BA (Honours) Photography with Foundation Year

Year of Entry 2025/26
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BA (Honours)

Photography with Foundation Year

Full-time Art and design

Gain a degree in photography, with an initial foundation year to prepare for the course.

Everything you need to know...

  • Pound sign

    What is the fee?

    Home: See fees section below
    International/EU: £17,155 per year (£1,200 for placement year)

  • Time

    How long will I study?

    4/5 Years

  • Location

    Where will I study?

    City Campus

  • Bookmark

    What are the entry requirements?

    80 UCAS Points

  • Checkmark

    What is the UCAS code?

    A038

  • Date

    When do I start?

    September 2025

  • Avatar

    Placement year available?

    Yes


Course summary

  • Prepare for the degree with an extra foundation year at the start.
  • Acquire digital and traditional photographic analogue skills, digital capture and production and image management and manipulation, using industry standard equipment.
  • Develop core practical skills through creative professional practice and a critical engagement with image making.
  • Refine your ability to solve problems, manage complex projects, and communicate your ideas effectively.

Engage with a distinctive, independent approach to a wide range of photographic contexts with this professional and practice-based degree. You are encouraged to take risks in a highly creative environment, developing your understanding and knowledge of the medium to enable you to fulfil your potential in the constantly-evolving discipline of photography.


How you learn

At Sheffield Hallam, all our courses are designed to engage you with the world and challenge you to think in new ways. You’ll get to collaborate with others, and you’ll be taught in a supportive environment where you can thrive.

The course is suitable if you don't meet the entry requirements for our BA (Hons) Photography course, or you want extra preparation before starting degree-level study. You share the first year with other media arts and communication foundation year students, then move on to the degree.

You learn through a creative, practice-based approach to self-directed production which emulates the independent nature of professional practice within photography. This is underpinned through an exploration of historical and contemporary approaches and relevant theoretical issues in order to help situate your work in a critical context.

You learn through

  • specialist workshops
  • technical surgeries
  • large group lectures
  • smaller group seminars
  • group critiques and review sessions
  • individual tutorials

In the foundation year, you'll study wide-ranging media arts and communication topics, while also focussing on your particular subject area and completing assignments in that field. You'll grow as a creative, and begin developing a professional portfolio. You'll also become familiar with Hallam's exceptional facilities and staff, so you're fully prepared for undergraduate study.

Course leaders and tutors

Stephanie Hartle
Stephanie Hartle
Senior Lecturer

Senior Lecturer

Applied learning

Work placements

The course has established professional working relationships with a number of photographic professional partners including the Photographers' Gallery, the National Media Museum, Site Gallery, Millennium Galleries, The Hepworth Wakefield, Village Bookshop and Gallery, and Impressions Gallery.

Field trips

Throughout the programme you will have the opportunity to attend national and international photography and art events which will broaden your understanding of the wider photographic industry, its stakeholders and key requirements (additional costs may apply).

Networking opportunities

A number of industry days and events (Grad Talk, Pathways) are held on campus where you can network with and attend talks and workshops run by creative media industry professionals and organisations. You will also have access to guidance from our professional careers and employment service, CV preparation and interview practice, an annual programme of employer recruitment fairs, and an online graduate vacancy service.


Future careers

This course prepares you for a career in

  • documentary
  • fine art
  • fashion and advertising
  • editorial
  • press and photojournalism
  • general and social portraiture
  • scientific and medical
  • stills for film and video productions
  • post-production (picture editing, processing, printing and finishing)
  • picture research and publishing
  • curatorial and gallery contexts

Graduates of BA (Honours) Photography have gone on to work for

  • S1 Artspace
  • Webber Agency
  • Gill Turner Photo Agency
  • The Lowry
  • Wex Photo Video
  • Apple
  • Salt-Street Productions
  • American Golf
  • Pinkbike
  • Alpkit
  • JD Official
  • Size Official
  • Boohoo
  • Flannels
  • THG Studios
  • NHS England
  • Mission Foodservice
  • My-Furniture.com
  • Frasers Group

Where will I study?

