Students setting up a DSLR camera outside.

Year of study

2025

Key details

Start date(s)
September 2025
Location
Main Campus (Horsforth)
School
Digital and Screen Media
UCAS tariff points
112-144
Study Mode
Full-time (3 years)
Study abroad
Yes

Do you want to turn your passion for photography into your career? Our Photography degree will develop your visual, analytical, technical and creative abilities through photographic practice.

You will investigate, research and engage with a range of photographic areas to gain knowledge, understanding and skills within the field of photography.

The degree offers opportunities to work across analogue, digital and hybrid photographic practices, both in the studio and on location. You will investigate through visual and theoretical research and develop an understanding of critical engagement within photography.

The Student Contract

About this course

The emphasis of our Photography degree is based around your creative development and ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

You will study the key legal and ethical aspects of photography, applying these to your professional and photographic practice.

We have fully equipped on-campus studios and darkroom facilities and offer all students free-of-charge loan of professional photography equipment and resources as well as access to our Mac computer suite, so you’ll have all you need to continue to develop your photography skills and experience.

During your degree, you will work towards a final year portfolio and exhibition. You will also complete professional work placements which form an integral part of your curriculum.

In your final year, you can extend your professional understanding of the discipline and build your portfolio through an additional longer term placement in the creative industries.

Through professional practices and guidance workshops and collaborations with organisations such as the National Media and Science Museum, you’ll learn how to seek out suitable career opportunities. You’ll also undertake photographic projects in the community, enabling you to develop your communication skills and 
build knowledge, contacts and networks for your future career. 

Why study with us?

  • You will develop a wide range of creative, analytical, visual and technical skills.
  • You will be taught by experts from the field of photography and will have the opportunity to complete creative industry work placements as part of your degree.
  • You will have access to a wide range of digital and analogue photography equipment from our Media Centre.
  • We will give you guidance and support to produce, exhibit, print and promote your own work.

Specialist facilities

You’ll have access to industry-standard spaces and equipment including production rooms, Mac and PC editing suites and TV, radio and photography studios. These specialist facilities will enable you to develop your practical and technical skills, produce a portfolio of professional work across different media platforms and prepare you for your graduate career in the industry.

Explore our facilities

Course Modules

You will study a variety of modules across your programme of study. The module details given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

Year 1

During your first year, you'll study four core modules.

Professional Development - Core

You'll develop teamworking skills through creative challenges, taught sessions, profiling and self-understanding.

You'll work on team presentation and develop a professional persona through attitude, commitment and effective communication.

In the second semester, you'll look at enterprise and sector analysis.

You'll develop your solo presentation and pitching skills.

We'll cover the creativity and skills needed to start, maintain and grow your production streams as independent creators.

We'll help you develop the skills valued by the creative industries to help you become a professional with an industry-relevant work ethic.

Photo Core Skills - Core

You'll learn a range of photographic practices and develop an understanding of the process of photographic production. 

Study photographic making techniques including studio lighting and equipment and produce final outcomes through print and online processes.

Explore how ideas are realised through a process of research, experimentation and development of works. A key factor will be the progression of ideas and production of works beyond initial outcomes through time management, communication and critical reflection skills.

Reading Photographs and Making Meaning - Core

You'll be given the opportunity to develop a stylistic, aesthetic and intellectual orientation for your future work and will work on a number of published works and photographers in order to read, analyse, apply and interpret the content discussed in class.

You'll be guided through the practice of analysing and interpreting photographs from historical, stylistic and aesthetic viewpoints. Key historical movements, trends and styles will be marked out and considered from different perspectives, including: representations of reality, photographic composition, visual culture, narrative structure, etc.

Beyond the Image - Core

You'll be introduced to a range of contemporary photographic processes and practice where you'll work across a digital, analogue and hybrid photographic media, equipment and outputs.

Develop a wide range of competences and production skills working as a photographic practitioner, by integrating your research and photographic practice. 

Work with industry standard software and a wide range of professional photographic equipment. You'll be encouraged to demonstrate and evidence your developing understanding of contemporary photographic practice through integrated practice, analysis and reflection. 

Develop a broad awareness of the practical, conceptual and contextual nature of a wide range of photographic contexts.

Year 2

During your second year, you'll study five core modules.

Professional Placement - Core

Develop your professional skills to help with your CV, interviews, networking, self-marketing, and industry-specific employability skills.

You'll have talks from external speakers and industry contacts as well as internal expertise, preparing you for your first external placement.

Develop your skills in creative problem-solving, idea generation, project management and enterprise through creative productions.

This will also develop freelancing skills and equip you to be flexible and professional in the creative industry, whether self-employed or as an employee or employer.

Photographic Experiment and Expression - Core

You'll be familiarised with the visual research approaches in photography to help you develop as an independent and original critical thinker.

Learn how to identify suitable topics for your research led practice project and to place them in the context of existing fields of knowledge and practice in order to frame pertinent research questions.

You'll engage with ethical issues in research and learn how to choose the most appropriate visual methods.

