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Ulster University - Belfast

Photography

At the Belfast School of Art we strive to develop unique photographic voices, which sit firmly at the cutting-edge of a contemporary international context, while also mining the specifics of our unique geographical and cultural position.

We have been profiled by the British Journal of Photography as one of the most significant photography schools in Europe. The teaching team is comprised of contemporary practising photographers, writers and thinkers who exhibit and publish internationally. These include Professor Paul Seawright, Ailbhe Greaney, KayLynn Deveney, Ken Grant, Haley Morris-Cafiero and Clare Gallagher, as well as Martin Parr and Donovan Wylie.

Students are often photographers or wider career professionals with substantial experience who continue careers with a new and refined expansion of their personal and professional practices. Alongside photographers working in the commercial fields of editorial and design photography, graduates from the course also publish, exhibit, educate and work as educators and developers of photographic culture in all of its contemporary forms.

We are 2nd in the UK for Film Production and Photography (The Guardian 2020).

The course is represented as a member of the Society for Photographic Education and maintains a network of international partners and working professionals in Europe and America.

Entry requirements

Entry Requirements

Applicants must hold:

i) a second class honours degree or higher from a university of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, from the Council for National Academic Awards, the National Council for Educational Awards, the Higher Education Training Awards Council, or from an institution of another country which has been recognised as being of an equivalent standard; or

ii) an equivalent standard (normally 50%) in a Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate, Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma or an approved alternative qualification.

In exceptional circumstances, where an individual has substantial and significant experiential learning, a portfolio of written evidence demonstrating the meeting of graduate abilities (including subject-specific outcomes, as determined by the Course committee) may be considered as an alternative entrance route. Evidence used to demonstrate graduate qualities may not be used for exemption against modules within the programme.

In all cases applicants must provide a portfolio of practical work at interview or on application.

English Language Requirements

English language requirements for international applicants

The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band score less than 5.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement for Tier 4 visa purposes.

Ulster recognises a number of other English language tests and comparable IELTS equivalent scores.

Duration

Attendance

Full-time 4 Semesters - Belfast Campus or Online: September - January; January - June; September - January; January - June;

All the core teaching takes place on Thursdays and you should expect to be on campus from 10am - 7pm. During this time you will engage in one-to-one tutorials, a lecture programme delivered by staff and visiting guest speakers, group seminars, group critiques and technical workshops. The rest of the week is spent attending optional tutorials/workshops and engaging in independent study.

The primary assessment method is the evaluation of photographic work in progress. Students work over the duration of the course on a major body of work that is subjected to regular and rigorous critique by staff and internationally renowned visiting photographers. Other assessment methods are visual presentations, seminar presentations, essays and a final year dissertation. There is an interim exhibition which is assessed at the end of the first year, usually in a public gallery.

Careers or further progression

Career options

Graduates are prepared for advanced careers in the field of photography. Graduates work as photographers in the fine art and commercial sector, as well as industry professionals. An MFA develops the ability to perform research related to the photographic arts, while also building communication skills and introducing students to new aesthetics and new technology. Such key skills enable graduates to work as photographic curators, editors and critics, within museums, galleries and in publishing. MFA graduates may also pursue a career in education.