You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.

City Campus

City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.

City Campus map | City Campus tour 


City Campus map
Location

Howard Street
Sheffield
S1 1WB

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Adsetts library

Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.

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Equipment and facilities

On this course you work with

  • two industry-standard photography studios
  • portable lighting equipment
  • a dedicated digital darkroom including scanning, processing and printing facilities
  • colour and black and white analogue darkrooms with enlargers from 35mm to 5x4
  • black and white print darkroom with both wet and machine process facilities
  • an extensive lending store where you can borrow industry standard equipment such as cameras, lenses and tripods

Media Gallery

Entry requirements

All students

UCAS points

  • 80

This must include at least 32 points from at least one A level or equivalent BTEC National qualifications (to include a relevant subject, such as Art, Design and Technology, Textiles or Graphics). For example:

• CDD at A Level with a grade C in a relevant subject.

• MMP in BTEC Extended Diploma in a relevant subject.

• Pass overall from a T level qualification with C from core

• A combination of qualifications which must include an A level grade C or BTEC grade M in a relevant subject and may include AS levels, EPQ and general studies

• Access to HE Diploma from a QAA recognised Access to HE course. Normally we require 15 credits at level 2 and 45 at level 3. At least 15 level 3 credits must be at merit grade or above from a QAA-recognised Access to HE course, or an equivalent Access to HE certificate.

You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.

GCSE

• English Language or Literature at grade C or 4

We may also accept you, if you have limited qualifications but can show evidence of ability and a genuine commitment to studying Art and Design.

We treat the foundation year as part of the Art and Design degree programme. Offers made to students will be for four years of study (or five years of study including a placement). This is made up of the foundation year plus one of our Art and Design degrees.

If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills or equivalent. If your English language skill is currently below IELTS 6.0 we recommend you consider the Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English score.

Portfolio review

We may also accept you, if you have limited qualifications but can show evidence of ability and a genuine commitment to studying Media Arts and Communication.

We treat the foundation year as part of the Media Arts and Communication degree programme. Offers made to students will be for four years of study (or five years of study including a placement). This is made up of the foundation year plus one of our Media Arts and Communication degrees.

Some applicants may be invited to attend an informal interview with the course leader to ensure that the programme is suitable for themselves and their aspirations."

Additional information for EU/International students

If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.

For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.


Modules

Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.

You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.

Year 1

Compulsory modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Foundation Projects — Developing Creative Practice
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Foundation Skills & Methods
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Year 2

Compulsory modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Photographic Making: Introduction To Materials, Processes And Presentation
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Photographic Practice: Introduction To Professional Contexts And Pathways
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Year 3

Compulsory modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Future Now: Collaboration In Action
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Photographic Display: Exhibition, Sites And Audiences
Credits 40
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Photographic Possibilities: The Expanded Field
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)

Elective modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Study Abroad - Creative Industries
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Year 4

Optional modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Placement Year
Credits -
Assessment
Final year

Compulsory modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Photographic Realisation: Independent Practice
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Photographic Research: Deepening Creative Investigations
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)

Fees and funding

Home students

Our tuition fees for UK students starting full-time undergraduate study in 2025/26 are regulated by the UK government and are yet to be confirmed. For an indication, our tuition fee for UK students starting full-time undergraduate study in 2024/25 is £9,250 per year. During your placement year you will pay a reduced fee of £1,200.

If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.

International students

Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2025/26 is £17,155 per year. During your placement year you will pay a reduced fee of £1,200.

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Financial support for home/EU students

How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.

Learn more

Additional course costs

The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.

General course additional costs

Additional costs for Sheffield Creative Industries Institute (PDF, 153.7KB)

Legal information

Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.

 

How do I apply?

Apply now via UCAS

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We are Gold rated in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) for the outstanding quality of our teaching and student outcomes

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Employment

95% of our UK graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduating (2021/22 Graduate Outcomes Survey)

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