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Photography

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-B,B,C

112-120 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels.

112-122 Tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma.

Cambridge Pre-U score of 46-50.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C or above to include English/3 GCSEs at grade 4 or above to include English.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

25

25 points from the IB Diploma, to include 3 Higher Level subjects

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H3,H3,H3,H4-H3,H3,H3,H3,H3

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.

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

DDM-DMM

112-120 Tariff points.

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

112-120

112-120 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels, or equivalent.

112-120 points from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate including 1 A level, plus the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.

You may also need to…

Present a portfolio

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

4 years | Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Photography

**This is a connected degree**
Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

**Overview**
Discover and develop your photographic vision on this BA (Hons) Photography degree.

Through research, industry, and professional practices, you'll master advanced analogue and digital photography techniques and engage with multidimensional technologies – such as computer-generated imagery (CGI), photogrammetry, virtual reality (VR), and 3D printing. Our distinctive mix of traditional and modern approaches will empower you to be innovative and shine among others in the competitive creative industries.

After you graduate, you’ll have many career options at your fingertips. Want to work for a business or by yourself on client projects? Planning to pursue a postgraduate degree? Join the 90% of our graduates who have taken these paths (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey, 2019).

**Course highlights**
- Advance your skills in industry-level equipment and image-processing software that professionals use – including digital media format cameras and DSLRs, Adobe Suite, Capture One, and Cinema4d

- Produce stand-out work by using our excellent facilities – from traditional dark rooms to photographic studios

- Gain valuable professional experience and boost your CV by doing an optional one-year placement – either with a company or by setting up your own

- Broaden your craft and collaborative skills by working with fellow students on other courses in the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries

- Promote yourself to potential employers by showcasing your work at self-produced exhibitions, industry portfolio reviews, and our annual Graduate Show

- Be in the know of historic and modern photography forms by visiting galleries and festivals in major cities like Berlin, Paris and London

- Build your professional contacts by attending guest lectures and meeting eminent speakers – past ones include Faisal Abdu'allah, Sunil Gupta and Brian Griffin

- 90% Graduates in work or further study (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey conducted in 2019)

- 91% Overall student satisfaction (NSS, 2021)

**Careers and opportunities**
When you finish the course, you'll have a range of options within the creative industries to start your career. You can also continue your studies to postgraduate level.

Graduate roles

Previous students have gone on to work as:

- studio photographers

- video directors

- picture editors

- retouchers

- photojournalists

- curators

- artists

- fashion photographers

- teachers/lecturers

Ongoing careers support

Get experience while you study, with support to find part-time jobs, volunteering opportunities, and work experience. You can also venture into freelancing, or set up and run your own business with help from the University Startup Team.

Towards the end of your degree and for up to five years after graduation, you’ll receive one-to-one support from our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy to help you find your perfect role.

Modules

Year 1
Core modules in this year include:
- Creative and Industry Skills
- Introduction to Photographic Practices and Research
- Introduction to Visual Culture (Photography)
- Photography Level 4 Event
- Professional Practice and Work Experience

There are no optional modules in this year.

Year 2
Core modules in this year include:
- Advanced Skills and Innovation
- Photographic Critical Practices and Research
- Photographic Practice and Freelance Experience
- Photographic Practice and Project Development
- Photographic Level 5 Event

Optional modules in this year include:
- Engaged Citizenship Through Interdisciplinary Practice
- Modern Foreign Language
- Professional Experience
- Research in the Public Sphere
- Student Enterprise
- Visual Culture: Cult, Taste, and Collecting
- Visual Culture: Performing Identity
- Visual Culture: Technology and the Image
- Visual Culture: The Body and Practice

Placement year (optional)
On this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.

Year 3
Core modules in this year include:
- Advanced Practice Research
- Major Projects in Photography
- Photography Level 6 Event
- Professional Practice and Graduate Employability

Optional modules in this year include:
- Advanced Digital Process
- Blogs, Grants and Catalogues: Writing Culture for the Public
- Visual Culture: Dissertation
- Visual Culture: Research Project

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment methods

You’ll be assessed through:

- photography assignments projects
- industry and innovative projects
- professional practice, work and freelance experience projects
- research and development reports and journals
- essays and presentations
- portfolios and artist books
- screen-based and moving image work
- exhibition projects

You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.

You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

The way you're assessed will depend on the modules you select throughout your course. Here's an example from a previous academic year of how students on this course were typically assessed:

- Year 1 students: 13% practical exams and 87% coursework
- Year 2 students: 23% practical exams and 77% coursework
- Year 3 students: 7% practical exams and 93% coursework

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
£9,250
per year
International
£17,200
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

The Uni


Course location:

University of Portsmouth

Department:

Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries

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.

75%
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
90%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
86%
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

86%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
67%
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?

91%
UK students
9%
International students
40%
Male students
60%
Female students
68%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
D
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.

£20,000
high
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
55%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

53%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
7%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
6%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

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.

£16k

£16k

£21k

£21k

£22k

£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...

Higher entry requirements
Leeds Trinity University | Leeds
Photography
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 112-136
Lower entry requirements
University of Westminster, London | City of Westminster
Photography
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 96-120
Nearby University
University of Brighton | Brighton and Hove
Photography
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-120

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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:

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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

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