Course Summary

Got a passion for photography, but not sure if you're ready for a degree? Well, our foundation course will give you a strong grounding to experience life through the camera lens to advance your studies to degree level. For your foundation year, you will be learning alongside other creative students from our Art & Design programmes including Fine Art, Graphic Design and Illustration. You will be given the opportunity to learn skills from all of those disciplines whilst being able to focus on photography as your chosen pathway. This grounding will really enrich your skills and creative ideas ready for you to take them into your study on the degree programme. You'll learn all the essential photography basics - how to use a variety of cameras, both digital and film, how to make creative images, work in a studio and on location, and how to print your photos to a high standard. In addition, you'll explore historical and contemporary photographers and the creative arts more broadly to encourage you to develop your own style and flourish as a photographer ready for year one of the degree course. **Your Career with a Photography Degree** A degree in Photography can open up a fantastic range of career options. Freelance or in a permanent position, studio-based or on the move, the skills you learn will help you no matter what route you decide to take. Our former students have gone on to become assistant photographers, picture editors and researchers, forensic and medical photographers, gallery curators and more. For many of our students, their career path begins even before graduation through commissions and success during their studies. In his third year, Harry Renton won Photo North Festival's Student Award in 2019 and graduate Joe Hardcastle was a winner of the Photography Chromatic Awards in 2019. Our photography students have regularly received the Institute of the Arts' Highest Achieving Student of the Year award, and Liam Collins won the first Young Cumbrian Artist of the Year in his second year. The shortlist of ten for this inaugural year was exclusively made up of our photography students. With this level of drive and focus on our programme you can be sure of creating critically-acclaimed photographs during this course. Your foundation year will help you prepare for working independently as an artist and photographer, and get you ready for year one of the degree course. **Year 1** - Your introduction to photography will see you exploring a variety of lens-based and other creative media through contemporary and traditional ways of working. So, you'll be experimenting and exploring photography using a variety of techniques and processes. **Year 2** - You'll develop your photography and technical skills working with our state-of-the-art digital equipment and darkroom. We'll put you in control, but guide you to enhance your ideas and explore the avenues of expression. **Year 3** - You'll continue to hone your practical skills and creative vision using traditional and cutting-edge processes with an emphasis on getting your work out there through book publication and exhibition. Employability, experience and industry skills run through this stage of your degree. **Year 4** - Your focus will be on organising and creating work for your own exhibition. As part of this we teach you professional and entrepreneurial skills to give you not only skills within the field of photography, but the knowledge and confidence to set out on your chosen career.

Course Details - Modules

Foundation year - Compulsory modules: Visual Literacy, Applied Creative Practice, Photography: Technical Processes, Historical Cultures. Year one - Compulsory modules: Fundamentals in Photography, Historical Context and Research Skills, Communicating Ideas in Photography, Critical Studies in Photography. Year two - Compulsory modules: Principles of Photography, Advanced Visual Narratives, Exploration of Photography, Critical Theories in Photography. Year three - Compulsory modules: Photography Application, Photography Dissertation, Photography Practice, Photography Exhibition and Professional Practice.

Course Details – Assessment Method

Assessment Methods are not listed for this Course.

Course Details – Professional Bodies

Professional Bodies are not listed for this Course.

How to Apply

26 January This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application Codes

Course code: W640

Institution code: C99

Campus Name: Carlisle - Brampton Road

Campus code:

Points of Entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

Foundation

Entry Requirements for Advanced Entry (Year 2 and Beyond)

Entry Requirements for Advanced Entry are not listed for this Course.

International applicants

Standard Qualification Requirements

Potential to succeed can be measured in a number of ways including academic qualifications and skills obtained outside academic study such as work experience. You can find out more about the tariff and qualification options from the UCAS tariff table. Please check selection criteria for any additional entry requirements.

60 credits with 45 graded credits at Level 3


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. The Integrated Foundation Year programmes support your return to education and are specifically designed for students who have the ability to study for a degree but may not have all the necessary qualifications, skills or experience to join the degree in Year 1. Contact our Course Enquiries Team for more information.

Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course

Minimum Qualification Requirements

Minimum Further Information are not listed for this Course.

English language requirements

Test Grade AdditionalDetails
English Language Entry Requirement Information are not listed for this Course.

Unistats information

Student satisfaction : 88%

Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs): 65%

Go onto work and study: 90%

Fees and funding

EU 8760.0 Year 1
England 6125.0 Year 1
Northern Ireland 6125.0 Year 1
Scotland 6125.0 Year 1
Wales 6125.0 Year 1
International 8760.0 Year 1

Additional Fee Information

These fees are for the first year only. For years 2 - 4, the BA or BSc fee will apply. Visit www.cumbria.ac.uk/studentfinance for more information about student fees and finance, and for details about our alumni discount.

Provider information

Registered Office
Fusehill Street
Address3 are not listed for this Course.
Carlisle
CA1 2HH

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