UDPHTJFY - BA (Hons) Photojournalism (including foundation year)

The BA Photojournalism including Foundation Year focuses on developing critical inquiry and professional skills, both of which are essential to success in the field of photojournalism, through a mixture of grounding in technique and exposure to analysis and debate. Students will experience a structured route into higher education, allowing them to scaffold their learning through carefully graded (mostly coursework-based) assessments. Academic skills are built from the start of L3, along with practical expertise, to support success in the higher levels.
Students will be taught in practical interactive studios, lectures, workshops and 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 students the chance to experience professional pressures and rewards, as well as making contacts in the industry.
Learning strategies on the course are designed to promote transferable skills of communication, independent thinking, the ability to work effectively with others, work planning and independent responsibility. Student feedback and engagement with teaching and learning strategies are promoted via student representatives and course committees, as well as online resources. Learning journals create a positive ongoing engagement between tutor and student and form an ongoing and vital part of the development of reflective learning across all four levels.
Yearly shows and the 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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:

deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry within photojournalism;

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

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

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;

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;

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;

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

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

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.

The course uses a wide range of assessments, from online journals and contributions to the course website to academic essays, from video footage and sound recordings to magazine and website layouts, class presentations and pop quizzes, in-class examination and longform writing.
Assessment develops on a coaching model, with formative assessment being offered at drafting and intermediate submission, both face to face and electronically. News and enhancement weeks offer the chance to receive formative assessment whilst engaged on simulations, newsdays and practical activities.
Since much teaching is run on an interactive coaching model, tutorials are built in to class sessions as well as offered privately. Feedback on summative assessment is given within one week of submission for the first instance and thereafter three weeks.
Most modules include a reflective assessment, where students evaluate their own contribution to class via an online journal moderated by tutors.

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.

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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.
An online journal in Journalism modules will promote reflective learning. Feedback will be given within a week and responses assessed to promote reflective learning and engagement. In addition, students will compile their practical work on blogs.
Students will also be able to track their performance on-line.

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Photographic images saturate our everyday life. But who produces them, how and why? It could be a London Met graduate.

This course helps students master the array of photographic and journalistic skills which could make them insightful producers 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, their work might 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. Our students have sold work into the BBC, Daily Mirror, Independent and local newspapers.

This bachelor’s degree in photojournalism will allow you to seek employment in roles such as press photographer, commercial photographer or journalist. The joint focus on creating photographs, post- production and media practice will allow you to work for a wide range of employers – from art exhibitors and museums to news organisations and start-ups.

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

• at least one A level (or a minimum of 32 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC Subsidiary/National/BTEC Extended Diploma)
• English Language at grade C/4 or above (or equivalent, eg Functional Skills at Level 2) – if you meet UCAS points criteria but obtained a grade D/3 in English at GCSE you may be offered a University test in this areas

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Tier 4 student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.