Higher Education Options

 Higher Education Options:

Since I’m mostly interested in photography, I've done some research into different universities and what they have to offer for courses. One that caught my eye was an undergraduate photography course at Anglia Ruskin University.

For the year one modules, they go over basic photography topics such as: Photographic Practice and Context 1 & 2, Photography Post Production Workflow, Photography Multimedia Practice. They also offer some optional modules, such as Professional Approaches to Photography, Photography Professional Development, etc.

For year two, they cover more professional type topics for photography, and have a lot of optional modules to pick from.

In year three, they cover three modules: Specialised Experimentation and Practice in Photography, Research Project, and Major Project. While there may be fewer modules and no optional modules for this year, these topics are quite large anyway.

There's basically no topic related to photography that they don't cover which makes this course a great choice, especially if you want to be adept in quite a few styles of photography. In the course summary, they go over what they'll be teaching in the course and what you'll be able to do. They talk about how you'll have free reign of their analogue and digital facilities, including colour and black-and-white darkrooms, daylight and flash studios; a digital post-production and printing suite, etc. They also mention how they have technical officers to offer training and support for all the art facilities, should you need it.

For qualifications, you need: 3 GCSEs at grade 4 or above (including English), 96 UCAS Tariff points from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent) including grade C in Art, Design or Media subject.

Overall, the tuition fees are £9250 for one year plus all the living expenses fees and quite frankly, I'd rather not pay that to go to any university.

Another option I found is a photography course at Arts University Bournemouth.

The course lasts 3 years and for that time you will combine theory and research with practical work to get a full understanding of photography.

In the course you are given full creative freedom to explore your own ideas within a supportive environment with all the resources you need available. The main aim of the course is to make well-educated and creative individuals with all the knowledge and skills needed to pursue the career of their dreams while being confident in doing so.

I think one of the main things that draw me to this course is the freedom it gives its students- I don’t like being restricted when it comes to creative work so I feel like this given freedom will allow me to actually enjoy the work I do.

This university is happy to accept a wide range of qualifications, however applicants must have level 3 qualifications, which should include at least one creative subject. They are looking for UCAS Tariff points between 112 and 120- but they still consider applicants below that goal, three A Levels or equivalent Level 3 qualifications, as well as applicants studying a relevant creative subject.

Tuition fees are the same as the other course mentioned above (£9250).

My last choice is another photography course at Birmingham City University.

Like the two courses mentioned above, this course lasts for 3 years and it seems like you study the same things as the course at Arts University Bournemouth, with some differences.

You are encouraged to develop new ideas and connections to different subjects such as graphic communication and film and animation. They cover different photographic practices such as commercial, publishing, exhibiting, editorial, and photojournalism. You will work with people who have experience in the industry and have worked with prestigious clients. You have resources you can use at campus and the staff are more than willing to help you with real clients. You also have the opportunity to study abroad or go on trips as part of the course.

While this course is similar to AUB’s course in some ways, the added benefits of being able to travel is something that really excites me. Just for that alone, I would probably pick this course out of the three I’ve selected.

For qualifications, they expect 112 UCAS Tariff points and A Levels (maximum of 4 subjects are considered), or Level 3 equivalents. Tuition fees are £9250.