student taking a picture with camera

Available with:

  • Foundation Year


Course Summary

The University of Chester’s Photography degree fosters a distinct approach to the craft of photography, encouraging independent practice and a critically reflective mindset.

As well as exploring key issues and debates shaping contemporary photography practices, you will also gain an understanding of the social and cultural dimensions of photography and its power to inspire and challenge.

Draw on your personal experience and curiosity to explore a diverse range of contexts and genres, from art and documentary, to editorial and fashion including sports and music photojournalism.

You will benefit from industry connections and expert guidance from our team of experienced researcher-practitioners, who can share their knowledge and insights of the art and photography industries, introducing you to nationally and internationally recognised photographers, curators and writers who are helping to shape photography today.

Connect with galleries, museums and employers in the North West and beyond, opening doors to exciting opportunities and collaborations.

Our Photography degree will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to succeed as a photographer who has developed a distinctive personal practice and a portfolio to help you make your mark on the industry.

 

Why You'll Love It

Photography BA thumbnail

What You'll Study

The Creative Industries, Media and Performance Foundation Year route encourages you to operate as a creative community, developing new skills while learning from each other. You will build knowledge of your chosen area alongside transferrable practical and academic skills to support future employment.

Students have access to a wide range of specialist facilities. For art, design and innovation students this includes painting and sculpture studios, 3-Dimensional design, printmaking workshops, sewing and fashion workshops and graphic design suites. The performing arts and media students are introduced to our television studios, music production studios, editing facilities, green screen, the ‘black box’ and the ‘white box’.

  • Term 1: Introduction to Creative Spaces
  • Term 2: Creative Practices in Art and Design
  • Term 3: Originating a Creative Project

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

BA Photography consists of core modules that provide the basis for our course.

At Level 4, students are introduced to the fundamentals of photography practices in analogue (darkroom) and DSLR digital camera use. This also includes workshop induction in a lighting studio environment as well as in the use of portable lighting and flash units, and instruction in how these are used on location.

The practical workshop elements of the course are integrated with project assignment briefs, which introduce you to the key themes and debates that inform contemporary practice across a range of applications. This includes:

  • narrative and storytelling
  • moving image and publishing
  • collage and montage processes
  • and your own personal documentary experience.

You will also be introduced to socially engaged and community-based practices. You will also receive a grounding in research skills and contextual studies which places photography within a wider interdisciplinary context.

Modules

This module will include cross-disciplinary delivery with content that is applicable and central to all Fine Art and Photography students whilst also maintaining subject specialist input that reflects the nuanced nature of these two courses. 

You will gain an understanding of the wider context and study of visual art practice at university level through the delivery of cross-disciplinary studio project briefs with associated critical theory. Your responses to these overarching briefs will stem from a subject specific standpoint supported by relevant workshop and induction activities as part of the development of techniques and processes specific to your discipline.

You will be introduced to the fundamental practices, concepts, theories, and potential of Visual Arts Practice whilst simultaneously exploring, in a diagnostic sense, the media areas and specialist practices that you gravitate towards. This grounding in the skills and techniques related to a range of materials, approaches and attitudes will form a sound foundation not only for later L4 study but as a central tenet of your Fine Art or Photography trajectory through the three years of study. 

Following the Introduction to Fine Art and Photography module you will develop a body of practice that extends the possibilities, scope and outcome of one, or a combination of the earlier activities or projects. This will allow you to further consider and explore some of the visual and conceptual territory you recognise as being of interest to you. Your portfolio or body of work will test some of the boundaries of this visual territory and afford you an opportunity to consider a range of responses through visual experimentation and speculation. 

From this body of practice you will be supported to select examples of work for public exhibition, collaborating and negotiating with other students to curate and install your exhibition within a given timeframe. 

Chinese: Intermediate Language Development (20 Credits) Option

This module is designed for students who have completed GCSE in Chinese or equivalent. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and learning conventions for spelling and pronunciation. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at an intermediate level.

