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Falmouth University

UCAS Code: FY64 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

We welcome A Levels in a wide range of subjects, especially in those relevant to the course for which you apply.

We may consider a standalone AS in a relevant subject, if it is taken along with other A Levels and if an A Level has not been taken in the same subject. However, you will not be disadvantaged if you do not have a standalone AS subject as we will not ordinarily use them in our offers.

60 credits (with a minimum of 45 credits achieved at level 3) in a relevant subject.

A typical offer is between 80 and 120 UCAS points

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

24

A typical offer is between 80 and 120 UCAS points

A typical offer is between 80 and 120 UCAS points

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications

A typical offer is between 80 and 120 UCAS points

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications

A typical offer is between 80 and 120 UCAS points

A typical offer is between 80 and 120 UCAS points

T Level

P-M

P (Pass) grade must be C or above, not D or E

UCAS Tariff

80-120

A typical offer is between 80 and 120 UCAS points, primarily from Level 3 equivalent qualifications, such as A levels, a BTEC Extended Diploma or a Foundation Diploma, or current, relevant experience. Grade 4 (or C) or above in GCSE English Language, or equivalent, is a minimum language requirement for all applicants. Due to the creative nature of our courses, you will be considered on your own individual merit and potential to succeed on your chosen course. Please contact the Applicant Services team for advice if you are predicted UCAS points below this range, or if you have questions about the qualifications or experience you have.

a minimum of 40 UCAS tariff points, when combined with a minimum of 64 UCAS tariff points from the Supporting Qualifications

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

groups

Present a portfolio

image

About this course

Course option

4years

Full-time | 2025

Subject

Photography

Develop your skills by entering the creative industries on an Integrated Foundation Year degree.

If you’re interested in taking on a new subject that you’ve not had the opportunity to study in depth before, or have been out of education for a while, then our Integrated Foundation Year courses might be for you. These four-year courses include an introductory year to help you build the core skills needed for specialist degree-level study.

This is a chance for you to let your imagination run wild and explore your creativity, expand your professional skills and develop enhanced subject knowledge in the domain you want to study. We’ll help nurture your expertise in problem solving, risk-taking, designing and making as you develop your abilities through five core modules.

After your foundation year, you’ll have a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, a developed practical and technical skill set and the confidence to excel in your chosen degree subject when you join other students for the rest of your course.

Expose truths, prompt emotion and provoke action through visual media.

If you want to use your camera to expose truths, prompt emotion or evoke action, this course is for you. With expert tuition from industry-connected lecturers and access to specialist photographic facilities, you’ll learn to tell compelling visual stories for the media. Exploring documentary, portraiture, news, sport, music and fashion as well as immersive multimedia narrative photography, you’ll develop sophisticated photographic and multimedia skills while gaining professional experiences that will give you the critical edge when you graduate.

You will:
Develop technical, design thinking and production skills in your chosen specialism.
Learn teamwork, leadership and project management skills through a variety of learning environments.
Develop critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills through the development of unique and innovative projects.
Complete your chosen degree over a four-year period.
Learn from experienced, industry-connected lecturers that offer unparalleled access into the ever-evolving photography industry
Work like a professional photographer from the start, while gaining valuable industry insight and technical know-how
Develop essential skills in creative problem solving and collaboration, and an understanding of photographic law, ethics and human rights
Have full access to our state-of-the-art educational photographic facility, which includes the latest camera equipment, studios and post-production technology
Enjoy opportunities for local, national and international work placements
Take part in optional local and international study trips, to places including London and New York
Get the opportunity to present your work to leading names in industry through our annual Press Awards and have the option to display your work at an exhibition in London

Modules

You’ll learn to tell compelling and original visual stories by developing comprehensive and sophisticated photographic and multimedia techniques. You’ll develop a deep understanding of how impactful photographic stories are constructed, explore the relationship between image and audience, nurture critical communication, collaboration and professional skills and discover the importance of media law and ethics.

Foundation Year:
In your foundation year, you'll study five core modules: three short modules in the first study block and two in the second (one short, one long). These are all designed to help you explore the foundational elements of both creative practice and your chosen specialism. You'll gain relevant technical skills, learn to experiment and take risks, develop an understanding of professional practice, have opportunities to work across disciplines and collaborate with other students on live project briefs.

After your foundation year, you'll have a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, a developed practical and technical skillset and the confidence to excel in your chosen degree subject when you join other students for the rest of your course.

Modules:
Explore
Technique
Apply
Industry
Launch

Year one
You’ll start by building a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of photographic techniques, the history of photography and the basics of professional practice. Through a series of modules, you’ll develop skills in studio lighting, editing and production software, website building and presenting. You’ll also be introduced to concepts of critical thinking, analysis and reflection. 

Modules
Essentials of Photographic Narrative
Professional Presence
Photography Histories & Visual Culture
Photographic Narrative in Context
Critical Approaches to Reading the Image

Year two
In year two, you’ll add moving image to your artistic toolkit. You’ll apply your new photographic and analytical skills to video and multimedia, taking creative risks as you continue to develop your unique approach to visual narrative storytelling. Building on your professional experience, you’ll also organise and complete a work placement.

Modules
Audio Visual & Interactive Storytelling
Law, Ethics & Human Rights
Audiences
Cultural & Critical Context

Year three
You’ll start your final year deep in dissertation research, while pursuing guided independent photographic work for your final major portfolio. Reflecting on the work completed in the early part of the academic year, you’ll build your final major project and prepare a professional toolkit for entry into industry.

Modules
Developmental portfolio
Dissertation
Final Major Portfolio
Professional Futures

As part of our process of continuous improvement, we routinely review course content to ensure that all our students benefit from a high-quality and rewarding academic experience. As such, there may be some changes made to your course which are not immediately reflected in the content displayed on our website. Any students affected will be informed of any changes made directly.

Assessment methods

Foundation Year
Foundation Year assessments are 100% coursework based.

Assessment will take place at the end of each module, and you'll get feedback and evaluation throughout the year. You'll be assessed through visual, verbal and written assignments, including your portfolio and a reflective journal. In your foundation year all assessments are pass/fail to encourage students to take risks and engage with the feedback provided.

Progressing in your specialism
Students studying on courses with an Integrated Foundation Year must successfully complete and pass all foundation modules before they can progress to the next stage of their course.

Your specialism
100% of your assessment will be coursework.

Assessment methods
Continuous assessment with no formal examinations
Portfolios, journals and logbooks
Presentations and essays

The Uni

Course location:

Penryn Campus

Department:

The Institute of Photography

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.

73%
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

82%
Staff make the subject interesting
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
77%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
78%
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

80%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
85%
Course specific equipment and facilities
57%
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?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
38%
Male students
62%
Female students
78%
2:1 or above
11%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
B

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.

£17,597
med
Average annual salary
98%
high
Employed or in further education
59%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

59%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
8%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
8%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals

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.

£14k

£14k

£19k

£19k

£20k

£20k

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...

Lower entry requirements
place
Wrexham University | Wrexham
Photography (with Foundation Year)
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2025
UCAS Points: 48-72
Higher entry requirements
place
University of Northampton | Northampton
Photography
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2025
UCAS Points: 112-128

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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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:

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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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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

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