MA Photography (Visual Communication)

In the Postgraduate Programme in Art and Design, specialising in Photography (Visual

Communication), you will develop a proposal for a programme of sustained
photographic practice within a subject matter, theme and genre reflecting your
individual area of interest. Your MA proposal will be developed within the first module in
negotiation with your tutor, and through peer discussion in the module forum.
At the start of your MA, you will be introduced to the expectations of postgraduate
study in the ‘Postgraduate Study in Context’ module, which will allow you to start to
formulate your proposal, to reflect on theory and debate within your discipline, and
consider the integration of theory and practice. This encourages you to develop a
challenging individual proposal which may relate to issues and debates within the history
of the medium, to change within contemporary photography, or to social, cultural,
aesthetic, technological, ethical or global themes.
Your theme and approach is expected to reflect an area of contemporary photography
and professional practice, and may be within fine art contemporary photography,
documentary photography, photojournalism, editorial photography, fashion
photography or contemporary advertising photography. Your work may be analogue
based and/or digital, use medium or large format photography, or experimental
techniques such as camera-less photography or alternative processes. Whether your
work is within fine art or in editorial and commercial contexts, we encourage openness,
curiosity, a thoughtful approach to image making and willingness to experiment, as well
as a professional and informed approach to your final outcomes and audiences.
Your photography MA Study will be developed further through the ‘Practice 1: Art and
Design’ and ‘Practice 2: Art and Design’ modules. Some typical outcomes for
photography may include work on an extended photobook project, the development of
a sustained body of work for exhibition or site-responsive photography installation, a
body of documentary or photojournalism work presented as a multimedia storytelling
documentary, or the development of an ambitious in-depth cohesive portfolio of
editorial, fashion or advertising photography work.
To support your practice, the Postgraduate Programme in Art and Design includes
three interdisciplinary professional practice creative industries modules in the ‘Business
Perspectives’, ‘Global Perspectives’ and ‘Professional Presentation’ modules. As a
photography MA student the professional practice modules will allow you to develop a
professional portfolio, consider how you position your work in relation to international
and global developments in the discipline, and help you to develop an entrepreneurial
and collaborative professional approach to your practice.
Within the ‘Research and Practice’ module, you will have the opportunity to consider
the relationship between practice and research, and the research methods required for
successful, sustained longer term photography projects. In the ‘Cultural and Critical
Studies’ module you will have the opportunity to investigate and reflect on critical
debates and issues relevant to your own practice. The critical research modules will
provide the background for developing an extended reflective statement on your study
and photographic practice to accompany your realised practice in the ‘Major Study’
module.
Distinctive features of the programme include a focus on global and international
photography and the opportunity to consider photography within broader
interdisciplinary art and design contexts, as well as to expand your practice and develop
your own specialist directions within photography.