French: Communication in Practice (20 Credits) Option

This module is designed for students that have completed A-Level or equivalent in French. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and expression and apply these to real world situations. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop your oral and written communication skills at Post-A level.

French: Intermediate Language Development (20 Credits) Option

This module is designed for students who have completed GCSE or equivalent in French. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and learning conventions for spelling and pronunciation. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at an intermediate level.

German: Communication in Practice (20 Credits) Option

This module enables students with A-Level German or equivalent to further develop their grammar, vocabulary and expression and apply these to real world situations. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop your oral and written communication skills at Post-A level.

Spanish: Communication in Practice (20 Credits) Option

This module is designed for students that have completed a A-Level or equivalent in Spanish. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and expression and apply these to real world situations. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at Post-A level.

Spanish: Intermediate Language Development (20 Credits) Option

This module is designed for students that have completed GCSE or equivalent in Spanish. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and learning conventions for spelling and pronunciation. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at an intermediate level.

Subsidiary Language for Beginners (20 Credits) Option

This module provides the opportunity to study a new language from scratch and introduces you to basic grammar, vocabulary and cultural contexts. You will apply the language to practical situations using both oral and written skills. 

 

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

As you establish a more self-directed and confident approach in Level 5, you will build on the foundation laid in Level 4.

You will be presented with options to help shape the development of your practice and how it is informed by emerging contextual and research interests.

Collaborative practice for site-specific and public exhibition projects provides a dynamic introduction to group working. This encourages you to develop themed or socially engaged projects, that involve the participation of others, whether on a community or institutional basis.

Specialist practices will provide a knowledge base of practical and business skills related to industry protocols and employability.

Modules

You will identify and establish a practice-based position, which builds upon and is informed by your previous approaches and responses to Fine Art and Photography. Your practice and its related context may be rooted in your personal experience, ideas, subject, interests, concerns and materials. This position will also be informed by your aspirations for the future, with a view to graduation, careers and employability, commercial and professional activity in the future.

The module introduces parallel but distinct directions and themes for Photography and Fine Art students that will facilitate an independent direction built on curiosity whilst embracing risk and experimentation. Whether concerned with narrative, abstracted from lived-experience or visual phenomena, subject matter and things which you encounter as part of a process of finding and making, the module provides you with the opportunity to speculate on your own methods and motivations in terms of both practice and theory. The module is followed by the introduction of a summer project will together begin to set an agenda for your practice and the increasingly focussed and autonomous position you will adopt and then develop as you start your Level 6 studies. 

Building upon the introduction of core skills and practices at Level 4 you will further develop and refine your use of specialist craft and production skills in relation to a range of applications and approaches. This will introduce you to industry (agency) protocols and standards for editorial, advertising and independent practice as well as participatory and community-based practices. You will also gain an understanding of professional photography practices, business planning and career development networks, market awareness and ethical considerations as well as and intellectual property specific to professional practice, which also includes an introduction to budgeting, call sheets, pitching, pricing, copyright. These skills are then deployed in relation to contextual and independent, 'exhibition' and other forms of practice in AD5100.

This module will provide you with the practical and theoretical underpinning of professional practice in your specific subject, enabling you to identify and develop key employability attributes and skills in preparation for your future career.  

You will spend several weeks working collaboratively with other students across the School for the Creative Industries on one major project or several smaller projects in a professional ‘simulated real world’ working environment.  Projects will be contemporary, topical, externally focussed and often involve partnership with outside agencies. The module will provide you with opportunities for immersive learning and the chance to apply your knowledge in real-world contexts.

The module provides students with an opportunity to undertake a 140-hour work placement*. This placement is complemented by a number of school-delivered sessions designed to develop their employability, professional practice, and students' understanding of their career options. Students learn to reflect on the nature of creativity within their studies, and gain awareness of how this is valued and relevant in modern workplaces. 

*in some cases, evidence of considerable relevant graduate-level work experience may be accepted as an alternative to completion of the stipulated placement.

