Art Degrees Online

Aim of the programme

MRes Photography provides an exciting opportunity for students to pursue an individual research project, which may be practice-based, historical, critical, curatorial or theoretical.

Programme highlights

High profile photography department; academic staff exhibit/publish individually and contribute within the Research Centre for Land/Water and the Visual Arts.
Facilities include a purpose built daylight studio; digital and analogue dark rooms.

Entry requirements

A 2:1 honours degree or above in Photography or a related subject; or an equivalent degree from overseas. Evidence that you are ready to pursue your proposed project. IELTS of 6.5 minimum or equivalent.
Duration

1 year full-time or two years part-time
Contact email

artsresearch@plymouth.ac.uk
Contact details

Research & Graduate Affairs
Faculty of Arts

Tel: +44 (0)1752 585030
General programme structure

We particularly welcome research proposals in the following areas: land and environment; camera-less photography; contemporary art practices; documentary and reportage; architectural photography; women’s photography. The programme engages current ideas and debates, skills and methodologies for research into or through photography.

The programme comprises three assessed modules:
Photography, the practice of research, shared with the taught Masters programmes in photography (30 credits)
Research in the Arts and Humanities (30 credits)
A masters thesis or approved research project (120 credits)

The project/thesis may be assessed entirely through written work, or through a substantial practical project accompanied by an extended contextual essay.

Full-time students take Photography, the practice of research in term one, Research in the Arts and Humanities in terms one and two, and their project/thesis across the whole academic year.

Part-time students take the two taught modules in year one and carry out their project/thesis in year two.

The project/thesis is taught via one-to-one supervision during term time and through contact by arrangement up to final submission in September.

Students are also encouraged to attend research seminars in a wide variety of arts disciplines, and the faculty-wide training events.
Detailed programme structure

We will help you to ground your chosen project in the latest theoretical and conceptual approaches in photography studies and beyond. This programme explicitly embeds research skills to prepare graduates for MPhil/PhD programmes.
Teaching and learning will take place through one-to-one meetings/tutorials; group seminars, discussions and workshops; staff/student research seminars; lectures/presentations by staff and visiting practitioners/academics; written feedback;

Aims of the course

The course is a taught, practice-based programme enabling students to acquire advanced traditional and digital photographic skills and apply them to complex, self-generated projects. This is a Professional Preparation course as defined by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Linking the course with MA Audio Visual Production and MA Digital Moving Image enables the development of Film Works, a coherent cluster of practice-based courses that explore a range of related skills including digital, traditional and contextual concerns. Students will be encouraged to explore the ways in which traditional practices and emerging digital technologies have developed new genres.
Entry requirements
Applicants should be committed practitioners who wish to expand their practice both in terms of skills acquisition and theoretical concerns. The Department supports a wide diversity of practices. Applicants are normally expected to possess an Honours degree in Photography or Fine Arts, applied arts or design, or have equivalent experience. Graduates from related disciplines who can demonstrate a suitable level of visual literacy may, in some circumstances, be considered. All candidates must submit a portfolio. Successful applicants may be eligible to apply for an AHRC award (deadline is 1st April). See www.ahrb.ac.uk
Course structure

Modules are:
Research for Contextual Studies
Photography and Traditional Practice
Photography and Digital Practice
Photography; Narrative Sequence and Language
Photography and the Staged Narrative
Major Project Development and Professional Practice
Major Project
The ‘Major Project’ module is a substantial piece of focused project work produced over the summer study period.
Assessment

The main method of assessment is the ‘crit’ of practical project presentations, where work is evaluated by staff and peer group. Essays and reports are also required.
Career opportunities
Graduates typically gain employment as professional freelance artists, photographers and in related positions in the creative industries.

Aim of the programme

MRes Photography provides an exciting opportunity for students to pursue an individual research project, which may be practice-based, historical, critical, curatorial or theoretical.

Programme highlights

High profile photography department; academic staff exhibit/publish individually and contribute within the Research Centre for Land/Water and the Visual Arts.
Facilities include a purpose built daylight studio; digital and analogue dark rooms.

Entry requirements

A 2:1 honours degree or above in Photography or a related subject; or an equivalent degree from overseas. Evidence that you are ready to pursue your proposed project. IELTS of 6.5 minimum or equivalent.

General programme structure

We particularly welcome research proposals in the following areas: land and environment; camera-less photography; contemporary art practices; documentary and reportage; architectural photography; women’s photography. The programme engages current ideas and debates, skills and methodologies for research into or through photography.

The programme comprises three assessed modules:
Photography, the practice of research, shared with the taught Masters programmes in photography (30 credits)
Research in the Arts and Humanities (30 credits)
A masters thesis or approved research project (120 credits)

The project/thesis may be assessed entirely through written work, or through a substantial practical project accompanied by an extended contextual essay.

Full-time students take Photography, the practice of research in term one, Research in the Arts and Humanities in terms one and two, and their project/thesis across the whole academic year.

Part-time students take the two taught modules in year one and carry out their project/thesis in year two.

The project/thesis is taught via one-to-one supervision during term time and through contact by arrangement up to final submission in September.

Students are also encouraged to attend research seminars in a wide variety of arts disciplines, and the faculty-wide training events.
Detailed programme structure

We will help you to ground your chosen project in the latest theoretical and conceptual approaches in photography studies and beyond. This programme explicitly embeds research skills to prepare graduates for MPhil/PhD programmes.
Teaching and learning will take place through one-to-one meetings/tutorials; group seminars, discussions and workshops; staff/student research seminars; lectures/presentations by staff and visiting practitioners/academics; written feedback;

The Simon’s Rock program in Photography considers technical knowledge, historical background, and critical and analytical skills to be key elements in the education of each photo student. Our curriculum is designed to foster a disciplined approach to independent, self-generated work in each course, whether it be the core studio or a Senior Thesis project. We provide a comprehensive facility with professional equipment, as well as exposure to working artists, historians, writers, and critics, to support the growth and development of each student photographer. We feel that photography by its very nature is a tool which promotes interdisciplinary study. Our program offers a wide range of courses that allow the exploration of the medium of photography by students with interests in the arts and humanities, the sciences, and the social sciences.

Students interested in this concentration should take the core course, Photography, in the first year. It provides each student with an introduction to basic camera and darkroom skills, a background in the history of photography, and a thorough exploration of image making. We recommend that Lower College students in this concentration also take two semesters of basic art history and at least one design module or course.
Curriculum
Three intermediate courses in Photography are required for the concentration. Students are introduced to a variety of photographic approaches and technical skills through courses such as the Writing and Photography Studio and Experiments in Photography and other intermediate visual arts courses that use photo media such as Intermedia Studio, Designing with Computers, Intaglio Printmaking and Silk Screen Printmaking. Either History of Photography, Theories of Photography, or Critical Issues in Contemporary Photography is required, and it is recommended that students in the concentration take two of these courses. Advanced courses include Color Photography Studio, Documentary Photography, Photographic Portrait/Self- Portrait, and the Artists’ Books Studio. Students are required to take at least three of these. The total minimum credits required to complete the Photography concentration is 24.