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BA (Hons) - Photography

Kickstart and inspire your photography on this immersive three-year course. With two-thirds of your time dedicated to hands-on practical learning, you'll develop creative and technical skills in both contemporary and traditional photography. You’ll also gain a deep understanding of production outcomes for image editing, print and web platforms through technical workshops.

We are an accredited course with the Association of Photographers (AOP) and you will benefit from access to professional advice and resources through student membership.

Bridge the gap between theory and practice with access to our industry-standard facilities including a black and white and a specialist colour darkroom, with Colenta colour processor and three versatile fully equipped shooting studios.

Our dedicated professional photography technician and the expert tutor team will support your individual creative development, build your skill set and prepare you for a career as a professional photographer.

The Lake District is on the doorstep with spectacular landscapes, natural environments, diverse culture and many outdoor activities to engage with. You will work on location, with field trips available but also build technical knowledge on campus in studio. A programme of visiting professional photographers offer workshops on the course, leading to networking opportunities and insights into the profession. Your journey into the creative industries can start here.

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Course Overview

The BA (Hons) Photography degree offers the opportunity to explore your creativity and photographic practice, encouraging you to experiment across genres such as studio portraiture, documentary, editorial, commercial, and landscape photography. Whether you're capturing compelling narratives or crafting striking visual compositions, you'll build a strong creative identity, and a versatile skill set that reflects the demands of today’s photography industry.

Studying at our specialist arts campus, you’ll be immersed in a supportive creative community and spend two thirds of your time developing hands-on skills in both digital and analogue photography. With expert guidance, you’ll explore image-making techniques, visual storytelling, and the professional workflows needed to produce work for both print and digital platforms.

We operate an open-door policy and will be on hand to help you hone your work whenever you need us. Our experienced tutors bring real-world insights from current industry practice, helping you stay ahead of trends and technologies. Regular guest lectures, workshops, and industry-led projects provide valuable exposure to professional perspectives. You'll also have the chance to take part in inspirational field trips, collaborative projects, and public exhibitions—preparing you for a successful career in the fast-evolving creative industries.

On this course you will...

Develop your photographic and editing skills while experimenting during workshops and outdoor activities.
Work with students across the creative arts, collaborating on projects and exploring new mediums.
Be taught by industry experts with experience working freelance and within creative organisations.
Have the opportunity to exhibit your work publicly alongside the work of classmates across the arts.

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Key Details

Recruiting toUK / RoI / Settled in UK
EU / EEA / International
Course LocationCarlisle - Brampton Road
Institute Institute of Education, Arts and Society
UCAS CodeW641
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
Course DurationFull-time: 3 Years
Study Options Integrated Foundation Year
Course Start PointSeptember
AwardBA (Hons)
More informationProgramme Specification
Prospectus
Open DaysCarlisle - Brampton Road
All

Minimum entry requirements

104-112

UCAS Tariff points

Tuition fees

£9,535

UK | year

£14,900

International | year

Tuition Fees Policy

What Our Graduates & Students Say

I chose the University of Cumbria because of how personal the photography course felt. I attended a few Open Days at the university with taster sessions, and it became apparent that I could shape my education in photography to my own interests.

Kara Ashurst - BA (Hons) Photography

Kara graduated in 2023 and is looking to complete the Creative Practice (MA)

Kara Ashurst
I solidified my decision when I attended an Open Day, where I saw the huge darkroom, photography studios, and had firsthand experiences of how supportive the course is, the variety it offers, and the opportunities it provides.

William Niven - BA (Hons) Photography

William Niven

Course Structure

What you will learn

Photography is a fantastically versatile discipline and as such offers many routes into employment within the creative industries.

At the University of Cumbria, we have designed a programme that allows you to experiment with techniques, develop your practical skills, study through critical thinking and enquiry.

Informed by the clear integration of practice and theory, and by an expectation of your intellectual engagement in Photography practice, you will develop transferable skills.

Year one

In your first year, you will focus on The Photographic Environment which deals with the cornerstone craft of photographic image capture, both analogue and digital, in application to and investigation of, your photographic interests.

Research and contextual skills will be established at this level as we introduce the work of significant photographers and explore how influences and themes can be tracked through history, thereby setting the stage for the development of your own work.

Photographic Image Capture
An introduction to technical skills in digital & analogue photographic contexts.
Cultural Contexts
An introduction to the cultural, historical and social contexts in which creative work from a range of disciplines will be considered
Picturing Place: Culture & Identity
Explore the idea of place; different environments, cultures and identities informed by locale.
Collaborative Practice
Develop your ability to collaborate in professional scenarios through problem-solving and project-based learning.

Year two

In your second year, you will explore the Relevant Photograph. This attends to socially engaged practice. Working with the local community and culture with input from industry professionals you will learn to apply your craft to a greater purpose. You will also develop your contextual explorations into photographic theory, critical thinking, and analysis.

We have developed an enrichment module in year two where you can experience and practice traditional techniques and cutting-edge technologies.

Creating the space for experiment and play is enormously valuable in promoting creativity, problem-solving skills, risk-taking, and imagination. The module is intended to expand your practice skills midway through your degree enabling you to explore your own potential and readying you for a more focused journey through your final year and employment beyond that.

Networks & Narratives: Photography in the Community
Explore contemporary themes in photography.
Immersive Image-Making
Enrich your personal photographic practice by experimenting with both traditional and cutting-edge technologies.
The Photographic Interface: Industry Experience
An opportunity to explore your practice through a range of briefs set by industry professionals.
Theorising Photography
Develop the skills to think critically and generate original ideas informed by examples of influential scholarship.

