MA Photography

Program Overview

The MA Photography program fosters creativity and professionalism by exploring diverse photographic practices. It emphasizes technical excellence, individual growth, and innovative solutions, preparing graduates for careers as photographers, filmmakers, and other professionals in the creative industries or for pursuing advanced study through a PhD program.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The MA Photography course facilitates an in-depth exploration of each student's personal area of work, emphasizing creativity, professionalism, craftsmanship, and technical excellence. The course develops advanced photography technical skills, focuses on enhancing creativity, professionalism and craftsmanship, has a strong emphasis on the individual growth, guides students through a focused journey into diverse practices and methodologies, and teaches students how to navigate innovative solutions to aesthetic and conceptual challenges inherent in the medium of photography.

Outline:

• Locating Practice _Photography: This module aims to achieve three primary goals:
• Examine essential technical, conceptual, and theoretical aspects of photography through in-depth exploration of materials / techniques / modes, contextual research, and analytical critique.
• Position and express each student's photographic practice within the extensive domains of history, culture, politics, and ontology.
• Develop a keen awareness of the broader contexts that influence artistic pursuits.
• Questioning Photographic Practice: This module focuses on refining photographic practice by integrating it into dynamic philosophical debates and cultural discussions surrounding the wider notions of image making.
• Embraces conceptual risk-taking and experimentation with media that challenge conventional techniques.
• Disrupts habitual technical approaches and questions aesthetic and technical assumptions.
• Develops a language for analyzing the connection between photography and cultural identities, histories, politics, environments, and contemporary societal issues.
• Enhances analytical writing, verbal articulation, and critical discussion skills.
• Articulating Practice _Photography: This module concentrates on constructing a unified body of photographic work while honing the skills necessary to present it to the public.
• Embeds each student's photographic practice within the broader contemporary art world and culture.
• Refines writing, verbal expression, and exhibition curation abilities.
• Equips students for launching a sustainable photographic practice post-graduation by delving into portfolio development and diversity, crafting professional documents, writing and submitting applications, exploring cultural and commercial funding streams and conducting career research.

Teaching:

• The Learning and teaching strategy for the Photography programme aligns with the Active Learning Framework (ALF), incorporating key employability skills and managing both onsite and online delivery effectively.
• Emphasis is on real world learning opportunities, allowing for the development of practical, intellectual, and professional skills required in the Photographic industries.
• Taught via a range of Lectures, seminars and practical workshops from both academic and technical staff.
• Wrexham University is committed to supporting our students to maximise their academic potential.
• Offers workshops and support sessions in areas such as academic writing, effective note-making and preparing for assignments.
• Students can book appointments with academic skills tutors dedicated to helping deal with the practicalities of university work.

Careers:

The Photography M.A programme offers a wide landscape of career pathways upon graduation. Not only does this course ready graduates to work as professional photographers and film makers and the wide varieties of genres available to these practitioners, but also allowing for development into the wider creative industries.

• Researcher
• Digital editor
• Director
• Assistant director
• Photo editor
• Agent
• Gallery associate
• Producer
• Curator
• Teacher / lecturer
• Studio manager/assistant
Upon completion of the M.A Photography course, graduate also have the opportunity to progress on to further PHD study.

Other:

• Access to a newly constructed large scale industry standard Infinity-Curve Photographic Studio, this is a first in North Wales.
• Close links to cultural and creative organisations across the Northwest and Wales such as Ty Pawb, Open Eye Gallery, FfotoGallery Newport, Tate Liverpool, FACT Foundation for Art and Creative Technology.
• A strong focus on individual practice development and employability.
• A clear route to progress to P.H.D.
study.