Bachelor in Photography

The Photography department focuses on establishing an autonomous artistic practice. We aim to cultivate a critical attitude that challenges the medium technically, conceptually and theoretically. Through research and observation, experiment and production, and through discussion and text, we reflect on new properties and applications and a changing significance of photography within society and the arts.

For the most part, lessons and assessments are given within the group's context, where we trust each other – sharing our interests and personal fascinations – and learn from each other. We have partnerships with galleries, museums and festivals. Conceiving and producing exhibitions and presentations outside of the academy form an essential part of the programme.

The origins of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie can be traced back to three schools in 1924 to form the Instituut Voor Kunstnijverheidsonderwijs (Institute for Education in the Applied Arts), or Kunstnijverheidsschool (School of Applied Arts) for short. From 1939 to 1960, the study programme was heavily influenced by the functionalist and socio-critical ideas of De Stijl and the Bauhaus, partly thanks to the socialist architect Mart Stam's role, who was the director of the programme.

The Gerrit Rietveld Academie offers one Bachelor's programme and two Master's programmes. The full-time Bachelor's programme is made up of the Basic year and 12 specialisations. All students complete a general formative year before choosing one of these specialisations for in-depth study in one of the two specialisations. The academy also offers a part-time Bachelor's programme, DOGtime, with two specialisations. The Foundation Course of the part-time Bachelor's programme takes two years to complete and is followed by three years of in-depth study.