A student taking a photo standing underneath a sky full of hot air balloons

Photography BA(Hons) (Online)

Create compelling images that affect positive, global change.

Key details
Location
Online
Course duration
2 years / 3 years
Attendance
Full-time / Part-time
UCAS code
W64F (full-time)

Course overview

With a distinct focus on conscious visual storytelling, this online photography degree will equip you with the skills to become an agile multimedia content creator.   

Taught by practicing academic staff as part of Falmouth’s renowned Institute of Photography, you’ll join a global online community of bold and progressive image-makers working to promote social, ethical and sustainable change. 

By the time you graduate, you will have a professional-standard portfolio of meaningful images, an industry-ready skillset and the ability to inspire and motivate through creating purposeful work. 

You will:

  • Refine a range of technical skills including contemporary image production, post-production, editing and presentation methods 
  • Build a unique portfolio of professional-standard work informed by historical and contemporary photographic practices 
  • Develop complex problem solving and communication skills to enable you to experiment, take risks and produce innovative photographic imagery 
  • Acquire the skills in collaboration, negotiation and project management needed to operate as a professional across a broad range of careers in the creative industries 
  • Expand upon your understanding of research, questioning and helping to define the role photography plays in our current society and culture 

Course details

On this accelerated online Photography degree, you’ll have the opportunity to gain a BA(Hons) degree over two years full-time or three years part-time. 

You will learn to fuse experimental and professional approaches to photography. Informed by the ethos of ethical social responsibility central to the course, you will explore how photographic storytelling can create positive change and will become equipped with the cultural understanding and communication skills required to make waves in the global creative industries.  

Through active engagement with online workshops, you will develop greater technical photographic skills in response to the challenges of the industry, while input from professional practitioners will help you develop essential networking connections.  

By sharpening your research, analysis and collaboration skills - and with the ability to work from anywhere in the world - this online degree will prepare you for a global career in photography and visual communication; from producing multimedia content for social justice campaigns to working on cutting-edge freelance projects.  

Through practical and critical enquiry, you will be supported to disrupt, experiment and question creative processes. This initial stage of the course requires courage to test, and curiosity to explore. You will be joining an immersive community culture, collectively growing skills, embracing innovation and encouraging creative endeavour.  

Through live briefs, and online workshops and lectures, you will be introduced to a range of creative processes, from critical thinking to practical hands-on skills across different photographic mediums. You will also begin to engage with a wider industry context, preparing you for the future workplace.  

Modules

Explore

You will immerse yourself in the course from week one, building a community and laying the foundations for a long-lasting creative practice.  

You will also begin to explore the medium through experimentation with a range of photographic approaches and post-production techniques. 

Source

This investigative module aims to build your professional collaboration and research skills, helping you to develop important industry awareness at an early stage in your studies, preparing you for a range of careers in the creative industries.   

In Source you will work with peers and people in your own community to gather collective intelligence and find creative responses to shared questions. 

Make 

This photographic practice module develops your image making and post-production skills and refines your use of materials, processes, and techniques.  

You will be invited to explore the world around you, bringing together storytelling and process and finding exciting ways to make images using film, digital or alternative processes.

Reflect 

This module focusses on your critical thinking skills, and how you use research and image analysis to better understand the context of photographs. We will explore what it means to ‘create for good’ and consider our responsibilities as creatives.  

Through the lens of sustainability and change, you will explore how your own and others’ images can communicate impactfully. 

Advancing and deepening your technical skills, you will experiment and begin to specialise in certain areas of photographic practice by exploring responses to set briefs. You will have opportunities to collaborate with others on your course and industry partners, to produce ambitious group projects using online platforms.  

You will grow an awareness of audience, refining your practical and critical research skills, project management, and your knowledge of contemporary photography, history and theory. As you progress through this stage, you will begin to develop your own self-initiated projects and collaborations. As more industry-facing experiences begin to be introduced, you will be challenged to question convention, disrupt, innovate and maintain courageous thinking.

Modules

Define

This module aims to develop your ability to shape ideas and photographic outcomes, and to interrogate ethical and sustainable approaches to your practice. 

You will be working on a brief for a non-profit organisation or sustainable business, using your skills to help advance key narratives and ideas.

Audience

Practicing a range of research methods, you will develop a group response to contemporary issues, exploring social, ethical, and environmental situations.   

In this module you will also reflect upon professional work culture to build a collective learning environment which can generate ideas and visual possibilities.   

Engaging with the concept of ‘Audience’ you will be analysing and re-imagining the impact of photographs and creative outputs in promoting positive change.   

Innovate

Applying the knowledge and skills you have developed so far, and supported by your learning community, this self-directed practice module will harness your ability to generate innovative photographic responses to a variety of challenges, underpinned by your developing critical voice. 

