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Photography

Entry requirements


A level

C,C,D-B,C,C

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

MMP-DMM

UCAS Tariff

88-112

A typical offer will be a UCAS Tariff score of 88 - 112. A minimum of two full A-levels (or equivalent) is required. Every application is considered on an individual basis.

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About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Photography

**Why study BA (Hons) Photography at BNU?**
**Accredited Degree**
The photography degree is an accredited member of the Association of Photographers (AOP). The course meets the AOP’s criteria for the appropriate professional development of students during their studies. This accreditation also offers all students on the course their own free AOP membership for the duration of their studies, providing them with additional support and networking opportunities.

**Expert facilities and equipment**
At BNU we offer state-of-the-art photography facilities where you’ll have access to industry-standard lighting studios, wet darkroom, professional scanning suite and print bureau at our High Wycombe campus. As well as this you’ll benefit from your own mac suites, which host the full Adobe Creative Cloud, and professional printing area.

On quiet days you’ll find yourself spending time in the courses very own break out and teaching area, a light and open space to help you focus and let creativity flow. You’ll also have access to a range of cameras and equipment (analogue and digital) available for loan to support their practice, including:

- Nikon and Canon lenses

- 5x4 Linhoff, Horseman and Cambo cameras

- medium format Bronica, Fuji, Mamiya film cameras

- medium format Pentax and Hasselblad digital cameras

- Godox, Neewer, Mecablitz and Canon camera top flash

**Industry links**
Led by a dedicated and experienced course team, you’ll benefit from their industry knowledge and the industry links they bring to the course. You’ll get direct access to guest lecturers, who are specialists in the sector, and can benefit from live project briefs, master classes, and networking opportunities.

We’re proud of the many achievements our students and staff attain at BNU. Throughout your course you will have the opportunity to take part in competitions and exhibitions as well as the BNU Summer Show in your final year.

**Network**
Although our classroom sizes are small, as part of the Art, Design and Performance School at BNU, you’ll benefit from a practiced-based course, supported by contextual studies. You’ll also have the opportunity to work collaboratively across the school with other courses, ensuring you develop your engagement and networking abilities, as you would in the real world. Past collaborations have included Hair and Make-up, Costume Design and Set Design for Stage and Screen.

**Location**
We’re only 30 minutes by train into London and close to Oxford and Reading. Meaning you can immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle of the city. You can also visit exhibitions, museums, and galleries, where you’ll find inspiration for your projects.

**What will I study?**
This photography course offers a contemporary curriculum that is engaged with social, technological, environmental, ethical and cultural perspectives, enabling you to become a ‘thinking practitioner’ or a socially responsible entrepreneur.

We will help you develop a conceptual and contextual understanding of photography, so you can find new ways to express yourself, and take your practice to a more dynamic level.

We’ll help you explore the concepts and contexts behind photography work, so you can find new ways to express yourself, and take your practice to a more dynamic level. You’ll also undertake research to develop a theoretical and critical underpinning of the subject, learning new ways of thinking and working, and pushing traditional boundaries of the medium.

In addition to learning about commercial and design applications (such as in editorial and advertising photography), you also will develop your knowledge of photography through its interactions with other creative subjects; for example, working in 3D environments to produce Computer-Generated images (CGI), exploring wet printing and alternative print-making techniques or experimenting with moving image and sound as a means of personal expression or visual communication.

Modules

**Year one**
**Core Modules**
Convergence: Moving Image in Photography
Digital Realms and Virtual Spaces
Photography: Issues in Representation
Visual Narratives 1: Stock and Page
Visual Narratives 2: Screen and Wall

**Opportunity Modules**
2 x 10 credit year one Opportunity modules

**Year two**
**Core Modules**
Exploratory Practices and Methods in Photography
Photography for Design 1: Editorial
Photography for Design 2: Publicity and Campaign
Photography and Critical Theory
Professional Studies in Photography

**Year three**
**Core Modules**
Contextual Report on Practice
Creative and Professional Development
Professional Practice
Research and Development
Final Major Project

Assessment methods

As well as having the space to explore different types of photography, to see where your interests lie, we’ll make sure you understand the business side of working as a professional photographer.

You’ll learn how to best promote your photography and how to set yourself up as a freelancer, dealing with important aspects such as your own branding, marketing, to tax and finance. You’ll learn about the professional bodies that exist to protect photographers’ work and rights, such as the Association of Photographers. We’ll also look at how to develop your presence and present your work on different platforms, from the physical exhibition space to online websites, and how to evolve your practice to cater for different audiences.

At the centre of this course is practice-based activity. You’ll spend a significant amount of time developing your skills either shooting on location or using the Photography facilities (lighting studios, Mac Suite, darkroom etc.), working on both individual study and group tuition. On the course you are pushed to explore your own style, which you’ll build into your own distinctive portfolio that demonstrates your unique strengths and interests for prospective work opportunities after graduation.

During your time with us you'll study modules that encourage you to explore your own career aspirations and, through workshops from industry specialists, seminars and project critiques, we’ll also bring in guest lecturers through our dynamic visiting lecture programme to give you further insights on the diversity of the medium. You’ll hear from leading practitioners including artists, curators and professionals working across the industry.’

You’ll also be assessed though; 1:1 or small group tutorials, Portfolio and presentations, written assessments, sketchbooks, group critiques and self-directed study.

You’ll also be assessed though individual or small group tutorials, portfolio submissions and presentations, written assignments, sketchbooks and group critiques.

At the end of your course, you’ll exhibit your photography work as part of our popular Art and Design Summer Show. There’s also the opportunity to show your work at other exhibitions, such as, Free Range, the big annual graduate show in London. It’s a chance to showcase your talents outside the University, and potentially catch the attention of future employers and talent scouts.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£15,000
per year
International
£15,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

Buckinghamshire New University offers a range of bursaries and scholarships. For more information, please visit https://www.bucks.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/financial-support-bursaries-and-scholarships

The Uni


Course location:

Buckinghamshire New University

Department:

School of Art, Design, and Performance

Read full university profile

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.

80%
Photography

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

87%
Staff make the subject interesting
87%
Staff are good at explaining things
80%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
87%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

73%
Library resources
80%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
60%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

84%
UK students
16%
International students
45%
Male students
55%
Female students
77%
2:1 or above
16%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
A
C

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.

Cinematics and photography

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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
93%
med
Employed or in further education
38%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

27%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
26%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
12%
Other elementary services occupations

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Cinematics and photography

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£17k

£17k

£21k

£21k

£24k

£24k

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.

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UCAS Points: 96

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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.

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Course location and department:

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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.

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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.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

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.

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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.

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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

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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