Professional Photography
MA
Start dates: September 2025 / September 2026
Full time: 1 year (12 months)
Part time: 2 years (24 months)
Location: Distance learning
Department(s): School of Arts
Overview
You’ll join an online course that will equip you with the confidence and ability to progress your personal professional photographic practice, with creativity, intellectual rigour, and ethical practice at its heart. You will also work with online platforms to establish a presence within professional fields, supporting your career aspirations.
This online-only course will enable you to pursue projects globally, regionally or locally, responding to issues you most care about, whilst receiving valuable mentorship from industry professionals.
You’ll cover a compact structure of 5 compulsory online modules using interactive features of the virtual learning environment (VLE). All modules aim to enhance your knowledge, skills and critical abilities, while supporting your individual practice.
Your course will follow our established campus-based MA arts degrees and meet employers' needs within the creative industries.
Why Oxford Brookes University?
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An international professional teaching team
You will be taught by working professionals from within the creative industries from across the globe.
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A bespoke learning journey
You will decide what you want to photograph and set your own agenda. We will provide the professional context.
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Career focused
You will set your own career expectations and explore how to fulfill them through the development of best practice strategies.
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Weekly formative feedback
Each week you will receive formative feedback from lecturers, fellow students and mentors to support your creative progression.
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Innovative online teaching strategies
This course employs innovative teaching strategies and online platforms to deliver teaching that provides maximum engagement in an online environment and a supportive community of learning.
Course details
Course structure
In Semester 1, you will be introduced to the Exploratory Photography Project module that introduces the concept of a personally instigated body of work, and a Histories, Theories and Ethics module where you’ll explore the history of the medium alongside relevant critical theory. These will include practical workshops, guest talks, and lectures, designed to build your creative output, professional self-awareness, critical awareness, and communication skills.
In Semester 2, you will explore the professional environment of the creative industries relating to photography within the Professional Practice module and undertake a Research and Context module in which you will complete your final dissertation. These will support you in considering research as a fundamental aspect of contemporary photography in both academic and industry contexts.
In Semester 3, you’ll complete your self-initiated Major Photography Project. You’ll explore multiple outputs including both still and moving-image creation, the self-published book, the exhibition portfolio, and the commissioned portfolio.
Careers
After successfully completing this postgraduate degree, you’ll be prepared for a wide choice of career options in the rapidly transforming media industry and creative industries.
You can use the qualification as a gateway into a wide range of careers, such as the roles below:
- Professional photographer
- Director of photography
- Cinematographer
- Publisher
- Creative director
- Art director
- Photo editor
- Curator
- Documentary filmmaker
- Post-production
- Content strategist
- Researcher
- Digital marketing and advertising
- Marketing communications
- Social media management
- Web content management
- Teaching and education
- Media research
- Digital strategist
- Brand marketing consultant
Our Staff
Grant Scott
Grant Scott, BA Photography Subject Coordinator, specialises in photography, the moving image, visual narrative and professional practices, and teaches across the course. He is a working photographer and has written three books on photography including 'The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography'. Grant is also the founder/ curator of www.unitednationsofphotography.com and the presenter/producer of the weekly podcast 'A Photographic Life'.
Read more about GrantRelated courses
Entry requirements
Specific entry requirements
We welcome applications from candidates with alternative qualifications, international students, and from mature students.
Please also see the University's general entry requirements.
Selection process
Applicants should have at least an upper second class (2.1) honours degree in a relevant subject or relevant equivalent industry experience. Relevant subjects include (but are not limited to) photography, fine art, graphics, video, film-making, music, media studies, media production, architecture, creative writing, journalism, and media communications. Subjects that underpin a specialist area of visual storytelling, including an interest in popular culture, fashion, social, economic and political issues, sports, food, the built environment, music, drama, dance, and contemporary art practice also offer an excellent foundation for this postgraduate degree.
- If applicants do not have the required academic qualification, but have alternative qualifications or significant experience in a relevant field, we will be happy to consider applications.
- We will consider applications where appropriate work experience can be demonstrated instead of, or in addition to, the published academic qualifications in line with the University’s Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) procedures.
- All applicants will be required to attend an interview and provide a digital portfolio of appropriate work. The portfolio should consist of photographic stills with an emphasis on personal work and examples of academic or professional written work if available.
You must submit a digital portfolio of 15 photographic images and a personal statement. Your personal statement should explain why you want to study on the programme and your particular area of interest in photography. All applicants will undertake an interview in which their portfolio and statement will be used as a starting point for further discussion.
English language requirements
Applicants whose home language is not English must demonstrate that their level of reading, written and spoken English is appropriate for study at postgraduate level. This may be demonstrated through attaining one of the following qualifications:
- British Council IELTS: Level 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each component.
- recognised and approved equivalent qualification
We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for your postgraduate course and also familiarise you with university life in the UK. Take a Pre-Master's course to develop your subject knowledge, study skills and academic language level in preparation for your master's course. If you need to improve your English language, we offer pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements of your chosen master’s course.
Please also see the University's standard English language requirements.
Pathways courses for international and EU students
We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for your postgraduate course and also familiarise you with university life in the UK.
Take a Pre-Master's course to develop your subject knowledge, study skills and academic language level in preparation for your master's course.
If you need to improve your English language, we offer pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements of your chosen master’s course.
International applications
You should consider your availability to attend face-to-face teaching aspects of this course based on international time zones.
Terms and Conditions of Enrolment
When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
International qualifications and equivalences
How to apply
Application process
Tuition fees
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
Tuition fees
Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.
The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.
How and when to pay
Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.
- For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
- For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page
Financial support and scholarships
Additional costs
Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.
Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been
published on the website. For more information, please visit our
changes to programmes page.