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Student work by Adam Billings

Photography BA (Hons)

Think critically and creatively as you work practically to develop a distinctive portfolio that sets you apart.

Key information

How to Apply
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BA (Hons) Photography focuses on personal practice, technical craft, and an in-depth understanding of photography in a contemporary context. From location and studio lighting to the latest digital imaging techniques, our AOP-accredited course gives you the opportunity to develop diverse and transferable skills in our industry-standard photography studio.

You will learn how to apply your creative vision to a range of industry briefs, from fashion to advertising and editorial photography. You will have access to tools to produce imaginative and original images to the highest standards. Whatever your aspirations, your work will be unmistakable as you emerge as a professional practitioner with a distinctive portfolio.

The course has a progressive learning structure, where you will take increasing responsibility for the content and direction of your work as you advance through the course. We will encourage you to think about client needs and expectations. We want to see you produce stand-out work that could wow creative teams in whatever industry drives your interest.

Accreditation

  • The course is accredited by the Association of Photographers (AOP). Our course meets the AOP’s criteria for the appropriate professional development of students during their studies. This accreditation also offers our students on the course their own free AOP membership for the duration of their studies, providing them with additional support and networking opportunities.

Why study with us

  • Develop your unique approach and vision by exploring ideas, passions and interests.
  • Actively engage with contemporary concerns, informed by historical practices while exploring new and emerging technologies.
  • Explore contemporary techniques related to photographic practice including still and moving image, computer-generated imagery (CGI), animation and illustration.
  • Develop production and post-production skills on location, in our studios and digital darkroom.
  • Access a wide range of industry-level cameras, lighting equipment and large format inkjet printers to produce imaginative and original images to the highest standards.
  • Engage with a wide range of contemporary practitioners and artists, and gain insight from inspirational guest speakers and masterclasses led by renowned professionals like Dean Chalkley, Tim Flach, Sophie Harris-Taylor and Rossella Vanon.

Course details

Integrated Foundation Year (optional)

Integrated Foundation Year

Our Integrated Foundation Year is designed to equip students with the necessary skills, knowledge and confidence to thrive in their chosen degree subject. The course provides a comprehensive introduction to various disciplines, blending critical thinking and creative problem-solving with practical hands-on experience. This year serves as a bridge to undergraduate studies, allowing students to explore their interests within a supportive and inspiring environment, while familiarising themselves with the campus, workshops, and tutors.

Find out more about our Integrated Foundation Year.

Year 1

Core Units

In this first year, we will provide you with the foundations of photographic practice. You’ll explore your approach to photographic practice through a range of projects, developing your creative and practical photography skills, and learning the importance of research and how to gather and interpret information. This unit will introduce you to the values of manifesting inspiration, ideas, and concepts, through looking, seeing and doing, engaging the subconscious – using a ‘box’ of images to develop your visual approach. Workshops will introduce you to technical skills, such as fundamental camera techniques, file formats, exposure basics, studio and location lighting, and look at production and post-production understanding in our digital darkroom.

40 credits

In this unit, you will explore and experiment with techniques, materials and media. You’ll continue to expand your use of specialist photographic facilities and equipment. You will continue to explore and develop key contemporary photographic processes and techniques, utilising different professional camera formats and post-production. Through projects and workshops, you will develop and apply a range of thematic, conceptual and practical skills, from sequencing and storytelling to narrative theory. You will explore how creative practice benefits our environment, community, stakeholders, and society, taking a critical view of the relationship between images and the larger contexts within which they operate, and are influenced.

80 credits

Core Projects

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus.  The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

Year 2

Core Units

This unit will enable you to expand your specialist knowledge and explore the application of your creative practice within professional contexts, including fashion, advertising, and editorial projects. The unit will explore how photography expands into other forms of making, utilising new and emerging technologies, like moving images, sound, CGI, and post-production. You will consider how visual work is created in relation to theories of site and location, and how the meaning of your practical work may change depending on the context in which it is placed. This unit also places emphasis on contemporary photographic issues and practices and builds on your developing understanding of historical and theoretical photographic knowledge.

80 credits

This unit will introduce you to how collaborative working can help you focus and enhance your creative strengths, working with fellow students and our creative communities. This collective learning experience will expose you to a range of new processes and approaches that will develop your creative thinking. Lectures and workshops will expand your knowledge, including industry collaboration, effective teamwork, communication, expectation, and mediation. You’ll develop your professional practice and an awareness of a variety of roles within the photographic and creative industries. You’ll be guided in preparing a variety of visual and written materials relating to your professional aspirations, including workshops on professional pitches, presentations, social media and networking.