Collaboration

Working as part of a team, you'll work on 'Challenge Briefs' that reflect the sort of assignments you could expect to be working on in industry. Developing your 'soft skills', like communication, problem-solving, critical thinking and leadership, you'll sharpen your ability to work well as part of a group to produce outstanding work. 

This module is a collaboration with Falmouth’s other online courses including interior design, illustration, visual communication, creative writing and more. You will therefore have an opportunity to widen your professional network and collaborate with people in different creative fields.  

 

The stage supports you to refine your photographic approach and to challenge your emerging fields of interest, culminating in a final portfolio of work and a contextual report that grounds your work. You will refine core skills and reflect critically on your strengths, exploring alternative models of practice that help define your creative future beyond the course. 

Modules

Develop

This module is designed to enable you to develop your professional identity ahead of your Final Major Project. You will evolve and refine a specialist body of creative, innovative work and identify a future career pathway in the creative industries.  

Futures

This industry module aims to situate your practice and prepare you with the skills needed for a successful and dynamic career in the creative industries.  

You will receive practical and technical advice about a diverse range of creative industry roles, from experienced industry practitioners. 

You will define what success means to you and approach the values and mission you want to take with you after you graduate.   

Launch

In your Final Major Project, you will develop an innovative final photographic portfolio that demonstrates a high level of professionalism and industry level finish, appropriate for your career ambitions. 

Frame

This module requires you to write a report contextualising your work within the broader industry and identifying future audiences for your practice. 

The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Course Leader.

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Resources and Support

  • Dedicated easy-to-use virtual learning environment (VLE)
  • Accessible online audio / visual content
  • A Student Advisor to support you throughout your studies and access to our Student Support Services
  • Access to our Employability Service
  • 24/7 access to Falmouth's extensive online library of contextual books, journals and resources
  • Access to online software tutorials at LinkedIn Learning
  • Students' Union community
  • Optional face-to-face events
  • Invitation to attend alumni events

Although online students don't have access to on-campus facilities as part of the course, you can hire equipment and access facilities by paying a charge. Find out more about availability and prices here.

How you'll learn & be assessed

How online study works

This practice-based accelerated online degree is underpinned by rich online resources, workshops and video-based tuition. We offer a truly inclusive, conscious and multidisciplinary syllabus designed to meet the demands of photography within and beyond the creative industries.  

What sort of activities will I do?

The weight of your academic teaching will take place through pre-recorded lectures from your core academic team and practicing professionals in the creative industry. You will have a weekly webinar where you can connect with your fellow students and staff for stimulating discussions and feedback. You will also receive technical inductions from pre-recorded videos and resources which you can refine and enquire about during your webinars. 

You will be joining a supportive and diverse course community in which you will develop your unique creative practice through inquiry-based collective learning fostering responses to challenges and connection opportunities in your own communities and contexts.  

What will my study hours be?

Depending on your choice of full-time or part-time study, you'll spend between 27-50 hours a week developing dynamic creative processes and contextual understanding.  

What does accelerated study mean?

An accelerated degree condenses your degree modules into two years on the full-time route, or three years on the part-time route. This means you'll be working across three study blocks per year, instead of two, including through the summer. Typically, there is a break of around two weeks between submitting your final assignment for each module and the start of the next study block. You will also get breaks on public holidays, for around two weeks at Easter and for around three weeks in December.

This BA(Hons) Photography online degree employs a variety of assessment strategies over the course of the year. These include the submission of portfolios of practical work, presentations, verbal reports and a final major project. 

Your summative (final) assessments occur at the end of each module, usually at the end of the study block whereas you may have interim formative assessments part way through a module as well. These assessments help ensure that you remain on track with your work. 

You will receive continuous written and/or verbal feedback on all your work throughout the year. At the end of the module, you will receive detailed feedback in written form. 

You'll be able to check in with your online tutor to discuss your progress and ask any questions you have about your course.  

Find out more about learning online

Staff

Falmouth’s Institue of Photography has global connectivity to a broad range of photographic practitioners. This connectivity provides essential networking opportunities for our students and graduates and helps inform and shape our curriculum.

Dr Catarina Fontoura

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Course Leader, Photography BA(Hons) (Online)

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Some members of staff only teach on specific modules, and your course might not feature every staff member who teaches on the course.

Careers

As a BA(Hons) Photography (Online) graduate you could become:  

  • Self Employed Photographer/Videographer 
  • Digital Assistant 
  • Photoshoot Producer 
  • Picture Editor 
  • Digital Archivist (Photo Libraries/Museum sector) 
  • Curator 
  • Social Media Strategist 
  • Digital Content Editor 
  • Multimedia Designer 

Further Study options include: 

  • Postgraduate study within photography and related disciplines, or education 
  • PhD and research degrees    

How to apply

Apply 

You have the option to apply via Clearing or directly with us, depending on your education and experience. Find out more about ways to apply. 

Ready to join us? Find out what course routes are available here.