Choose one of the following:

  1. Professional Placement (40 Credits) Optional
  2. Term abroad (40 Credits) Optional
  3. One of the following Language options

Advanced Language Development and Global Sustainability (40 Credits) Optional

The module will provide the opportunity to further develop your language skills, building on your previous learning at advanced level. The second half of the module includes a placement abroad or, alternatively, a project on a sustainability issue in a target language country. The first half of the module will prepare you for placements abroad where appropriate as well as a deeper understanding of sustainability in target language contexts. 

Developing Intercultural Literacy and Cross-Cultural Skills (40 Credits) Optional

  • The multiple facets of global citizenship
  • Ethical engagement and practice
  • The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
  • Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
  • Intercultural communication
  • Culture shock
  • Cultural adjustment
  • Self- assessment of needs: identification of the range of transferable skills, competencies and attitudes employees need and employers expect graduates to possess-with a strong focus on understanding the intercultural competencies (ICC) needed to live and work abroad.
  • Critical analysis/evaluation of individual requirements in relation to culture/cultural adjustment/culture shock/visas/medical.
  • Critical analysis/evaluation of skills already acquired in relation to key skills related to ICC.
  • Devising strategies to improve one’s own prospects of working abroad in the future.
  • Devising an action plan to address gaps in transferable skills based on organisational analysis and sector opportunities.

Experiential Overseas Learning (40 Credits) Optional

Preparation for Experiential Overseas Learning will take place at the University of Chester during level 5 and will include:  

  • The multiple facets of Global citizenship
  • Ethical engagement and practice
  • Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
  • Intercultural communication
  • Theories, models and strategies of learning

Theories and models Intercultural competence

  • Theories and models of Integration and Multiculturalism
  • Critical thinking skills and models of Reflection
  • Experiential learning models
  • Self-directed experiential learning

Personal and placement-related skills

  • Enhanced independence
  • Improved command of multicultural behaviour
  • Increased knowledge and confidence in their individual facets of personal identity
  • Effective time management and organisational skills
  • Project management – working away from University and independent study
  • Self-management and personal development
  • Team building and team work

Part B: Overseas

Students will engage in experiential learning activities overseas for at least 150 hours 

Post Beginner Language Development and Global Cultures (40 Credits) Optional

The module will provide the opportunity to further develop your language skills, building on your previous learning at beginner level. The first half of the module includes intensive taught sessions in interactive workshop mode which will prepare you for placements abroad or self-directed language development. The second half of the module includes a placement abroad or, alternatively, a project on a cultural issue in a target language country. 

Upper Intermediate Language Development and Global Employability (40 Credits) Optional

The module will provide the opportunity to further develop your language skills, building on your previous learning at intermediate level. The first half of the module includes intensive taught sessions in interactive workshop mode which will prepare you for placements abroad or self-directed language development. The second half of the module includes an placement abroad or, alternatively, a project on a business or tourism issue in a target language country. 

Or you can choose ONE of the following:

  • University Placement Year Optional
  • Subject Placement Year Optional
  • International University Placement Year Optional

 

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

In Level 6, your practice is self-directed, guided and supported by photography staff working alongside you.

A dedicated project supervisor is assigned for your final year project.

You will present a public-facing interim exhibition that provides a benchmark for your project development at this important staging point in the year.

Professional practice for your future practice and employability is also embedded; providing the opportunity to present your work to industry professionals who will engage with you and your practice on a one-to-one basis.

This will support the consolidation of your ideas and working practices in the lead up to the degree show exhibition, which marks the culmination of your studies.

The degree show is a showcase for a cross-section of students’ specialisms in its different forms and is an important platform to present your work to the public, alongside a portfolio of professional practice. This provides a step-off point for you to embark on your future career within the many pathways, which Photography enables. 

The University also offers module options with the opportunity to learn a language and study abroad.

Modules

This Fine Art and Photography module will extend the outcomes of your summer project and will require you to explore your emerging context and related research interests through both practice and theory. Your Fine Art or Photography concerns and interests will therefore be negotiated through, and exemplified in a 4000 word essay, whilst your practice will feature in a public exhibition of work in progress towards the end of the module.