40 credits

Core Projects

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus.  The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

Diploma Year (optional)

Level 5 Diploma (120 credits)

Students have the opportunity to spend a year after the second of their degree (or the third year if studying for a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year) enhancing their employability options through a Level 5 Diploma. They can choose from courses designed to provide:

  • opportunities to gain industry insight, developing employability skills through a series of supported experiences, expanding professional networks and building confidence in the workplace, or
  • an introduction to creative computing, building an understanding of how coding skills can be used to advance and complement creative practice.

Find out more about our Level 5 Diplomas.

Final Year

Core Units

This is the first, and shorter, of the two units that make up your final year of study. Your final year allows you to refine your existing creative practice, develop your skills, and reflect upon your experience with opportunities to engage with live projects, visiting speakers, competitions, and professional bodies, to broaden your portfolio and strategically enhance career directions. The unit encourages innovation through an experimental, process-driven approach, identifying means of production relevant to your creative intentions using current and emerging technologies. You’ll develop and undertake critical research within an area of creative practice that advances your knowledge of contemporary practice, contextual issues, cultural theories and debates. Group and individual tutorials will provide stimulating and supportive sessions to help you develop your research ideas and that of others.

40 credits

This unit will allow you to deliver a final major project embracing the entire design process, developing your understanding of the key theories and concepts. You will develop your creative practice by exploring themes, subjects and approaches that you are passionate about. Alongside this, you will develop an understanding of the application of your practice within professional contexts, including a career development plan. Visiting speakers will cover key areas of practice and production relating to the relationship between personal practice and applied practice within the photographic industries. You will participate in an industry critique which will help develop your work as you progress through the final part of your degree. At the end of the year, you’ll have a comprehensive body of work that represents your unique perspective as a creative practitioner. You’ll have the opportunity participate in our degree show, Grad Fest, and in a London graduate showcase, connecting you with industry professionals and potential employers.

80 credits

Core Projects

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus.  The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

Learning and teaching

This course is taught through a mixture of learning and teaching methods including:

  • Group briefings

  • Academic tutorials

  • Group tutorials

  • Workshops

  • Critiques (crits)

  • Seminars

  • Lectures

Assessment

Assessment for this course is entirely coursework-based, meaning there are no exams. Your progress will be evaluated through the projects and assignments you complete for each unit. Throughout the year, you’ll receive ongoing feedback to help you refine your work and develop your skills. To support your learning and ensure you achieve the course outcomes, we use a variety of assessment methods, including:

  • Finished pieces of work
  • Presentations
  • Written work
  • Your research
  • A reflective journal

Find out more about Assessment at Norwich

Some of the people you’ll be working with

Our facilities

Look around our city-centre campus, and you will find studios, media labs, and creative spaces in 13 buildings that sit among the cafés, bars, independent galleries and shops of Norwich’s cultural quarter.

Here to help you succeed

The UK’s creative sector is thriving, contributing £111.7 billion annually to the economy and offering over 2 million jobs.

Employability and career development are integral to every unit of our courses, ensuring students are well-prepared for the industry. Our students go on to secure exciting roles, launch successful businesses, and make a lasting impact in many sectors worldwide.

From day one, you’ll also get specialist career advice from our Business and Employability Team to help support you as you plan your career.

Typical career paths

Industry engagement and employability are supported throughout the course, to help you understand how to apply your personal practice in a professional context.

Our graduates have found employment in a range of different roles in the creative industries. Within the course structure many students begin assisting alongside their studies. Students have received awards from the AOP, D&AD, Eizo, Canon, British Journal of Photography, Lens Culture Portrait Awards, PhotoNorth and Portrait of Britain.

Graduates may become photographers or artists in their own right immediately after completing their course. Many photographers and artists work on a freelance basis, supported internally by our Business and Employability team.

  • Photographer
  • Photographic assistant
  • Digital assistant
  • Studio assistant
  • Curator
  • Art director
  • Producer
  • Image producer
  • Picture editor
  • Digital retoucher
  • CGI artist
  • Teaching technician
  • Picture librarian
  • Photographer’s agent
  • Picture researcher
  • Fine Art Practitioner

92% of our graduates are in employment or further education within six months of graduating”

Graduate Outcomes 2021

Entry requirements

Norwich University of the Arts welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds.

If the qualification that you are studying is not shown, do not worry as we are able to accept other pre-entry qualifications as well as combinations of different qualifications.

Please do contact our Student Recruitment Team if you have any queries.

