Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: See fees section below
International/EU: £17,155 per year (£1,200 for placement year) -
How long will I study?
3 / 4 Years
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Where will I study?
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What are the entry requirements?
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What is the UCAS code?
W640
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When do I start?
September 2025
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Placement year available?
Yes
Course summary
- 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.
Come to an open day
Visit us to learn more about our gold-rated teaching and why we were awarded the highest possible rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.
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.
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
There are opportunities to study abroad at one of our partner universities with the possibility of funding through the Erasmus+ programme (until 2023) or the Turing Scheme.
Course leaders and tutors
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.
View our students' work
View our gallery of student work and learn more about the exciting projects they've been working on this year.
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 this course 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
Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEquipment 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
360 tour - City Campus
Media Gallery
Entry requirements
All students
UCAS points
- 112-120
This must include at least two A levels or equivalent BTEC National qualifications, including points in a relevant* subject. For example:
- BBC-BBB at A Level including a grade C in a relevant subject.
- DDM in BTEC Extended Diploma in a relevant subject.
- Merit overall from a T Level Qualification
- A combination of qualifications which must include a relevant subject and may include AS levels, EPQ and general studies.
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 at grade C or 4
• Access - an Access to HE Diploma with at least 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2. At least 18 level 3 credits must be at merit grade or above, in a media-related programme from a QAA-recognised Access to HE course, or an equivalent Access to HE certificate.
If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills, or equivalent. If your English language skill is currently below IELTS 6.5 we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English score.
If your application is successful, you will be invited to attend a selection event with a portfolio of work to demonstrate your ability. This will take place online (via Zoom) so you will need to have your portfolio of work in digital format.
Your digital portfolio could be original digital files or photographs of any physical work. Any sketchbook, painted or printed examples should be photographed or scanned and placed within your portfolio. If you wish to submit a video as part of your portfolio this should be embedded within your portfolio as a link for us to view. Please collate the edited selection of work into a single document, preferably this should be in PDF format (the finished portfolio size shouldn’t exceed 25mb).
Further information will be provided once you have been invited to book an interview slot.
We welcome applications from people of any age. There may be some flexibility in entry requirements provided you have other relevant learning or experience. This must show that you will benefit from and finish the course successfully.
* Relevant subjects are
- photography
- art
- design
- visual communication
- film and media studies
- digital media
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
Photographic Making: Introduction To Materials, Processes And Presentation
Photographic Practice: Introduction To Professional Contexts And Pathways
Year 2
Compulsory modules
Future Now: Collaboration In Action
Photographic Display: Exhibition, Sites And Audiences
Photographic Possibilities: The Expanded Field
Elective modules
Study Abroad - Creative Industries
Year 3
Optional modules
Placement Year
Final year
Compulsory modules
Photographic Realisation: Independent Practice
Photographic Research: Deepening Creative Investigations
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.
Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.
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.