The work that you produce for your summer project will inform a position relating to the things you are interested in, allowing you to examine content, context, form and agenda. Thus you will have explored possibilities in terms of your approaches to your own Fine Art or Photographic practice in the third year. At the start of this module you will be in a good position to outline your thinking, your aspirations and ambitions for your independent practice and the possible directions you see it taking. Through studio based tutorials you will be tasked with extending these possibilities, examining them through active practice and a suitably critical discussion, with the resultant work being exhibited and assessed in an interim exhibition near the conclusion of the module. 

This module and the interim exhibition sees you developing autonomous approaches relating to your practice with associated feedback and feed-forward promoting support for further independent practice in subsequent L6 modules. 

This module will therefore see you setting, activating, speculating on, and experimenting with a position that will define you as an artist or photographer as you plan forwards to your degree show exhibition.

During this module you will research and formulate a Career Development Plan, which draws on your Level 5 placement experience, and outlines your ambitions and aspirations as you move towards graduation and beyond. This plan will help you conceive and design the way in which your practice is disseminated through ‘promotional’ materials and artefacts, and how your programme based experience can enhance your employability both directly and via transferable skills. Such materials will facilitate and extend networks for employability, independent practice, community or socially engaged practices, commissions, sales, or a combination thereof. Your promotional materials and artefacts will collate, parallel, complement or function as a subsidiary dimension of your practice as a body of work, defining your distinct visual identity and direction.

Your practice based modules will see you developing, making and delivering your practice, ultimately in a degree show. This module will support strategies for the broader dissemination of that work to an audience and afford you an opportunity to consider your trajectory both towards and beyond graduation. 

Following an initial period of testing, ideas and experimentation based in the first semester which leads to the Interim Exhibition at the end of Autumn term. At the beginning of this module you will reflect on the Interim Exhibition feedback and feed-forward advice to guide and support your project as it enters the next phase of its development. As you further develop your practice in its scope and relationship with your subject and ideas you will consolidate your project at the same time as refining your skills and craft as photographers. During this phase of your journey the potential for changes in direction, risk and experimentation still form part of your practice but you will have now established a clear direction as you approach the degree show exhibition. By the end of the module you will have resolved a body of work and research related to art, industry and contemporary practice, which will then lead to the degree show exhibition.

In the lead up to the degree show all Level 6 students are required to  submit an Exhibition Proposal for their Degree Show Exhibition, which is the culmination of your assessment and studies as a BA Photography student. Your Proposal follows, and is based upon the Position Statement, which has been redrafted at key staging points in your project development throughout the year; This normally follows an initial Position Statement drafted at the beginning of the year, Individual Tutorials or Group Critique (work-in-progress review) sessions.

In this module your activities are focussed on the logistics of your individual preparation for the degree show. This is also a collective cohort-based endeavour as a group, which is also coordinated through module AD6120 Audience, Networks and Employability.

Having refined your project you will have finalised a body of work from which you will edit and finalise a select number of photographs and artefacts for a physical and / or online 'portfolio' submission. A finite selection of pieces will then be decided upon for the degree show exhibition and outlined in your Proposal relative to your individual exhibition requirements.

The method of display and exhibition is defined by your process, subject matter and its material form. The way in which the work is presented might include matting (window) mounting and framing, or other methods of display and exhibition. The knowledge and skills required in making these decisions forms part of your professional practice development. Other ways in which your work is presented can include but is not limited to portfolio, photobooks, projection or online / virtual realms of dissemination.

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

How You'll Learn

The course is delivered across three, ten-week terms each term containing modules to the value of 40 credits. A student’s timetable will schedule in-person sessions each week amounting to between 6 to 12 hours of contact time, and students will be responsible for scheduling self-study time each week of approximately 30 to 34 hours.  

If studied, the Foundation Year, as with the following years of study, will be taught in three 10-week blocks across an academic year. Each block will comprise of a large 40-credit subject-specific module that includes a breadth of topics and subject skills. You will have on average 12-14 hours of contact time per week during the Foundation Year. There may be variations to this where subject practical or specialist space teaching is included.

