Photography

Photography is both a creative practice and a medium through which some of the most important cultural and political work of the modern era has been done. From documentary photography and photojournalism to fine art, fashion, commercial, and conceptual practice, the camera and the image it produces have shaped how we understand the world, how we remember events, and how we construct and communicate identity. Studying photography seriously means developing not only technical mastery of the medium but a critical understanding of what images do, how they are constructed, and what their contexts of production and reception mean for their significance.

University of Chester's four-year full-time Photography (including a Foundation Year) programme is designed to develop both dimensions, the practical and the critical, in a supportive and professionally oriented environment. The foundation year prepares you for degree-level study by building the creative, technical, and academic skills you will need, making the programme accessible to students who may not have studied photography or art formally at A-level. From the foundation year you will develop your photographic practice across a range of approaches and contexts, working with analogue and digital processes, building studio and location skills, and developing your own creative voice through projects that are both personally driven and critically informed.

You will engage with the history and theory of photography, situating your practice within a broader understanding of the medium's development and its place in contemporary visual culture. The programme includes a year abroad, which gives you the opportunity to make work in a different context and environment, which can be formative for creative practice.

Graduates pursue careers as photographers across commercial, editorial, documentary, fine art, and social media contexts, as well as in photography education, arts administration, picture editing, and visual communications. Postgraduate study in photography, visual culture, or fine art is also a route open to those seeking to develop their practice or critical engagement further.