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BA (Hons) Photography

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Arts University Plymouth is an independent specialist university run by artists and designers for artists and designers, widely regarded as a dynamic catalyst for creative learning and social justice.

Arts University Plymouth

Our BA (Hons) Photography programme focuses on a blend of creative and critical practice. It examines and encourages the many types of photographic image-making that emerge from photography as a contemporary art practice.

Photography Degree Course BA (Hons)

Our BA (Hons) Photography programme focuses on a blend of creative and critical practice. It examines and encourages the many types of photographic…

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Arts University Plymouth is an independent art university established in 1856, offering extended diplomas, BA degrees, masters and more in art, design and digital subjects.

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Full Time

Part Time

Digital Media

Media

Photography

Production

Technical

Develop and extend your existing knowledge of processes and technologies associated with your field of study, through the exploration of associated methods and materials. You will be introduced to a range of practical methods, processes and techniques, and encouraged to think critically about your subject.
In ‘Methods and Materials’, you will develop and extend your existing knowledge of processes and technologies associated with photography, through the exploration of associated methods and materials ranging from darkroom to digital, collage and montage to installation. 
You will be introduced to a range of practical and experimental methods, processes and techniques, and encouraged to think critically about your subject. 
In an extended project, you will consider the possibilities of the ‘exploded image’ and test the boundaries of experimental photographic practice and your own creativity.

Focusing on the geographical offerings and potential of a site specific location (e.g. Plymouth or other location), and its surroundings, you will orientate your practice through considering immediate geographies and the relationship of the local to the global. You will develop ways for generating creative ideas in response to a brief, with a primary focus on creative problem solving, methods and materials.
You will explore your surroundings, and the people that inhabit the local environment, looking at the possibilities of contemporary documentary photography as a critical and creative practice. 
You will be guided through a range of image-making techniques, whilst considering various environments and the people within and around these places. 
You will produce a cohesive body of photographic images that portray a narrative, based on research into an area of personal interest.

Engage with subject-specific ideas and applications, encouraging critical reflection on your individual creative practice and subject within the larger creative arts domain. You will be supported to undertake an imaginative approach to your subject that challenges historical and cultural assumptions.
In ‘Exploring Subject’ you will consider both the intimate and public spaces of the urban environment whilst extending your photographic knowledge and practice, both technically and conceptually. 
 You will consider contested spaces and cultural relationships, through a variety of conceptual and practical approaches. 
You will develop your research skills, in formulating an extended project around these core themes.

Focus on collaboration as a practice, way of working and experience. Share your skills in pursuit of creative problem solving through mutual interest and cooperative approaches, while being introduced to methodologies from other disciplines.
Working with students from other courses, you will gain the cross-disciplinary skills within a project-based orientation that encourages collaboration in developing your collaborative skills within your work process, and how to look at culturally and aesthetically divergent elements within contemporary creative practices. 
This unit focuses on the knowledge gained through team working and problem-solving in groups as a means of identifying the impact of individual contributions in collaborative projects.

Enhance your awareness of research-informed practice, the role of risk and failure, and the adoption of new or unfamiliar methodologies in developing creative practice. You will focus on the critical and practical processes used for idea generation, propositional and hypothetical creative outputs, rather than finished outcomes.
Contemporary photographic practice can create strong narratives, both “real” and “fictional”. This module kickstarts Year 2 with an emphasis on technical and theoretical understanding, building the skills gained in your first year. 
You’ll develop more advanced ways of working with lighting, photographic techniques and image staging, in order to effectively create narrative within your practice. 
You will consider the ‘weird’ and’ wonderful’ in the relationship between photography and moving image, exploring ways in which photographic narrative can be developed through a study of cinema and popular culture, as well as the underlying cultural mythologies that influence them. 
You will utilise a variety of approaches in producing your own body of work, including lighting, costume, models, props and sets as well as post production techniques.

Think deeper about how creative solutions might help solve real-world challenges. Draw on expertise and ideas from the arts and sciences to provide alternative propositions for solution-focussed practical enquiry.
Dealing with obstacles and challenges is a regular part of creative engagement and this unit introduces you the tools to overcome and transform these challenges. In order to be fully expressive in your process, you will identify methods of creative thinking and discipline that lead to innovative solutions that work. By encouraging "divergent" and "convergent" thinking to find real-world solutions, you will be taught how to use your own creative practice to engage with wider issues linked to art practice.
Through this engagement with wider culture, you will realise the potential reach of your work and begin to identify the creative influences that exist in the world around you. 
This unit will have a unique thematic brief that will be shared by all courses, which will give it an urgency around notions such as climate change, social equity, migration, automation, and other timely topics that will be shared by your peers in other subjects.