The course is structured around projects, which are introduced via lecture-based briefing sessions and practical sessions, on-site as well as on-location. This approach integrates induction in the use of different camera formats, and lighting equipment.

For each project, you will build a body of work in response to project briefs, which are short-run and long-form in duration. This is supported by one-to-one tutorial support and guidance towards the submission deadlines. The contextual and theoretical study of photography parallels the themes and subjects introduced in practical sessions. This is alongside introducing the key themes and debates that inform contemporary practice, for which you will research and write written outcomes in the form of reviews, essays, and presentations. 

Teaching is led by experienced photographers with a wide range of experience in both art, creative and industry contexts; including writing, publishing and curatorial practices. The Photography team at Chester has an excellent track record of research having exhibited nationally and internationally, as well as working on research projects in urban and landscape environments, with community and wellbeing-focused activities and workshops.  

The course team also has a depth of publishing and bookmaking experience, which forms the basis for assignments that introduce:

  • artist's books
  • photobooks
  • multiples
  • zines
  • ‘lookbooks’
  • and other forms of print publication.

Assignments will also get you to look at the way in which photography is disseminated online.

We also encourage the use of vernacular forms of photograph, found and collected images, and we ask you to consider how these are repurposed or reconfigured in relation to the work you make.

In this way, our teaching is research-informed and you are at the centre of your studies and practice in how this helps shape your development as an independent and confident photographer. This equips you to become a photographer who is ready to pursue your own practice, embark on a portfolio career, or enter into any of the exciting and varied roles that photography offers in its employability.

The course also helps you to develop transferrable skills via placement opportunities, which can take on a variety of forms to coincide with your future ambitions and aspirations. 

The course has an excellent track record of including nationally and internationally recognised guest and visiting lecturers that enhance the student's experience with their external perspective. 

Your response to project assignment briefs is based on the development of folio (portfolio) collections or series of photographs.

Your folio collections or series of photographs are the result of the week-to-week development of different approaches to practice, based on your personal, subject, or thematic response. Through this, you will be assessed by your problem-solving and experimentation in your response to a diverse range of assignment briefs. You will also engage with photography’s materiality; exploring the material presence of different types of fine printing, including printmaking. 

Your folio submissions are accompanied by a visual and contextual journal, which functions as:

  • a personal sketchbook
  • technical log
  • and diary of your working methods and practices.

This contains your practice through contact sheets produced for each shoot, and your choice of work in progress, which signposts each staging point of your project’s development.

A key part is the way in which you reflect upon the development of your practice and how you respond to tutorial input from your peers, as well as the staff who are supporting and working alongside you. Your journal importantly also includes the research of photography, art and industry contexts, artists and photographers as well as other phenomena, which provides a background and support to your emerging visual identity as a photographic practitioner. 

Writing and research-based assignments, which are aligned with and inform your practice will include:

  • essays
  • (poster) presentations
  • statements
  • reports
  • and ongoing critical reflection (which forms part of your journaling and sketchbook work). 

An ongoing dialogue with your peers alongside staff integrates formative, feedforward support and guidance, alongside more formal feedback methods by which you can gauge the development of your practice and research as part of a continuous and authentic process. This equates with how you will prepare for and promote your practice and employability following graduation.

BA Photography Students are provided with all the equipment needed to complete project assignments and workshop tasks. This equipment is housed in a dedicated camera store, is available for loan using your student card, and is looked after by our excellent team of technical support staff.

Students are responsible for consumables and material costs associated with any art and design study and these are subsidised as appropriate. The production costs associated with the individual preparation of final year project work are specific to your practice and requirements, but they are also supported by resources, facilities and materials that the School is able to facilitate.

All teaching is delivered by experienced academics and practitioners, with the fundamental principles of the Chester Future Skills Curriculum at its core - building your subject competence, confidence, and key transferable skills to shape you into a world-ready Chester graduate.

Study a Common First Year

This course shares a common first year with students on the Fine Art course.

