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Fine Art - Photography

Glasgow School of Art

UCAS Code: W640 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H2,H2,H2,H2

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

PPP

Scottish Higher

A,B,B,B-A,A,B,B

UCAS Tariff

114-128

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About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Fine art

Photography

History of art

Moving image techniques

The Photography Programme at The Glasgow School of Art has an international reputation for excellence. Established in 1982, it was the first programme of its kind in Europe to award a BA(Hons) Degree in Fine Art Photography and has produced successive generations of successful graduates, many of whom are now leaders in their field.

For us, the invention of photography, and the birth of the modern age could be said to be simultaneous. The momentum of the industrial and post-industrial revolutions advanced photography at an incredible rate, from its low-tech photomechanical beginnings to its current digital, state-of-the-art technologies.

So, photography is a medium for which a blend of art and technology is fundamental. A blend of conceptual, aesthetic and technological awareness makes the use of photography one of the most relevant artist's mediums of this age.

The power of photography - seen everywhere, used by everyone - is sometimes easy to forget. However, it would be hard to imagine a world without photography and we look forward to sharing that world with you.

BA (Hons) Fine Art is a four year, full-time degree programme and students are recruited into one of three specialist departments (Photography, Painting and Printmaking, Sculpture and Environmental Art).

The Fine Art programme employs a variety of learning and teaching methods which may alter and adapt according to the perceived needs of students. The main methods of programme delivery are lectures, seminars, artists' presentations and group discussions, tutorials, progress reviews. projects, group crits, workshops, students' exhibitions, field trips, independent study, and formative and summative assessments. In addition to this, the School provides students with opportunities to take part in placements and exchanges in one of our partner institutions across the world in year 3. All students undertake a programme of study in the Forum for Critical Inquiry.

In addition to applications for first year level entry, the School also welcomes applications for second and, exceptionally, third year level entry from suitably qualified applicants.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£21,360
per year
International
£21,360
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£1,820
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Garnethill Campus

Department:

School of Fine Art

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

62%
Fine art
67%
Photography
64%
History of art
67%
Moving image techniques

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Art

Teaching and learning

74%
Staff make the subject interesting
78%
Staff are good at explaining things
68%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
63%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

73%
Library resources
81%
IT resources
69%
Course specific equipment and facilities
24%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

84%
UK students
16%
International students
25%
Male students
75%
Female students
86%
2:1 or above
7%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A*
B
A

Cinematics and photography

Teaching and learning

68%
Staff make the subject interesting
82%
Staff are good at explaining things
72%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

68%
Library resources
87%
IT resources
67%
Course specific equipment and facilities
48%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

77%
UK students
23%
International students
35%
Male students
65%
Female students
90%
2:1 or above
1%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A*
A
A

History of art, architecture and design

Teaching and learning

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
79%
Staff are good at explaining things
73%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
69%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

64%
Library resources
79%
IT resources
65%
Course specific equipment and facilities
39%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

84%
UK students
16%
International students
27%
Male students
73%
Female students
74%
2:1 or above
4%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A*
B
A

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Art

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£15,678
med
Average annual salary
83%
low
Employed or in further education
33%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

30%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
15%
Other elementary services occupations
13%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

Quite a few students of fine art have already retired and are taking the degree for the excellent reason that they love art, and they're willing to pay to study it. You should bear this in mind if the stats you see feature particularly low employment rates. If you need to earn a living once you've finished your fine art degree, be aware that freelancing and self-employment is common - about one in six fine arts graduates were working for themselves. Also common are what is termed 'portfolio careers' — having several part-time jobs or commissions at once - and many courses actually help you prepare for freelancing. One in ten of last year’s fine arts graduates had more than one job six months after graduation — over twice the average for graduates from 2015. Graduates from these subjects are often found in arts jobs, as artists, designers, photographers and similar jobs, or as arts and entertainment officers or teachers — although it's perfectly possible to get jobs outside the arts if you wish, with jobs in events management, marketing and community work amongst the most popular options.

Cinematics and photography

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
85%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

31%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
9%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
9%
Other elementary services occupations

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Art

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£15k

£15k

£18k

£18k

£23k

£23k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Cinematics and photography

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£15k

£15k

£18k

£18k

£23k

£23k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Reading | Reading
Art and History of Art
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-141
Lower entry requirements
University of Chester | Chester
Fine Art and Photography
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 112

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here