Course units
UAL is committed to ensuring that its students’ knowledge and skills are set within a contemporary personal and professional ethical framework so that they may make a positive impact in practice, particularly in relation to UAL’s Principles for Climate, Racial and Social Justice. The UAL Principles help inform the course’s approach to ethical awareness and application within the curriculum, leading to advocacy, mitigation and urgency in developed practice. Ethical behaviours and values are embedded in course aims and are assessed throughout. Aligned with this is our expectation that students will be ready to apply these to their careers and to respond and adapt to societal change and emerging technologies, including AI.
In common with all courses at University of the Arts London, this course is credit rated. The course is 3 years, levels 4-6. Each year requires you to achieve 120 credits. To be awarded the BA (Hons) Photojournalism and Documentary Photography qualification, you need to accumulate a total of 360 credits.
Year 1
During the first year, through a series of specially designed theory and practice sessions, you will learn about historical and contemporary photography practices and the key theoretical frameworks used to situate them.
You’ll be introduced to specialist photographic skills and creative methodologies in a supportive environment, to encourage experimentation and creativity. Throughout the course, there will be guest lectures by industry professionals, including professional photographers, artists, filmmakers, picture editors, curators, commissioners and more, offering insight into a range of photographic practices. You will also meet other photography students from across the programme at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Introduction to Photojournalism and Documentary Photography (20 credits)
This unit acts as an introduction to the course and to your subject specialism. Topics covered include effective learning and studentship at undergraduate level as well as introducing basic technical skills.
Collaborative Publication (20 credits)
This unit centres on collaborative practice and experimental processes, requiring you to work in teams to conceive, shoot, edit, and design a photographic publication from initial concept through to final publication. You will develop essential skills in idea generation, editing and sequencing, layout design, binding, ’zine making, and print preparation.
Histories and Theories of Photojournalism and Documentary Photography (20 credits)
This unit introduces you to the key historical, ethical, and social issues surrounding photojournalism and documentary photography from their earliest stages to the present day. It develops your knowledge of some of the main critical thinkers and writers in the field and examines the role that their ideas have played in society.
Practical Photojournalism (20 credits)
This unit introduces you to the practical realities of professional photojournalism, with a strong emphasis on industry-standard workflows, technical competence, and employability. You will develop the skills required to plan, shoot, edit, and deliver photojournalistic work to editorial standards using tools and processes aligned with current professional practice.
Multimedia Storytelling (20 credits)
This unit will train you in the skills of multimedia storytelling within a photojournalism and documentary photography context. You will develop the technical skills needed to produce a short multimedia project and adapt it to different formats and distribution channels. Emphasis is placed on developing platform-appropriate photojournalistic work that reflects current industry practice.
Law, Ethics and Social Principles (20 credits)
This unit will introduce you to some of the key media theories that underpin and help us to understand the role of communication systems, modes of representation and systems of meaning in the ordering of societies. You will learn about the main laws, ethical frameworks, and social principles that inform and affect photojournalists and documentary photographers; skills that you will quickly put into practice as you progress through the course.
Year 2
As you move into Year 2, you will expand on your practical and professional skills and begin to develop your voice within your practice. Year 2 builds on the foundations established in Year 1, creating space for you to begin contextualising your own practice by working on more open and self-directed assignments via both practice and theory/written work. Towards the end of the year, you will be supported to produce a research proposal that forms the basis of your self-selected Research Project in Year 3.
Contemporary Documentary 1 (40 credits)
This unit will help you to develop and apply the theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to produce an extended documentary project and associated body of theoretical research. You will be encouraged to go beyond traditional narrative documentary approaches, explore ways to disrupt expectations about storytelling, and start to embrace experimental narratives and structures.
The Live Brief (Industry, Community and Collaboration) (20 credits)
This unit provides you with the opportunity to choose from a number of live briefs set by industry partners. Through this process you’ll share skills and expertise by collaborating with others and gain insight from working on projects that are set in a variety of external-facing contexts.
Contemporary Documentary 2 (40 credits)
In this unit, you will further develop and implement the knowledge and skills necessary to produce an in-depth, extended documentary project and associated body of research. You will select one project brief from a range of options, each designed to support an engagement with UAL’s Principles for Climate, Racial and Social Justice. The unit will encourage you to think holistically about the theoretical, ethical, and subjective aspects of documentary photography and how this might be applied to your own practice.
Reading and Writing as Critical Practice (20 credits)
This unit explores the practices of reading and writing within, around and about photojournalism and documentary photography. The unit culminates in the submission of a Research Project proposal, preparing you for Year 3, and you will also create an analytical reading journal that records and articulates your engagement with literature and other sources in a personal way.
Year 3
Year 3, the final stage of the course, consolidates your ability to direct and plan your own work by supporting you in producing two substantial self-directed assignments – your Major Project and your Research Project. You will also complete a Creative Futures unit, designed to help you prepare your strategy for securing employment in your chosen area and produce your professional portfolio to send to prospective employers, partners, or collaborators after graduation.
All four Year 3 units are designed to enable you to sustain your practice in an individual way and take the next steps towards your future career.
Major Project: Development and Production (20 credits)
In this unit, you will begin the exploratory process of researching and creating visual work towards your final Major Project. You will self-select and present your initial ideas, begin to develop a written proposal, complete a risk assessment, and start to produce work that will be further developed in the Major Project: Realisation and Outputs unit.
Research Project (40 credits)
In this unit, you will research, produce, and present a substantial self-directed research project and further develop connections between practice and theory. This work might consist of an extended written research project or an audio-visual essay with a written component; both of which you will work on with the support of specialist supervisors.
Major Project: Realisation and Outputs (40 credits)
This unit requires the consolidation of your Major Project work and its presentation in an appropriate form which will be negotiated with tutors and can encompass, for example, a portfolio of photographic prints, a documentary film, a multimedia project, or a photographic book or ’zine. You’ll be guided in considering potential current and future audiences for your work and how to reach them, whilst equipping you to continue developing and refining your individual practice and professional ambitions beyond the course.
Creative Futures (20 credits)
This unit asks you to consider your future goals and how best to prepare yourself for your career after university. You’ll undertake extensive research into your chosen career field and produce a creative identity package that supports your future goals. You will be supported in developing a professional CV and online presence, and you will learn how to market yourself to future employers.
Optional Diploma between Years 2 and 3
Between Years 2 and 3 of the course, you’ll also have the opportunity to undertake one of the following additional UAL qualifications:
Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS) (Optional)
An optional, year-long learning opportunity which enables you to develop your professional skills by undertaking time out for industry experience. Supported throughout the year by academics, you’ll build on the knowledge gained on your course in a range of national or international locations, and graduate with an additional qualification of Diploma in Professional Studies.
Diploma in Creative Computing (Optional)
Between Years 2 and 3, you can undertake the year-long Diploma in Creative Computing. This will develop your skills in creative computing alongside your degree. After successfully completing the diploma and your undergraduate degree, you’ll graduate with an enhanced degree: BA (Hons) Photojournalism and Documentary Photography(with Creative Computing).
Diploma in Storytelling (Optional)
Between years 2 and 3, you can undertake the year-long Diploma in Storytelling. Enhance your creative voice and discover how to engage audiences and enact change through compelling storytelling - a skill that's in demand across a range of creative industries. After successfully completing the diploma and your undergraduate course, you’ll graduate with an enhanced degree: BA (Hons) Photojournalism and Documentary Photography (with Storytelling).