Year three

Your final year will revolve around an Independent Showcase where you will take full charge of your own practice and bring it into the public domain.

Research, practice and professional skills come together in the final year of study to refine and showcase your personal vision and expression of photographic practice. At this point, you will be an independent, intelligent and competent practitioner with a personal portfolio representing the breadth of your skill and the depth of your engagement.

Blueprint of Practice
Refine your autonomous photographic practice through the synthesis of research and creativity.
Independent Research Paper
Develop specialised and focused knowledge and understanding of a subject of your own choice.
Resolution of Practice
Carry out a self-designed, in-depth, and investigative personal project.

Overview

104-112 UCAS Tariff Points, You can find out more about the tariff and qualification options from the UCAS tariff table. Offers are tailored to the individual applicant and their circumstances and can be across the tariff range. Applicants who meet our contextual information criteria will be offered at the bottom of the range.

Qualifications

Entry Requirements

A-levels: BCC-BBC

T-levels: P (C+) – M. All subjects are accepted for entry to this course

Access to HE: 15 Credits at Distinction & 30 at Merit

CACHE Technical Level 3 and Level 3 Extended Diploma: C - B

OCR Cambridge Technical & Edexcel/Pearson BTEC Level 3 (National) Extended Diploma: MMM - DMM

Scottish Highers: BBBC - BBBA

Irish LC Highers: B1, B2x3 – B1x3, B2

Alternative routes: If you don't think you'll meet the criteria for direct application to this course, check out our Integrated Foundation Year.

Fair Admissions

When you apply, our Admissions specialists will review your whole application. We are looking for your potential to succeed so will assess your qualifications, any relevant work experience, your personal statement, and references.

When we review your portfolio, we are assessing your ability to benefit from the course you have applied for. Any offers are based on your whole application and the review of your portfolio of work.

Where you have received a conditional offer subject to achieving particular grades/UCAS tariff scores, and do not quite meet these scores, please try not to worry, where vacancies exist our Admissions specialists will review your whole application again and take account of any mitigating circumstances and reassess your suitability for the course.

Selection Criteria

As part of the application and selection process, we are looking for your commitment to this programme. In your personal statement, you should demonstrate your motivation for choosing Photography and reflect upon any experience you have gained.

All places are offered subject to successful interview and portfolio. Please prepare your portfolio carefully to show evidence of your photography, creativity, art work and idea development. There is no one, ideal portfolio and we are used to looking at the work of students from many different courses and colleges.

At interview you have the opportunity to demonstrate what inspires you and what interests you in life and this is what will inform your work and your career as a photographer.

Contextual Admissions

Going to higher education can transform a person’s life. We use contextual admissions to make sure that we are accessible to everyone who has the potential to succeed. Qualifications and grades are important, but they are considered alongside other information that helps universities to identify potential and widen access to university level study. For some individuals, the disadvantages they have experienced in their life mean that they have not been able to demonstrate their full academic potential. Where a person lives and their personal circumstances can all affect their educational attainment.

We take this context into account and look for an applicant’s potential when making admission decisions. The University of Cumbria will make offers at the bottom of any UCAS Tariff range to applicants that live in postal code regions with the lowest participation in Higher Education (Polar 4 quintile 1 – you can check your postcode here), applicants that are estranged from their parents, are care leavers or have caring responsibilities or are in receipt of or received free school meals during their secondary education. Attendance at our Masterclasses and Summer Schools will also allow applicants to receive an offer lower within the tariff range. (T&Cs apply)

Contact ugadmissions@cumbria.ac.uk for more information.

Returning to Education

If you are over 21 and returning to study after being in relevant employment for a minimum of 3 years and do not meet the published entry requirements for Year 1 of our degree courses, please do not assume you are not qualified to join us. Our experienced Admissions and Academic staff will review your prior qualifications and professional experience to support your application.

Language requirements

Please follow the link to check language requirements for this programme here.

Fees & Funding

Tuition Fees

2025 - 2026

£9,535 - UK
£14,900 - International

2024-2025:

£9,250 - UK
£13,575 - International

The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs.

Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.

International Finance

At the University of Cumbria, we offer affordable tuition fees for international and EU students looking to study at one of our main four campuses. No matter your choice of course or career path, our International Team is here to support you.

More Information

We have a wide range of scholarships, bursaries, grants and funds available to support you throughout your studies with us. This includes the Cumbria Bursary - a non-repayable bursary designed to support first year students with a household income of less than £25,000..

Student Finance

Additional Costs

There will be some additional costs. For example all students will need to purchase stationery and may wish to purchase some text books. Extra costs may also be applicable to cover field trips, membership fees etc. although such features are usually options within the course.

Books are reviewed annually and are therefore subject to change, course welcome information will provide you with an indicative list for the year.

Books and Journals

Most core text books are available via the University's library, however students may wish to buy copies of any texts used to support your learning on your course. This could cost between £50 - £100 per year.

Stationery

Students should budget for stationery and consumables for your own personal use. This should include notebooks, pens and pencils for taking notes in class and/or in the field. Students should also budget for the purchase of USB pen drives, as well as occasional printing and photocopying costs incurred in the preparation or submission of coursework. Whilst you will choose how much you need, expect to pay around £30 - £40 per year for these items.

Student and Alumni Work

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Location
Carlisle - Brampton Road Campus
Located just outside the city, right on top of Hadrian's Wall, the Brampton Road campus is full of history, buzzing with excitement, creativity, and a sense of endless possibility. The home of creators, entertainers, rule breakers, and change-markers.
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BA (Hons) - Photography