundation course that develops your art and design abilities in relation to contemporary practice, and introduces you to our exceptional facilities and staff.
You'll enhance your drawing skills, and explore the many materials and processes encountered in art and design practice. As the year progresses, you'll begin to specialise in your chosen discipline, acquiring advanced skills and knowledge in preparation for continued study.
Modules
Foundation Year
In Year 1 you’ll look at fundamental photographic principles and practice, and develop an awareness of photographic practice within the creative industries. You’ll gain practical and technical skills, and learn to research visually and analytically and evaluate your work with tutor guidance.
Year 2 develops detailed knowledge of major theories relating to photographic practice, and a deeper awareness of social and ethical implications for the photographic industry. You’ll negotiate activities with tutors and will be able analyse, synthesise and evaluate work more independently. Studio modules are also available.
Year 3 will see you apply appropriate knowledge and practical skills to produce your own body of work as you define your own area of practice. You’ll showcase your work at the end of the year with a public exhibition of portfolio work.
For more information please refer to our website.
Assessment methods
You're assessed at the end of each module via presentation of your work, be it experimental, developmental, journal-based, reflective analyses of talks and workshops, or documentation and analysis of exhibitions visited with the course.
Presented works may include journals / sketchbooks, material experiments / test samples, and digital files, in the form of USB, DVD and/or URLs.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Bath Spa University
Bath School of Art
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Cinematics and photography
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Creative arts and design
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Creative arts and design
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£16k
£20k
£22k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Explore these similar courses...





This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here