UDPHOTOJ - BA (Hons) Photojournalism

Students will be taught in practical interactive studios, lectures, seminars, both in groups and in individual sessions. The course has a strong focus on professional practice and placements: all teachers are practitioners in either journalism or photojournalism or photography. Students will be encouraged to make full use of social media, with some use of moving image as well as analogue and digital photography on the course website, and to seek publication on established media outlets, alongside emerging and converging platforms. Facilities will include use of photography studios, darkrooms, TV and radio studios and the journalism newsroom, but work will be industry focused and multi-media oriented.
There is a consistent and growing demand for high-quality images in the commercial and journalistic fields, including small independent magazines and websites in commercial and journalistic arenas. The school’s expertise in media studies and access to excellent professionals in the vibrant metropolis means that students can immerse themselves in opportunities to develop their portfolios for a variety of outlets.
Guest speakers will be a regular feature. News weeks will offer them the chance to experience professional pressures and rewards, as well as making contacts in the industry.

A degree show will enable students to display their achievements to the public and employers

The course aims to equip students with the skills required in the photojournalism and journalism industries. Students will develop practical and research expertise which will enable them to position and understand their practice in the context of contemporary industries.

The course aims to equip students with the analytical and critical skills essential to higher education, as well as the practical and technical skills of those who work within the photojournalism and journalism industries.

The course aims to help students develop the ability to research and evaluate data from all sources, including scholarly research. It further aims to help students develop interviewing skills for primary research.

The course aims to foster the skills of working autonomously and in groups, as well as the social skills needed to pitch and sell ideas, to present concepts convincingly to different audiences and to respond flexibly to critical input.

The course aims to foster individual learning and problem solving. The course further aims to develop resilient learners, who can evaluate and learn from their learning deficits.

The course aims to help students harness their creativity to produce, ultimately, work worthy of professional publication across any or all media platforms.

The course aims to fit students for further advanced study, should they so wish, in related fields.

The following learning outcomes incorporate and depend on systematic understanding of the key aspects of the knowledge base of photojournalism, including a coherent and detailed knowledge of some specialist areas in depth.

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry within photojournalism;

2. devise and sustain arguments, and/or to solve problems, using ideas and techniques, some of which are at the forefront of photojournalism;

3. describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in photojournalism, recognising the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge;

4. manage their own learning, and to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, refereed research articles and/or original materials appropriate to Photojournalism;

5. apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects;

6. critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data (that may be incomplete), to make judgements, and to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution - or identify a range of solutions - to a problem;

7. communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences;

8. exercise initiative and personal responsibility, including decision-making in complex and unpredictable contexts;

9. undertake appropriate further training of a professional or equivalent nature

Please check the lastest Course Handbook for further information.

Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies [Oct-2016]

Guidance at:

https://bit.ly/3ggG0ob

The above latest subject benchmark statement and general guidance available are used in the design, delivery and review of the course and in facilitating the knowledge and skills normally expected of a typical course graduate.

Course assessment will include coursework, essays, in-class tests, presentations and practical personal projects. Weekly journals allow for immediate feedback and tutor-moderated reflection.

Assessment and feedback practices are informed by reflection, consideration of professional practice, and subject-specific and educational scholarship. With formative assessment, staff and students engage in dialogue to promote a shared understanding of the basis on which academic judgements are made. Formative assessment supports students in developing for summative assessment. Feedback on first assessment is within one week. On subsequent tasks, within two weeks. All formative assessment is followed up by tutorial contact.

Students are provided with opportunities to develop an understanding of, and the necessary skills to demonstrate, good academic practice by studying examples of good work by past students and by professionals. Assessments are spaced through the years to promote cohesive learning.

Processes for marking assessments and for moderating marks are clearly articulated and consistently operated by those involved in the assessment process: criteria are listed on the VLE.

Progressive practical professional work placement is available, with a mandatory work placement at level 5. News weeks provide work simulations twice a year.

Specific modules offer help in writing CVs, interview techniques, and work-ready behaviour.

All listed as core are compulsory

Critical analysis and self-reflective evaluation are integrated across all modules and at all levels. Group work will also encourage peer evaluation.

Most journalism modules include an assessed self-evaluation, moderated by tutors and measured against class participation

Photographic images saturate our everyday life. But who produces them, how and why? It could be you.

Join our new course and learn the array of photographic and journalistic skills which could make you an insightful producer of still and moving images for the developing marketplaces of photojournalism. Be it news, fashion, sports, music, the arts or the rich variety of life in 21st-century Britain, your work will aim to tell stories to hold and enrich an audience’s understanding. Photojournalists work in advertising, communications, fashion, sport, music, food and the motor industry as well as news and features.

Photojournalists are increasingly in demand in the growing media sector. Completing this degree could gain you a career in several areas, including press photography and promotional work. You could work for a huge variety of employers, from well known brands to startups, art exhibitions and charity campaigns. If you can create and promote striking images, then you can sell into a growing market.

Graduates from the Journalism BA course have gone into roles such as Multimedia Journalists and Production Assistants. Companies they now work at include the BBC, the Turkish Radio Television Corporation and Hug Nivea Digital.

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

• a minimum of grades BBC in three A levels (or a minimum of 112 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification)
• English Language GCSE at grade C/grade 4 or above (or equivalent)

If you do not have traditional qualifications or cannot meet the entry requirements for this undergraduate degree, you may still be able to gain entry by completing the Film, Photography and Media Extended Degree.

Suitable photojournalism applicants living in the UK will be invited to a portfolio interview. Applicants living outside the UK will be required to submit a portfolio of work via email.

All applicants must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Applicants who require a Tier 4 student visa may need to provide a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.