Photography - MA (UK) full-time

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Course overview

The MA Photography course focuses on the fields of international photojournalism, documentary and travel photography, and is designed in particular for postgraduate students who wish to develop their knowledge and skills to pursue a career in these areas.

You will explore issues of photographic culture, image economies and visual representation, and develop an understanding of how the practice of making photographic images is affected by these issues in terms of both your approach to the subject and the style of your photographs. You will apply your learning through a series of practical assignments.

The course is designed to be accessible to professional photographers and photo educators studying part-time as well as those wishing to study full-time and complete in a single year.


About the course

The course is delivered through a combination of intensive workshops and online teaching reflecting communication methods used in the modern industry. The programme is supported by group discussions, seminars and individual tutorials.

You will carry out assignments in the areas of photojournalism, documentary and travel photography for the first two modules then specialise in one of these areas for the final module.

The full-time course is one year in duration which is divided into three terms.

In term one you will consider a range of practical and ethical issues that have an impact on the practice of photography by researching four research questions. You will explore these issues through readings, lectures, discussions and practical assignments.

In the first half of term two, you will plan for two picture stories, one travelogue and one issue based, which you will then go on to shoot in the second half of the term. This work will be based on a further four research questions. At the end of term two, you will edit and discuss your projects with professionals, peers and tutors leading to preparations for continuing one of the two projects into term three.

In your final term you will have 10 weeks to expand your work in progress into a substantial body of work with ‘The Book’ module in which you will have the opportunity to develop a photographic book on a personally researched theme. You will negotiate a learning contract with your tutor from which the final project will be assessed.