Is this course right for me?

Are you looking for the opportunity to develop your photography skills and become part of a professional world? Would you like to understand more about how the industry works?

If so, then this is the course for you. 

On this course, you will learn about the concepts of visual language; undertake serious research and meaningful photographic work, and share your images. We will help you develop the confidence to exhibit and publish your work, and to express your ideas with clarity, skill and knowledge.

If you have already completed the FdA in Photograph (or equivalent), then this course gives you the opportunity to progress onto Level 6 and gain a full honours degree.

You can also join the course if you have a suitable level 5 qualification in Photography or lens based media that meets advanced prior learning requirements.

Fees

Visit the Financial Support and Finance page for more information.

Additional Costs

Degree Students would be encouraged to have their own Photography and digital development equipment to support their personal development at this level such as that which is available in the department. The department has a store of photographic equipment that includes digital and analogue cameras both medium format and large format. The studio is supported with portable lighting kits. Equipment can be booked on a fortnightly loan system and longer-term agreements can apply if needed.

Additional costs can include opportunities to participate in study visits and students should budget approximately £250 for this. This figure is given as guidance only, and further cost can be incurred depending on opportunities. 

More detailed information on other costs associated with your course and work placements/work experience (if applicable) will be outlined in the programme validation document and explained to you at your interview.

Start date

September

Entry requirements:

Academic requirements:

• Entry onto level 6 will be direct for those students progressing from the GLLM FdA Photography Foundation Degree to the GLLM Bachelor of Arts Degree (Hons) after successful completion of the foundation degree. Applicants have to satisfy the requirement that they have successfully studied the equivalent of 120 credits at HE level 4 and 120 credits at HE level 5.
• Entry onto level 6 for students who not have the above requirements or are applying to level 6 from another institution will be considered on an individual basis in line with GLLM credit transfer policy, based on previous successful study of 120 credits per level in a compatible qualification (within the time frame outlined in the policy). Or by supporting their application with the submission of a portfolio for accreditation of prior learning (APL/APEL/RPEL), in accordance with GLLM regulations and policy. 
• All places are subject to a satisfactory interview with portfolio. 

Selection and interview procedures

Each student will be invited to attend an interview, based upon meeting the selection criteria as per Grŵp admissions guidance. Applicants will need to submit proof of qualifications with original certificates along with a portfolio, and any proof to meet additional entry requirements as outline above.

Language requirements

• GCSE in Welsh or English as first language, grade C or above 
• Any degrees, diplomas or certificates eligible should have been taught and assessed in Welsh or English, or 
• For overseas applicants, for entry onto Levels 5 or above, English fluency to IELTS 6.0 or higher (with no element less than 5.5) 

All places are subject to satisfactory interview.

Progression:

Completion of this course will provide a range of options in education and employment. You will have developed the skills required for employment or self-employment within a range of creative industries, including photographic art as well as design and publishing. The diversity of the course including employability skills and the links learners develop with local organisations/ employers ensures all graduates are well rounded and prepared for the modern workplace with a critical understanding of photography and other media forms.

In education, you will have the opportunity to progress onto higher-level research, a PGCE, MA or PHD level study.

There are a number of career paths and industries open to graduates in Photography including;

• Freelance photography including medical, culinary, fashion or editorial
• Publishing
• Journalism
• Public relations
• Working with local or national arts organisations
• Museum curator 
• Art Director
• Arts administrators
• Teaching/ lecturing
• Photographic assistant / technician
• Studio and gallery assistant
• Picture editor
• Web designer
• videographer
• Film

Additional campus/course information:

• Rhos-on-Sea

  For every 10 credits, students should engage with around 100 notional hours of learning. This will be approximately 30% direct learning contact, and 70% independent student learning.

  Level 6

  Contextualising Practice (20 credits, compulsory) 

  This module will enable learners to reflect on their level 5 achievements to identify a specialist pathway to realise new work. The focus will be on development that is appropriate to outcomes in distributional contexts.  The key contexts are books, exhibition, mixed or multi-media considerations, and web-based platforms. The module would generally require that the learner demonstrates ability across a broad digital skill-set. Learners keen to use specialist analogue processes would be required to facilitate the transfer of their work to a digital domain.

  A research proposal leads towards supported technical development in a key area or a combination of key areas. Typically, these might be analogue or digital arenas with output to print, bookmaking, projection, installation, moving image and web design, or any other proposed outcome agreed with the module leader. Experimentation and process will lead to a portfolio of images presented in a skeletal context such as fine print, book dummy, latent web pages, short moving image product or other agreed context.

  Key considerations are audience awareness, context of distribution and reception of work.

  The learner will qualify projects as meaningful outcomes by demonstrating that contextual frameworks are considered elements of their own practice. (Presentation 20%, Written evaluation 30%, Portfolio 50%)

  Final Major Project (40 credits, compulsory) 

  The photography final major project is a key component of final assessment and it is the opportunity for learners to demonstrate their creative, technical and production skills that are informed through critical understanding, the application of theory and a realisation of practice. 

  The context for the final major project will be the end of year show, which will be held onsite or at an offsite venue determined through negotiation and agreement in semester 1. As a group, learners can choose an overarching rationale for the event and to consider this as an element of the contextual framework for their practice – or, they can choose to see their contribution as independent of external associations and reliant only on the allocation of space to each learner.

  Each learner will address the unique interests of their practice through independent study and a tutor supported pathway. There will be an emphasis on critical theory and practice that is interrogated through historical and/or contemporary contexts that informs critical evaluation of practice in the context of a final show.

  The notion of ‘a show’ will be explored broadly to include a variety of possibilities including the use of digital space. (Written evaluation 10%, Exhibition 80%, Planning document 10%)

  Research Pathways (20 credits, compulsory)

  This module enables learners to consider specific research methodologies that will support their academic interest and help inform a critical framework for their own practice.  The evaluation of work from L5 is an opportunity to consider new lines of enquiry or to consider the development of existing themes for research that is appropriate to L6.

  Learners will be required to keep a professional online blog that reviews and evaluates research experiences throughout the year, and reflects the development of a relationship between research and practice over time. This will include information gathered from visits to galleries, festivals, conferences and exhibitions, direct contact with industry and relevant research experiences. There is an emphasis placed upon developing a digital visual language and a resource that supports the dissertation as a shared platform that invites dialogue between peers and the teaching team. (Written evaluation 20%, Digital research document 80%)

  Dissertation (40 credits, compulsory)

  This module develops the interface between research and practice explored in the first phase of the course. Students are required to carry out detailed research alongside critical enquiry to enable them to reflect on their own practice and to position this practice in relation to broader historical and contextual concerns.

  The module allows students to undertake a major research project which is linked to their photographic practice. The research work carried out for this module will enable students to produce and present a focused body of work that synthesises their critical evaluation and contextual understanding and consider the relationship between this and their own practical work. (Presentation 20%, Dissertation 60%, Preparatory essay and literature review 20%)