BA(Hons) in Photography

This course is affiliated with the leading professional body for photographers in the UK and beyond, the Association of Photographers.

Why study photography?

Images are everywhere. Studying photography enables you to understand the language of images and develop your 'visual voice' to communicate effectively and with confidence.

It helps you understand the contexts in which images exist and circulate, and locate opportunities to get your images published, exhibited and commissioned.

Becoming a photography professional opens doors to a wide range of careers within a global landscape of creative industries.

Why UWE Bristol?

BA(Hons) Photography is based in the city of Bristol, a vibrant arts and media community that will challenge and inspire you.

The course offers a vibrant, collaborative environment, modern facilities, supportive workshop instruction and expert input, all underpinned by theory and critique.

Study at Bower Ashton Studios, part of our City Campus, where exceptional facilities and resources include industry-standard digital media studios.

Explore traditional tools and the latest technology in our production and fabrication workshops. Develop your creativity and the high-level practical skills needed to become a successful photographer. Work across all areas of the discipline, from editorial and documentary to fashion, advertising and fine art.

We'll encourage you to transform your broad-based photographic practice into an individual visual style. On graduation, you'll have a unique and compelling body of work for the marketplace.

Work to briefs set and assessed by external individuals and organisations, including photographers, filmmakers, publishers, clothing labels, product designers, theatre groups, musicians and festivals. Build your CV with work experience, and access to job opportunities, throughout the course.

Our partnerships with Bristol Photography Festival and IC Visual Lab, two highly reputable Bristol-based photography organisations with national and international influence, will provide you with a wide range of work experience placements and live briefs to work on. You'll also have access to industry talks, events and opportunities to display your work at prestigious exhibitions and venues.

Our City Campus is a creative powerhouse. It spans across Bristol and is made up of Bower Ashton and renowned contemporary art centres Spike Island, Arnolfini and Watershed.

Attend talks from creative professionals and visit photographers' studios, agencies and picture libraries. Showcase your work to talent scouts and potential employers at the final year Creative Industries Degree Show and graduate with an impressive portfolio of work.

Where can it take me?

Our graduates work in fields from editorial and fashion to movie stills and medical photography. Employers include the BBC, Sunday Times Magazine and the Tate.

Past students have assisted photographers such as Steve McCurry, Zed Nelson and Tim Walker, and have been published and exhibited in FT Weekend, Vogue Italia, Oh Comely, The Photographers Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and the Tate.

Graduates have also established important collectives and exhibiting networks such as The Lost Light Recordings, Loupe Magazine and Splash and Grab.

Some graduates go on to further study at the Master's level, including our own postgraduate MA Photography course.

At UWE Bristol we empower you to make a choice. To choose a university that challenges itself as much as you. To choose a passion that gives you purpose. To choose a community that leads the way, encouraging you to question everything, and to become the best you can be.

Change the world

At UWE Bristol, we’re focused on solving future global challenges through outstanding learning, world-leading research and a culture of enterprise.

Here, we empower our students to make a choice. To choose a university that pushes itself as much as it pushes them. To choose a community of original thinkers - breaking new boundaries and leading the way.

From our enterprise support programmes to industry masterclasses. Professional mentoring to business incubators. World-leading research facilities to work experience opportunities across the globe. We give our students the tools they need to act on their ideas and make them happen.

Each of our pioneering courses has been created in partnership with industry professionals. And over 150 come with professional accreditation from industry bodies. Coupled with world-class teaching, they’re designed to equip students with the most in-demand skills, and the kind of mindset that employers want and need. So that when you graduate from UWE Bristol, you’re ready to take on the world.

Our mindset

We believe that it’s only when you ask 'what if?' that you discover 'why not?'. That’s why we’re not afraid to ask difficult questions – and tackle the big issues head-on. It’s our way of continuing to make a real difference in the way we learn, analyse and contribute to the world we live in.

Our values

Ambitious

We’re not afraid to shape, challenge and tackle the big issues, to take the initiative and pave the way.

Inclusive

We make UWE Bristol a supportive and inspiring place to learn and work – somewhere where diversity of experience and perspective is encouraged, and learning and research are shared and accessible.

Innovative

We create new opportunities for the people who work and study with us. We embrace different ideas and pioneer new and sustainable ways of doing things.

Collaborative

We have strong connections locally and globally. We help people and organisations be the best they can, building trust throughout our university community and beyond.

Enterprising

We instil a thirst for new knowledge, its creation and application, empowering our students and staff to demonstrate a creative questioning approach, a 'can-do' confidence, and the ability to navigate uncertainty.