MA Photography

This introductory module is designed to set a baseline for you and your peers, so that you can all engage meaningfully with the rest of the modules. We’ll help you break down your current practice and think about where it fits into the contemporary photography scene. You will also develop a basic understanding of practice- and arts-based research and start documenting your academic journey in your reflective journal.

In this module, we’ll encourage you to deconstruct your creative process. You'll enrich your creative vision by experimenting with alternative approaches, techniques, genres and ideas. We’ll also give you a foundational understanding of the discourse that will underpin the rest of your studies.

This research-focused module will deep dive into the history of photography, and its role in contemporary culture. Looking at both historical and contemporary theory, you’ll deliver responses to specific artists, genres or themes. We’ll also start exploring the symbiotic relationship between theory and practice.

In this process-oriented module, you’ll collaborate with your peers to organise, curate and present work to an audience. In doing so, you’ll explore and challenge traditional and experimental approaches, considering how this may influence your audience’s interpretation.

This module is led by a seasoned commercial photographer and will present the realities of the industry. You’ll take part in a series of workshops that will involve developing a creative CV, an artist’s statement and an online presence. We’ll also support you in developing key collaborative skills and creating portfolios for open calls and competitions.

This module focuses heavily on the art of introspection. Through the lens of everything that shapes your identity, you’ll use your lived experience as a creative springboard. You will also be introduced to a range of artists who use their identities as a starting point for creative practice.

With the rate at which technology is transforming our world, definitions of photography are constantly blurring with other parallel but connected disciplines. Together, we’ll explore alternative uses for and definitions of photography. We’ll also encourage you to conduct ‘practice-based research’: the process of familiarising yourself with a subject by making art about it.

You will be introduced to a range of artists who use photography as a means of documenting the world around them and becoming more familiar with it. We’ll then explore how, by ‘looking out’, your photography can act as a vector for developing your understanding of the world.

We will support you in developing a proposal for your final project. This is your time to reflect on all the knowledge, skills and perspectives you have gained throughout the course. What resonated most with you? What direction has your artistic practice taken? What themes would you like to expand on further in the future? Through your reflective journal, an oral presentation and a written proposal, you’ll articulate your final project idea.

Throughout this final module, you’ll conduct and resolve your research-informed final project. Our tutors will support you in breaking down your final project into smaller, more manageable chunks. You will also receive constructive individual and peer feedback which will aid you in completing your project successfully.