Curious about studying Photography with Foundation Year - BA (Hons)at Bucks New 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)
High Wycombe Campus
Full Time
Sep 2027
4 Year
This BA (Hons) Photography course is also offered as a four-year programme, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate programme.
Why study BA (Hons) Photography at BNU?Accredited DegreeThe photography degree is an accredited member of the Association of Photographers (AOP). The course meets the AOP’s criteria for the appropriate professional development of students during their studies. This accreditation also offers all students on the course their own free AOP membership for the duration of their studies, providing them with additional support and networking opportunities.
Expert facilities and equipmentAt BNU we offer state-of-the-art photography facilities where you’ll have access to industry-standard lighting studios, wet darkroom, professional scanning suite and print bureau at our High Wycombe campus. As well as this you’ll benefit from your own mac suites, which host the full Adobe Creative Cloud, and professional printing area.On quiet days you’ll find yourself spending time in the courses very own break out and teaching area, a light and open space to help you focus and let creativity flow. You’ll also have access to a range of cameras and equipment (analogue and digital) available for loan to support their practice, including:- Nikon and Canon lenses- 5x4 Linhoff, Horseman and Cambo cameras- medium format Bronica, Fuji, Mamiya film cameras- medium format Pentax and Hasselblad digital cameras- Godox, Neewer, Mecablitz and Canon camera top flash
Industry linksLed by a dedicated and experienced course team, you’ll benefit from their industry knowledge and the industry links they bring to the course. You’ll get direct access to guest lecturers, who are specialists in the sector, and can benefit from live project briefs, master classes, and networking opportunities. We’re proud of the many achievements our students and staff attain at BNU. Throughout your course you will have the opportunity to take part in competitions and exhibitions as well as the BNU Summer Show in your final year.
LocationWe’re only 30 minutes by train into London and close to Oxford and Reading. Meaning you can immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle of the city. You can also visit exhibitions, museums, and galleries, where you’ll find inspiration for your projects.
What will I study?This photography course offers a contemporary curriculum that is engaged with social, technological, environmental, ethical and cultural perspectives, enabling you to become a ‘thinking practitioner’ or a socially responsible entrepreneur.We will help you develop a conceptual and contextual understanding of photography, so you can find new ways to express yourself, and take your practice to a more dynamic level.We’ll help you explore the concepts and contexts behind photography work, so you can find new ways to express yourself, and take your practice to a more dynamic level. You’ll also undertake research to develop a theoretical and critical underpinning of the subject, learning new ways of thinking and working, and pushing traditional boundaries of the medium.In addition to learning about commercial and design applications (such as in editorial and advertising photography), you also will develop your knowledge of photography through its interactions with other creative subjects; for example, working in 3D environments to produce Computer-Generated images (CGI), exploring wet printing and alternative print-making techniques or experimenting with moving image and sound as a means of personal expression or visual communication.
The module introduces you to cultural debates relating to photography’s unique nature, its historical development and current uses in a variety of settings. ‘Issues in Representation’ provides the theoretical framework of level 4 and operates in support of the practical modules.
In this module you are introduced to a variety of digital technologies and digital approaches to making creative work in new and innovative ways. Through participation in workshops you’ll build up a portfolio of experimentations.
This module teaches you to think about the photographic image beyond the single frame and to explore in practice the different ways this can be created. You’re encouraged to produce moving image and sound in response to set project briefs.
This module encourages the exploration and development of outcomes that demonstrates visual narratives can be meaningfully realised. In responding to specifically themed, guided projects, you’ll develop distinctive visual language to communicate your concept effectively.
This module encourages the exploration of image-based narratives realised through a meaningful development of screen-based as well as physical gallery-based outputs that convincingly communicate with an audience.
On this module you’ll be presented with key global debates which impact our lives and could influence your creative practice and positions as creatives in ever-changing professional industries. Through research and critical reflection, you’ll explore these issues which may be related to sustainability, politics and other ecological or socio- economic factors, and respond to them creatively using your chosen discipline-specific practice.
This module aims to support the employability of learners by encouraging them to consider and evaluate their photographic practice within a professional context, and to promote an understanding of the key considerations required to support practice. Learners develop their understanding about the structures and organisations which underpin professional practice in the creative industries, in particular an awareness of the diverse role of the photographer as practitioner in cultural and commercial areas beyond education. Learners are informed by various models of practice that seek to further enhance professional ambition and communication. This module provides learners with a solid framework for undertaking further self-directed initiatives and advanced exploration for further professional development in Level 6.
Through targeted research and critical analyse, you’ll identify approaches and responses, appropriate to specific audience demographics and platform, making informed choices about how your work is realised. This module will encourage you to develop a range of new skills and techniques that would be appropriate within a design-based commercial context.
The Research Strategies module is designed to introduce you to preparing and planning for your practice-based report in Year 3. Through a series of thematic lectures and seminars, the module provides a framework for you to understand and explore cultural knowledge, concepts in fashion, textiles, costume design and the broader field of art and design and popular culture.
This practice-based module focuses on the conceptual, creative and technical development, completion, and presentation, of a critically engaged project. Emphasis is on the exploration of contemporary art practices, their vocabularies and underpinnings.
This module asks you to consider the demands of the design-driven commercial world within contemporary photographic practice. In extending technical skills, you’ll work within the studio and on location to create product shots, publicity material and photographic advertising outcomes.
The aim of this module is for you to complete a proposal for your final major project, evidencing how it will be developed in response to substantial research on the sector and reflection on your previous practical outcomes.
This puts focus on knowledge and skills to support professional practice in the visual arts, design and the creative industries. You’ll develop in-depth knowledge of your chosen field of practice, which will support the critical appraisal process and inform the social and professional context for your work.
Through workshops, seminars, and one-to-one supervision tutorials, this module provides you with the support required for writing your contextual report on practice. This self-directed theoretical/critical and evaluative piece of written work consists of a detailed account of the critical references surrounding your final major project.
This module will enhance your understanding and appreciation of the roles, relationships, and responsibilities that can play a major part in progressing and sustaining your professional practice. Extending your work in relation to career aspirations, you’ll develop visual, verbal and written presentation skills to support communication with employers.
You are provided with an opportunity to sustain the creative dialogue between your research and subject-based practice, enabling you to establish your professional and creative identity through a self-directed brief/proposal.
Foundation Year
4.4Bucks New University (BNU) is a student-focused university based in High Wycombe, with over 130 years of educational his...
