Course summary

BA (Hons) Photography at Arts University Bournemouth is a world-renowned, exciting and challenging course that allows you to develop your own ambitious practice in the medium of photography. If you get excited by the material processes of the 19th and 20th Centuries, black and white and colour film processing and darkroom printing, or lean more towards high-end digital photography, VR or moving image and sound, you will gain hands-on experience and guidance by specialists here at AUB. We are well connected and invite a wide range of industry and artworld professionals to lead you in workshops and tutorials; we also take you to practitioners’ studios, which have recently included Lucas Blalock and Erin O’Keefe in New York, and Richard Learoyd in London. With a professional degree, you will graduate with the ability to embrace a range of possible careers: professional photographer (documentary, portrait, still life…), editor, artist, curator, educator, gallerist or progress to postgraduate study. Internationally-recognised practitioners including Nick Knight and Wolfgang Tillmans began their careers here. What you will learn The course responds to contemporary photography in a creative and experimental way, embracing and integrating a range of technologies. You are asked to freely explore your individual ideas and impulses within a structured, well-resourced and supportive environment that values a strong visual investigation supported by a contextual awareness of the medium and how it relates to and assimilates into other disciplines. The expansive nature of the course allows you to experience photography in a wide cultural context gaining a comprehensive knowledge of the mediums positions and audiences. This is especially important in helping you to choose a vocational pathway as you define your practice and prepare for employment. The course values the mediums history and recognises the importance of its influence on contemporary practice. It does not impose a house style but encourages you to be spirited and believe in your own modus operandi. The current diversity of photography is both exciting and challenging and the courses commitment to tutorial led learning and teaching ensures that you are well supported and encouraged in your studies. The course ultimately aims to produce well-educated and creative individuals with the knowledge and skills to engage in and navigate the creative industries in a confident and interesting way. As you develop through the course, you will choose from a broad range of vocational pathways and acquire the skills and documentation needed. Across the three years approximately 63% of your time will be contact hours, including scheduled teaching sessions, but also supervised time in the workshop or studio, and the remainder will be independent study. 100% of assessment for this course is coursework based. By the end of the course you will be able to...

• Demonstrate that you have explored your creativity in an experimental and risk taking way and have developed and applied a range of specialist technical and professional skills.

• Demonstrate that you have developed your awareness of the medium of photography in relation to historical and contemporary photographic practice.

• Demonstrate that you have developed critical skills, advanced problem solving skills, awareness and judgement as well as being engaged in your practice with autonomy and professionalism.

• Demonstrate your awareness of ethical, sustainable, social and cultural issues appropriate to your practice.

• Demonstrate ambition and preparation for your professional career