Publishing Photographs - Core

You'll be introduced to a wider range of contemporary photographic practice, with the addition of a historical context and research framework.

Advance your skills and knowledge of a broad range of photographic practices, terminology, methodologies and techniques.

You'll work across digital, analogue and hybrid photographic processes and outputs. The final outputs will be portfolio.

Explore the multiple ways photography and photographic history interrelate and interact. You'll learn by engaging directly with significant photographers, and with an investigative approach you'll link these to the impact of cultural influences, industry developments, art movements, technological advances and innovation.

Work with a range of photographic equipment and be encouraged to select and combine any of these creative industry focused genres: photojournalism, landscape, photo-essay, still life, fine art and portraiture

Collaborative Photography - Core

Get an understanding of the power balance between the photographer and their subject.

You'll study the historical and ethical contexts of the role of photography and community and learn about the socially engaged photographic movement and its practitioners.

You'll produce a project meaningful to audiences and participants, embedded within a critically engaged and ethical framework.

This'll help you understand the importance of collaboration, communication and planning.

Destination of Photographs: Curation and Context - Core

Learn what it takes to curate a photography exhibition.

Utilising your previous work, you'll create an exhibition as part of a group show and you'll do so through exploration of artist exhibitions both past and present by experimenting with materials and working within a set space.

Learn how to fundraise and organise the opening evening of the exhibition via communicating with the relevant parties including printers, framers and venues.

Market and promote the show preview within the University, local community and online as well as host and document the successful event.

Year 3

During your final year, you'll study four core modules.

Professional Project - Core

You'll take on a work-based project or intervention, or an alternative professional development project.

You'll negotiate a project with your employer or placement provider that meets their needs as well as the university.

You'll have a series of seminars to outline the challenge, followed by tutorial support to chart progress and help you towards your assessment.

As a negotiated, self-managed module, you'll receive initial support to establish the learning outcomes and appropriate assessment methods.

You'll engage in online support and arrange tutorials with your academic supervisor.

Research Project - Core

You'll produce a piece of critical writing or media artefact, taking the form of a dissertation, research by practice or creative project.

You'll conduct detailed research with appropriate levels of supervision.

The topic will reflect your interests, enabling you to explore an aspect of study in more depth and build on your studies across the levels.

Exhibition and Portfolio - Core

You'll work on the final stages of your research portfolio projects

In this module you will work on the final stages of your research portfolio projects - this will include technical, conceptual and practical competence and coherence.

In the first semester you will create a professional online folio showcasing your photographic practice. This will support your development of your online presence for the exhibition promotion, but moreover create a professional calling card for your journey beyond university.  

You will work towards the curation and installation of a final exhibition of your portfolio. To do this you will work in teams and organise the various elements required to curate, install and promote an exhibition of degree standard, with support from tutors.

This will require planning and collaborating with others and will draw on your communication and curation skills from previous modules. In order to curate and organise this group exhibition of your work, you will be required to research through primary visits to galleries, contacting professionals such as artists, and participate in peer group discussions and tutorials.

This module will require ongoing documenting of the research and planning being done in order to deliver the final exhibition.

Final Major Project - Core

Photography is currently one of the most democratic and versatile mediums of communication and this module will discuss the key debates and practices of Contemporary Photography through lectures, discussions and workshops by looking at artists, materials, themes and interdisciplinary ideas.

By looking at contemporary practices such as photobook making and AI photography you'll also be introduced to new ways of thinking about the medium as well as examining what the future of photography could look like.

Create a portfolio of images that question and determine how you can situate your own practice in the contemporary field.

You'll contextualise your practice and create a body of work that is aligned to your interests and to your progression aims. With this in mind you are expected to create a brief and action plan and, from this research, develop a body of creative work that shows who you are as a photographic practitioner.

Professional work placements

Experience matters. That's why we embed professional work placements within the majority of our standard undergraduate degrees.

How does it work?

Careers and Placements will work with you to find a placement or help you to arrange your own, whether that's in Leeds, another part of the UK or even abroad. You will be able to take part in a series of workshops, events and live ‘employer challenges’ to boost your confidence and prepare you for your placement.

During your placement, you could have an opportunity to gain degree-relevant work experience, build your knowledge of career sectors and secure valuable employer references and industry contacts. This experience will help you to shape your career decisions and find the right path for you.

We will work with you to find placements that match your career aspirations, using our extensive links with organisations in the creative industries and photographic sector. Placement opportunities include working with industry photographers, studios, gallery assistants/curators, and marketing and design companies to help you discover the skills required to work in the photography industry and the professional sector.

To find out how we can help you make your career ambitions a reality, visit:

Professional Work Placements

Learning and Teaching

Assessment

A variety of assessment methods are used, matched to the learning outcomes for your programme, allowing you to apply and demonstrate the full range of knowledge and skills that you have developed.

For more details on specific assessment methods for this course contact hello@leedstrinity.ac.uk

Your time on campus, learning through in-person teaching, is at the heart of your academic experience and the way we deliver our programmes. This is supported and further enhanced by additional engagement activities and opportunities provided online and through digital teaching materials. This blended approach seeks to ensure a positive learning and teaching student experience.

