Curious about studying Photography - BA (Hons)at Birmingham City University? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
City Centre Campus (The Curzon Building)
Full Time
Sep 2027
3 Year
On 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.
Professional Placement YearThis course offers an optional professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, following successful completion of your second year, 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. If you choose to pursue a placement year, you will need to find a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will be able to draw on the University’s extensive network of local, regional, and national employers, and the support of our Careers teams. If you are able to secure a placement, you can request to be transferred to the 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.
The module ‘Introduction to Photography’ will support your transition into Higher Education by furnishing you with the key principles of the discipline, introducing you to your academic and technical staff and getting to know your fellow students, You will develop your knowledge and application of photography while investigating the wider context and influence of photography. It will be an opportunity to work alongside your peers and to witness photographic skills and interests different to your own.
This module will introduce you to historical and contemporary concepts within a number of photographic genres. The module is designed to establish basic workshop skills that are specifically the building blocks for future modules. This module is structured to you with an appropriate level of digital techniques that both support the module and are transferable. The module will result in a body of work that is the outcome of a set project and one day briefs.
In this module, you will learn the value of further developing and refining your work. Through a combination of analytical and practical skills you will understand how to increase your work’s sophistication and impact. Using the images created in the previous module as a starting point, you will learn the critical skill of evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in order to identify areas that can be developed and improved upon.
This module is about moving from the safety of the classroom and into the exterior world. As part of the module you will be expected to take your work into a public domain. You will be honing your practice through engagement and collaboration with external bodies, and beginning to identify your direction of study. The module is designed to establish advanced workshop skills and an appropriate level of enterprise skills.
Building on the key principles articulated in the three modules in your first semester, this complementary, contextual studies module will explore seminal design movements and practitioners of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It will provide you with a broad contextual framework that will underpin your design practice, both at university and in the future.
You will begin to focus on a more discreet area of specialism, preparing you for your final year of study. You will work within smaller groups, alongside a tutor with expert knowledge in your chosen specialist area. You will also identify and research an area of your profession, developing numerous life and creative skills that will enhance your abilities and aspirations beyond graduation. This aspect of the programme will be supported by seminars and lectures from industry experts and practitioners.
This flexible module allows you to identify direction within your own practice and future aspirations. You will undertake approaches that will help define your area of practice, which is personalised to your own interests. The structure of this module encourages the development of a more focused, in depth and advanced study through the use of self-directed projects.
This module provides an opportunity for you to apply your knowledge and skills to an external, professional brief. The brief will be set by an external client/ agency, in consultation with your supervisor, and it could be a ‘real life’ problem to be solved, or a simulation. It is an opportunity for you to engage in a professional manner with an aspect of your subject area, which contributes to the development of employability skills within the supportive infrastructure of the University. Where appropriate, the project may involve interdisciplinary collaboration with students from other courses. In this way, it reflects the collaborative, flexible nature of employment within the Creative Industries.
Having developed and defined your direction of study throughout Level 5, you will now advance your practice as you enter your final year of study. This module will provide you with the opportunity to adopt an increasingly autonomous commitment to your individual direction. At this stage, a focused attitude is essential in developing an informed and contextualised approach to your thinking, ongoing project development, and outcomes.
The key aim of this module is to build upon the work undertaken in previous modules and contextualise this within a written assignment or its equivalent, that frames both your work and identifies possible future direction. You will look to achieve this through the collection and use of both primary and secondary research. This should be used to support a deeper understanding of your discipline and practices, with further analysis used to help shape your on-going development as a successful creative.
The purpose of this module is to enable you to undertake a sustained, in-depth and theoretically informed project. It is a culmination of your three years of study and should be a personal inquiry, of a professional and innovative standard and a celebration of you as a work ready practitioner. You will develop a final major body of work, demonstrating your skills and knowledge which will be showcased at our Graduate Shows. You will have an exhibition, showcasing your individual creative signature, communication, information and problem-solving skills. You will develop your negotiation and planning skills, and will produce meaningful creative work.
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