Course route Course start Apply now
Full-time September 2023

Apply via Clearing

Part-time September 2023 Apply now

 

We consider all applications on their own individual merit and potential. We invite all applicants to an online interview to give them the opportunity to demonstrate this along with what inspires and motivates them in their field. Applicants will also be able to show their portfolio or give a performance depending on the course. We welcome applications from all subject backgrounds, whether you've specialised in STEM, the arts or humanities.

Applying with UCAS points

Course route Entry requirements
BA/BSc(Hons) degree 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points

Check the title of your course to see if it's a BA or BSc award. UCAS Tariff points will primarily be from Level 3 qualifications such as but not limited to A-levels, T Levels, a BTEC/UAL Extended Diploma or a Foundation Diploma.

Check how many points your qualifications are worth

Applying without UCAS points

We'll welcome your application if you have formal or 'certified' learning (such as training courses not run by universities or colleges) and learning from work experience or self-study. This is called Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL), and should have been gained within the last five years, and be equivalent to the learning outcomes of our minimum entry qualifications. Find out more about APL.

For applicants whose first language is English we require you to have or be working towards GCSE English Language Grade 4 (C), or equivalent. 

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the same standard which is equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.0 overall score, with at least 5.5 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. We accept a range of in country equivalencies and approved tests.  

If you need a student visa to study in the UK, you may need to take a recognised language test. You can read our English Language Requirements for more information.

For starting your studies in 2023

Applications for these courses remain open whilst there are spaces available. We encourage you to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

The academic start date is 18 September 2023.

What we're looking for

  • Someone with aspirations to use photography for positive change and to reshape the creative industries  
  • Someone who is ambitious, entrepreneurial and wants to develop their own visual language 
  • Someone looking to accelerate their current career within a supportive, collaborative community 

Fees, costs & funding

Tuition fees

Annual tuition fee Student
£10,400 per year 2 years accelerated full-time
£6,935 per year 3 years accelerated part-time
Annual tuition fee Student
£10,400 per year 2 years accelerated full-time
£6,935 per year 3 years accelerated part-time

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. 

The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs

What funding can I get?

Funding for online study is different to on-campus study. You'll find information about both tuition fees and how you can fund your online study on this page.

Explore funding options
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Typical course costs

One-off costs 

You will need a DSLR or Mirrorless camera system. There are lots of options for buying these, including second hand cameras. We would recommend a camera that has full manual controls and the ability to produce still and moving images, e.g.: 

  • Canon EOS DSLR or EOS R series  
  • Nikon DSLR or Z Series  
  • Sony A Series (A7 or A9) 
  • Fuji X series 

NB: Each of these will need two lens – we would recommend a zoom lens (24-70mm or similar) and a prime lens (50mm equivalent). 

You will need to purchase a laptop/desktop computer. It is an essential piece of equipment that you will need right from the start of the course. Our students use both PCs and Macs. 

When considering your purchase of a laptop, the most important things to look out for is the CPU/RAM/graphics card, as you will be using production software that needs a large amount of power. We recommend one with as fast a processor as you can afford (8GB of RAM minimum) and a reasonably sized screen (13" minimum, 15" is optimum), plus the following minimum computer specifications:

Windows: 

  • Windows 10 
  • At least an i7 processor 
  • No less than 8-16GB Ram  
  • Graphics Card (nVidia 1080 minimum, not Intel Iris integrated graphics) with at least 2GB  
  • 256GB hard drive space minimum  
  • 1920 x 1080 display resolution or higher (most displays offer a higher resolution than this) 

Apple MacBook Pro: 

  • Mac OS 10.15 or newer 
  • At least an i7 processor 
  • No less than 8-16GB Ram  
  • Graphics Card 
  • 256GB hard drive space minimum  
  • 1920 x 1080 display resolution or higher (most displays offer a higher resolution than this) 

 

Other digital equipment/software: 

  • 1TB hard drive (approx. £50)
  • Wireless or Bluetooth mouse (approx. £15)

 

Recurring annual costs 

  • £100-£200 - Studio kit (outlined in your Welcome Letter) 
  • £100-£200 - Recommended reading throughout course
  • Face-to-face events (optional): £100-£800 - As an online student you will be given the opportunity to attend up to two events per academic year to meet your classmates and tutors in person. Dates and location of the events will vary, but previous trips have include London, New York, Amsterdam, Paris and Bristol. There will also be a face-to-face event in Falmouth once per year. 
  • Adobe Creative Cloud: You will need access to Adobe Creative Cloud. You may be eligible for discounted licenses through Adobe's education pricing and Falmouth University seeks to provide further discounts when possible. If any discounts are available, we will communicate these to you. For more information please visit Adobe Creative Cloud.  

Ask a student

What better way to find out about life at Falmouth University than by asking our current students?

From course details and academic support, to the social scene and settling in, our students are ready and available to answer any questions you might have. Simply set up your account, send them a question and they'll get back to you within 24 hours.

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