BA in Photography

With our BA (Hons) Photography degree you will develop a creative, professional identity and signature style by combining technique, theory, experimentation and ethical practice.

You will explore contemporary photographic practice, including fashion, documentary, portrait, moving image, landscape, portrait and fine art photography, gaining a rounded knowledge of these varied and exciting disciplines.

Collaboration with other disciplines is encouraged, developing new ideas and connections with subjects such as graphic design, illustration and animation. The course will show you how creative, documentary and arts-based photographers can become commercially successful in a diverse range of careers within the visual arts and beyond.

What's covered in this course?

You will learn through practice, by developing confidence as a contemporary photographer. Your learning will be informed by developing a deeper understanding of current photographic practice, from publishing and exhibiting to editorial and photojournalism work.

You will learn from award-winning staff with international reputations and a wealth of industry experience, having worked for clients such as: the BBC, the Brit Awards, British Telecom, Channel 4, The New Yorker, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Marie Claire, Condé Nast, Studio Wayne McGregor, Microsoft, Save the Children, Oxfam, The Red Cross, NHS, the Royal Society of Arts, Tate Britain, Lancôme, Chanel Beaute, London Fashion Week and the Royal Opera House.

There is also a dedicated technical support team and exceptional facilities situated within the City Centre Campus. These include industry-standard photographic studios, darkrooms, television studios, editing suites, a giant green screen studio and an extensive Hires and Loans department.

We will help you to collaborate both within the University (for example, with the fashion, music, acting or product design courses) as well as externally, with live briefs for real clients. You will also have the opportunity to study abroad for part of the course or to go on trips to destinations such as New York, Berlin and Paris.

We have exceptional levels of external engagement, with visiting lectures given by nationally and internationally-recognised photographers, as well as having numerous links with industry, workshops, seminars, masterclasses, careers advice, portfolio reviews, mentorships and placements.

In an environment of imagination and experimentation, we will nurture your talent and help you to develop into an employable and creative photographer.

Professional placement year

This course offers a professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, between the second and third years of your degree and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies.

The University will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. If you do not find a suitable placement, you will be automatically transferred back to the standard, non-placement version of the course.

Please note that fees are payable during your placement year, equivalent to 20% of the total full-time course fee for that year (£1,850 for UK students).

Why choose us?

1. You will have access to incredible industry-standard facilities and equipment that will help you express your creativity.
2. You will be taught vital employability skills including developing your professional network while studying, as a springboard for your future career.
3. You will be taught by tutors with extensive industry experience and this can help you to gain a foothold in the profession.
4. Our course has produced numerous award-winning students, locally, nationally and internationally.
5. You will have lectures, workshops and portfolio reviews with world-renowned, industry-leading photographers.
6. We allow students to explore a range of related careers, such as filmmakers, creative directors, picture editors or continuing education (such as an MA or PhD).

First Year

In the first year of the course, we will provide you with the foundations of photographic and moving image practice. This will include essential technical skills using our state-of-the-art facilities, an understanding of how to harness and develop your creativity, means of communicating a message through your work, and an appreciation of the ethical and social issues that all modern photographers should be aware of.

• Introduction to Visual Communication
• Principles and Practice of Photography
• Enterprise of Photography
• Discourse

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following indicative list of optional modules.

• Narrative (Space and Place)
• Narrative (Time and Sequence)
• Narrative (Sound and Movement)
• Narrative (Text and Image)
• Narrative (People and Identity)

Core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.

Second Year

In the second year, you will further develop your signature style, moving rapidly towards your chosen career goal. This will be achieved by developing your portfolio, your photographic intelligence and your conceptual knowledge. Furthermore, you will start to define the type of photographer that you want to become, becoming increasingly specialised in that area.

Creative briefs will help you to understand personal photographic direction and may include a collaborative module that may allow you to work with Graphic Designers, Illustrators, Sound artists, Filmmakers, animators and galleries.

You will also be encouraged to collaborate with those outside of the school, building industry links that enhance your work and skills.

You will also gain essential business skills to prepare you for undertaking commissions and projects. Live briefs are a key part of the second year, so you that experience what it is really like to work as a professional creative photographer.

• Context of Photography
• Identifying Direction
• Live Project

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following indicative list of optional modules.

• Work Placement
• Collaborative Practice

Core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.

Third Year

In the final year you will, under expert tutor guidance, define your own projects, ensuring that your university work is tailored perfectly to you. You will work towards a final outcome, again chosen by you, such as a book, magazine, film, installation, exhibition and/or portfolio. As before, we will help you to develop your business profile and to become a practising photographer before you have graduated, which only goes to strengthen your portfolio and your employability.

We will be there to support you both professionally and pastorally. As well as our own expert tuition, we have a wide range of world-class photographers and portfolio reviewers who will inspire you to take your work to the next level. You will have access to the huge network of contacts that the University has, both nationally and internationally, as well as our close links with other courses within the University.

You will also undertake a piece of critical writing that examines the business practices of your chosen career. This will equip you with the necessary knowledge to approach the commercial photographic market, preparing you for your future aspirations and increasing your level of employability, allowing you to flourish not just while studying, but for many years after.

• Critical Practice
• Major Project

Enhancing employability skills

The BA (Hons) Photography course at Birmingham City University is designed to furnish you with both creative and employability skills, thoroughly preparing you for your future career.

The course contains numerous employability sessions, around topics such as self-promotion, designing your CV and approaching employers as well as the day-to-day knowledge required to be a creative practitioner.

We are fully supported by the Faculty’s Careers+ team, who have direct input into the course and offer a range of opportunities, workshops and advice to all students.

We have modules that allow you to undertake live briefs, work placements and collaborative projects, which can engage you with industry, build your professional network and develop key skills even before you graduate. Our guest speakers, portfolio reviews and workshops run by industry practitioners also ensure that you are receiving the latest advice as to what is required to be a successful image-maker.

Crucially, you will learn to be a creative thinker. This opens up avenues into photography itself, and a range of other career opportunities within the wider creative industries and beyond.

Placements

This course supports fully self-directed study and the development of individual practice. There are opportunities for field trips and study abroad that will add value to the degree course.

Throughout your course, you will be encouraged to take on placements, and network with the industry. Our students have taken on numerous exciting and challenging placements with organisations such as Tatler magazine, Atlantis Modelling Agency, Free Radio, and Birmingham City Council. Birmingham has illustrious and vibrant creative industries and as a school, we have many industry connections. We will encourage you to actively seek work, helping you to develop your professional skills.

In the past, our students have worked with organisations such as Birmingham Open Media, The Imaging Warehouse and The Impossible Project.

Links to industry

Our links include Canon, Panasonic, Capture One, GRAIN Photography Hub and Network, BOM (Birmingham Open Media), Flatpack Film Festival, Studio Wayne McGregor, Free Range, Central School of Make Up, Atlantis Modelling Agency and ARD Production.

We are in partnership with Grain, The Hub for Photography in the West Midlands. As part of this partnership, we hold portfolio review days and lectures. Research projects are embedded in the future plans for this initiative, bringing wider benefits to the university and the students on the course.