A/AS Levels (GCE)

GCE A/AS Levels 3 A-level qualifications at grades BCC (104 UCAS Tariff points) or above. Where candidates are not taking 3 A-levels, Norwich University of the Arts will consider combinations of A-level/AS-level and other Level 3 qualifications.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)

Distinction, Merit, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)

Distinction*, Distinction* in an art, design or media related subject

T Levels

A T Level in any subject with overall grade A* to C (Pass)

UAL Extended Diploma

Merit

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)

Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma

A minimum of 26 points

Norwich University of the Arts welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds.

If the qualification that you are studying is not shown, do not worry as we are able to accept other pre-entry qualifications as well as combinations of different qualifications.

Please do contact our Student Recruitment Team if you have any queries.

A/AS Levels (GCE)

GCE A/AS Levels 2 A-level qualifications at grades CC (64 UCAS Tariff points) or above.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)

Merit, Merit, Pass in an art, design or media related subject

BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)

Distinction*, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

T Levels

Pass (D or E on the core)

UAL Extended Diploma

Pass

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma

A minimum of 26 points

We accept qualifications from all over the world.

To find our entry requirements from a specific country, please check our dedicated international pages.

English language qualifications

Most international students are required to hold an English language qualification. Applicants are required to have a minimum UKVI approved IELTS exam score of 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each section. Equivalent English language qualifications are acceptable such as, IB English language syllabus A or B/English Literature (Grade 4).

We also accept some alternative English qualifications. Learn more about our English entry requirements.

You can email us on international@norwichuni.ac.uk if you’d like to discuss your application individually.

Portfolio Advice and Guidance

Portfolios should show examples of your work — both finished and work in progress — that demonstrate your interests and skills. Your portfolio should be made up of work that reflects your creativity, personal interests and influences, as well as demonstrating your technical skills and ability. It doesn’t have to be perfect as we can assess your potential from your work in progress.

Your portfolio should be relevant to this course, but you can include a wide range of work that shows your creativity, technical competence and understanding of storytelling.

Get more advice on presentation formats, layouts and when to submit your portfolio in the application process.

Student in East Garth - Photography

Fees and funding

Tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year

  • BA course (three year): £9,535 per year
  • Integrated Foundation Year (optional): £9,535 per year
  • Level 5 Diploma Year (optional): £9,535 year

The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you’re classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Fees for subsequent years

Tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with inflation, subject to government regulations. The inflation rate used is expected to be the Retail Price Index excluding mortgage payments (RPIX). We would confirm this in advance to you of each academic year. 

Find our more about fees and funding

Funding your study

Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for a bursary, scholarship or loan to help fund your study and enhance your learning experience.

Additional Costs

Your course fees cover the cost of studies, and include loads of benefits, such as the use of our library, support from our expert employability team, access to workshops and free use of the IT equipment across our campuses. There are also other costs which you may need to consider.

Tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year:

  • BA course (three year): £18,500
  • Integrated Foundation Year (optional): £18,500
  • level 5 Diploma year (optional): £18,500

The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you’re classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Fees for subsequent years

For Overseas students starting in 2025 inflation will be applied to your fees in later years. We will confirm this in advance to you of each academic year, and we will limit the increase to no more than the Office for Students’ recommended inflationary measure.

Find our more about fees and funding

Funding your study

Please take a look at our International students page for information about fees, scholarships for international students, visas and much more.

Additional Costs

Your course fees cover the cost of studies, and include loads of benefits, such as the use of our library, support from our expert employability team, access to workshops and free use of the IT equipment across our campuses. There are also other costs which you may need to consider.

How to apply

All applications for undergraduate courses will need to be made via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

You’ll need our university UCAS code (N39) as well as your course code which you’ll find on your course page.

When you register with UCAS you will need include your previous and current qualifications information, personal statement, and reference.

Once we receive your application form through UCAS, we will email confirmation that we have received it and will give you access and instructions for logging into the applicant portal. Our decision will be communicated via UCAS.

Applying for an undergraduate degree

Full-time Undergraduate International applicants can either apply via UCAS or directly by completing the online application form below or emailing the downloadable form to ioadmissions@norwichuni.ac.uk

Online Application Form

Undergraduate Application Form

Apply via UCAS

For further support for international applicants applying for an undergraduate degree view our international pages.

Student work

Undergraduate open days

Get a taste of life at Norwich, learn more about our courses, our campus and meet the creators and makers you’ll be learning from.

Two smiling women in yellow t-shirts stand behind a promotional booth for norwich university of the arts at an educational fair, surrounded by banners and informational brochures.

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