Photography (with integrated foundation year)
UCAS Code: W640
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
60 credits with 45 graded credits at Level 3
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Higher
UCAS Tariff
You may also need to…
Attend an interview
Present a portfolio
About this course
Got a passion for photography, but not sure if you’re ready for a degree? Well, our foundation course will give you a strong grounding to experience life through the camera lens to advance your studies to degree level.
You’ll learn all the essential photography basics - how to use a variety of cameras, both digital and film, how to make creative images, work in a studio and on location, and how to print your photos to a high standard.
In addition, you’ll explore historical and contemporary photographers and images to encourage you to develop your own style and flourish as a photographer ready for year one of the degree course.
**Why Choose University of Cumbria?**
Practical work is central to our course and so whether you’re studying technical skills, contemporary and traditional photography or exploring relationships between the photographer and their audience – there’ll always be a hands-on and experiential element to your learning.
We don’t believe in breeding one type of photographer, so you’ll have the freedom to pursue and develop your own individual and artistic repertoire.
- Accept your place by 31 July 2017 for a guaranteed place in our owned or partnered accommodation
- 75% hands-on, practical work
- Easy access – without having to pre-book or queue – to up-to-date equipment
- Great facilities, including digital and dark rooms, an 80MP Mamiya Digital Camera and a colour processor
- Don’ have your own camera kit? No problem, you can borrow ours for free
- Ample opportunity to exhibit your work and to gain experience organising an exhibition
- Benefit from professional practice through client commissions
- Taught by internationally-renowned photographers and experts, who have published books in their field
- Tutors have good and current industry links
- Freedom to experiment and develop your own innovative practices
- Learn key skills employers will look for – including how to market yourself or set up your own business
We run an open door policy, so you won’t need to book timeslots with our technicians and tutors, they’ll be on hand to help you hone your technical and creative work when you need it.
Former students have gone into a range of photographic careers, become freelance photographers, curators and editors and some have secured solo exhibitions in art galleries just months after graduating.
Why not join them and kick-start your career in the photographic industry with our Photography course.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Carlisle - Brampton Road
Institute of the Arts

Calculate your living costs
See how much you'll need to live on at your chosen university, with our student budget calculator.
See your living costsWhat 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.
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.
Cinematics and photography
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
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.
Top job areas of graduates
What do graduate employment figures really tell you?A few years ago graduates from this subject were having a very hard time but things have improved a lot thanks to our active media, film and photographic industries - much the most common employers for this group. The most common jobs are in the arts — as photographers, audio-visual technicians, operators and designers, as directors, as artists and as graphic designers. Training in presenting sound and graphics is useful in other industries as well, so you can find graduates in journalism, in advertising, in business management, in events management and in web design and IT. Be aware that freelancing and self-employment is common in the arts, as are what is termed 'portfolio careers' — having several part-time jobs or commissions at once.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
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.
£14k
£16k
£18k
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.
Explore these similar courses...



This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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).
We calculate a mean rating of all responses to indicate whether this is high, medium or low compared to the same subject area at other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
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.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
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