Your programme of study has been carefully designed around a three-phase model of delivery:

  1. Preparation: You will be given clear tasks to support you in preparing for live teaching. This could include watching a short-pre-recorded lecture, reading a paper or text chapter or preparing other material for use in class.
  2. Live: All your live teaching will be designed around active learning, providing you with valuable opportunities to build on preparation tasks, interact with staff and peers, and surface any misunderstandings.
  3. Post: Follow-up activities will include opportunities for you to check understanding, for staff to receive feedback from you and your peers to inform subsequent sessions, and for you to apply learning to new situations or context.

Preparation, Live and Post teaching and learning and the digital materials used will vary by course, but will be designed to help you structure your learning, take a full and active part in your course, and apply and test your developing knowledge and skills.

At Leeds Trinity we aim to provide an excellent student experience and provide you with the tools and support to help you achieve your academic, personal and professional potential.

Our Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy delivers excellence by providing the framework for:

  • high quality teaching
  • an engaging and inclusive approach to learning, assessment and achievement
  • a clear structure through which you progress in your academic studies, your personal development and towards professional-level employment or further study.

We have a strong reputation for developing student employability, supporting your development towards graduate employment, with relevant skills embedded throughout your programme of study.

We endeavour to develop curiosity, confidence, courage, ambition and aspiration in all students through the key themes in our Learning and Teaching Strategy:

  • Student Involvement and Engagement
  • Inclusion
  • Integrated Programme and Assessment Experience
  • Digital Literacy and Skills
  • Employability and Enterprise

To help you achieve your potential we emphasise learning as a collaborative process, with a range of student-led and real-world activities. This approach ensures that you fully engage in shaping your own learning, developing your critical thinking and reflective skills so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and use the extensive learning support system we offer to shape your own development.

We believe the secret to great learning and teaching is simple: it is about creating an inclusive learning experience that allows all students to thrive through:

  • Personalised support
  • Expert lecturers
  • Strong connections with employers
  • An international outlook
  • Understanding how to use tools and technology to support learning and development

Entry Requirements

Leeds Trinity University is committed to recruiting students with talent and potential and who we feel will benefit greatly from their academic and non-academic experiences here. We treat every application on its own merits; we value highly the experience you illustrate in your personal statement.

Information about the large range of qualifications we accept, including A-Levels, BTECs and T Levels, can be found on our entry requirements page. If you need additional advice or are taking qualifications that are not covered in the information supplied, please contact our Admissions Office.

Entry requirements for this course:
QualificationGrade
UCAS tariff112-144
GCSE requirementsGCSE English Language or English Literature at grade C or above is required

Fees and finance

UK Home fees £9,250 per year
Full-time

Funding

UK Home Students:

Tuition fees cost £9,250 a year for this course in 2024/2025.

Part-time tuition fees will be prorated accordingly to the number of credits you're studying.

Depending on government policy, tuition fees may change in future years.

Tuition fees for 2025/2026 entry will be confirmed, subject to government approval, later in 2024.

Living costs, e.g. accommodation, travel, food, will also need to be taken into consideration.

Leeds Trinity offers a range of bursaries and scholarships to help support students while you study.

International Students, including EU Students:

Visit our webpage for international students.

Part-time study is not available for international students on a Student Route Visa. 

Additional costs

We advise students that there may be additional course costs in addition to annual tuition fees:

  • Recommended and required reading lists will be provided at the start of your course. All the books and e-books are available from our Library to borrow but you may choose to purchase your own.
  • On some courses there may be additional costs, such as field trips, equipment, accreditations, that may be part-funded by the University. More details will be provided at the start of the course.
  • You'll need to include placement/s travel and associated costs too, however the University will contribute a standard amount towards your total expenditure.
  • The University provides students with a £6 printing credit each academic year which can be topped up either on campus or online.

How to apply

For full-time undergraduate courses, you apply through UCAS. That's the University and Colleges Admissions Service.

On your application form, you'll need to know our institution code - it's L24 - and the course code. If you click through to the UCAS website using the button below, it'll take you to the right place with all the information you need.

You'll need to write a personal statement - we've prepared a guide to help you.

Applications are now open for courses starting in September 2025. The UCAS application deadline for courses starting in September 2025 is 29 January 2025.

There's lots more information about the application process on the UCAS website, or you can get in touch with our admissions team who will be happy to help:

Graduate opportunities

Providing you with the opportunity to develop the professional skills and experience you need to launch your career is at the heart of everything we do at Leeds Trinity University.

You’ll be well-prepared for a career in professional photography, photojournalism, the gallery and museum heritage sector, PR and event management, as well as a range of other professional careers.

After you graduate, Careers and Placements will help you as you pursue your chosen career through our mentoring scheme, support with CV and interview preparation and access to graduate employability events.

To find out how we can help you make your career ambitions a reality, visit:

Careers

Meet the team

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