Through the use of real-world scenarios (live or simulated), you will be encouraged to use the methods, knowledge and understanding gained in previous study to place your work in relevant professional and creative contexts in order to facilitate knowledge transfer into the public domain.
This unit will help you develop ways to support your practice financially and practically as an emerging photographer/artist within local, national and global cultural economies. 
You’ll gain transferable professional skills in networking and self-promotion, gain confidence in working in a cultural production team, and in creating your own public facing professional profile. 
Working individually and in groups, you will have the opportunity to produce public events such as a symposia, fundraising event or exhibition, while developing your own portfolio and promotional material, while entering competitions and call outs. 
You will consider curatorial practices in relation to Photography, as well as the wider contexts for showing and publicising your work.

Develop individual authorship in your creative practice, and ownership of your learning through a self-initiated project. You will be introduced to methods for managing and producing an independent creative project, developing skills in project articulation and management to include consideration for project scope, time and resources management.
In ‘Emergent Practice’ you develop your own ideas, research process and technical prowess, in the development of a semester-long self-determined creative project, based on your core interests as a photographic artist and your growing knowledge of contemporary art and photography contexts. 
You’ll create your own ‘manifesto’, and develop your practice in relation to your core concerns and ideas.

Arts University Plymouth offers a year long sandwich year option. Framed within the institution’s innovative Common Unit Framework, the sandwich year experience is offered as a unit that contributes to your BA (Hons) Degree.
The sandwich year can take the form of an internship or work placement, and can take place in the UK or abroad. It is intended to give you the possibility of gaining experience in art and design practice in a ‘real life’ industry setting, before you return to complete the final year of your degree. You will be able to build your CV and, if you choose to take on your sandwich year outside of the UK, enhance your experience of international creative practice.
Sandwich year placements will be selected by each student who wishes to take one, assisted by Course staff within AUP. Opportunities may also come through corporate approaches to AUP or through links built by your course tutors. Each placement opportunity will be reviewed by the University before being approved to ensure its suitability to be part of your course. During the Sandwich Year you remain enrolled at AUP with access to IT and your email accounts, online library and learning support.
Once approved, the sandwich year will count towards your overall degree and completion of it will be acknowledged on your degree certificate.
<a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/sandwich-year" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Click here to read more about the Sandwich Year at Arts University Plymouth.</a>
Queries regarding the Arts University Plymouth Sandwich Year placement or internship option can be sent to <a href="mailto:registry@aup.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">registry@aup.ac.uk</a>.

You will be encouraged to further refine your aims and ambitions for your final year of study, by formulating and testing out ideas for your Final Project. You will present a creative pitch that outlines the key concepts and methods behind your project and demonstrates knowledge and understanding of appropriate contextual and professional frameworks.

You will produce a research-informed critical text that contextualises your research interests and demonstrates sustained critical engagement with your subject. This could be an extended critical essay or industry report; or an original publication (text &amp; image) and accompanying critical essay.

This unit will extend your understanding and consideration of appropriate audiences, end-users and markets for your work, and raise your awareness of industry-relevant technologies, techniques and innovations. Your learning will support the articulation of your personal career ambitions, informed by an awareness of professional contexts and graduate opportunities for creative practice.

The culmination of your undergraduate study providing a focussed period of consolidation and creativity, you will have the opportunity to realise a final major project to demonstrate your specialist knowledge and skills. At the end of the unit, you will have the opportunity to present this project to the public within the context of the annual AUP Summer Shows.
Please note unit details listed above are correct at time of publication and indicative content only. If you have any questions about course content and structure please email<a href="mailto:liaison@aup.ac.uk"> liaison@aup.ac.uk</a>.

Our unit structure applies to all of our undergraduate courses and creates a culture that promotes curiosity and creative thinking that extends beyond subject boundaries. Thematic approaches encourage an environment of free-flowing creative learning and opportunities for collaboration. Each unit will be contextualised by the subject specialism, and delivery will manifest uniquely through the specialist lens of each course.
Browse through the Year One, Two and Three headings to see what you'll cover during the course of this degree. For more detailed information, including the content of each unit, assessment criteria and reading lists, take a look at the full course information within our <a href="https://pca.objects.frb.io/production/files/courses/2023/UG-Course-Specification-Forms-and-Unit-Specification-Forms-2324/BA-Hons-Photography-Unit-Specification-Forms.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Unit Specification Form</a> and our <a href="https://pca.objects.frb.io/production/files/courses/2023/UG-Course-Specification-Forms-and-Unit-Specification-Forms-2324/BA-Hons-Photography-Course-Specification-Form-2023-24.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Course Specification Form</a> documents. To request alternative formats of the full Unit Specification Form, please email <a href="mailto:admissions@aup.ac.uk">admissions@aup.ac.uk</a>.

BA (Hons) Photography

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