This means that you’ll learn alongside students studying a similar discipline, helping to broaden your knowledge and exposure to other concepts, perspectives and professions in the first year of your degree.

As you learn and collaborate with students from other courses, you'll not only widen your social and professional network but also learn new skills that will set you up for success in your industry.

In your second and third years, you will progress to studying more specialist modules within photography, developing your skills to become a World Ready graduate.

Creative Campus, Kingsway Tours

Study at our Creative Campus, Kingsway, home to some outstanding art, design and performance-based courses for the University’s School for the Creative Industries. Scroll through our 360 tours to explore our state-of-the-art facilities.

Entry Requirements

112UCAS points

UCAS Tariff

112 points

GCE A Level

Typical offer – BCC-BBC

BTEC

BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM

International Baccalaureate

28 points

Irish / Scottish Highers

Irish Highers: H3 H3 H3 H3 H4

Scottish Highers: BBBB

Access requirements

Access to HE Diploma, to include 45 credits at Level 3, of which 30 must be at Merit or above

T Level

Merit

OCR Cambridge Technicals

OCR Extended Diploma: DMM

Extra Information

Shortlisted applicants will be required to produce a portfolio and attend an interview.

Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A Level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs.

Students from countries outside the UK are expected to have entry qualifications roughly equivalent to UK A Level for undergraduate study and British Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) for postgraduate study. To help you to interpret these equivalents, please click on your country of residence to see the corresponding entry qualifications, along with information about your local representatives, events, information and contacts.

We accept a wide range of qualifications and consider all applications individually on merit. We may also consider appropriate work experience.

English Language Requirements

  • IELTS Academic: Undergraduate: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each band)
  • Postgraduate: 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each band)

For more information on our entry requirements, please visit International Entry Requirements.

72UCAS points

UCAS Tariff

72 UCAS points 

GCE A level

72 points overall, including grade D in one of the following subjects: Art & Design, Fine Art or Textiles.

BTEC

BTEC Extended Diploma (Art and Design): MMP

International Baccalaureate

24 points including 4 in HL Visual Arts

Irish / Scottish Highers

Irish Highers: H4 H4 H4 H4 H4 including Art

Scottish Highers: CCDD including Art and Design

Access requirements

Access to HE Diploma (Art and Design) – Pass overall

T Level

T Level (Craft and Design): Pass (D or E on the core)

Extra Information

Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer.  We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs.

If you are a mature student (21 or over) and have been out of education for a while or do not have experience or qualifications at Level 3 (equivalent to A Levels), then our Foundation Year courses will help you to develop the skills and knowledge you will need to succeed in your chosen degree. 

Study the final year of an undergraduate degree

If you have successfully completed a Level 5 qualification, e.g. a Higher National Diploma (HND) or Foundation Degree in a relevant subject, then we may be able to consider you for the final year (Level 6) of one of our degrees. Topping up your HND or Foundation Degree will typically take one further year of study and will lead to a full BA (Honours) degree.

To apply for the final year of a degree on a full-time basis you will need to submit an application through UCAS.

For international applicants, please refer to the entry requirements listed on the "Your Country/Region" pages. To be considered for advanced entry into relevant degree programmes, you must have completed a qualification equivalent to a Level 5 or Level 6 in the UK, in a related subject area

Fees and Funding

£9,535per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

Our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for Home students entering University in 2025/26 are £9,535 a year, or £1,590 per 20-credit module for part-time study.

You can find more information about undergraduate fees on our Fees and Finance pages.

Students from the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey and the Republic of Ireland are treated as Home students for tuition fee purposes.

Students from countries in the European Economic Area and the EU will pay International Tuition Fees.

Students who have been granted Settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans.

Students who have been granted Pre-settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans.

£14,450*per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

The tuition fees for international students studying Undergraduate programmes in 2025/26 are £14,450 per year for a full-time course. This fee is set for each year of study.

The University of Chester offers generous international and merit-based scholarships, providing a significant reduction to the published headline tuition fee. You will automatically be considered for these scholarships when your application is reviewed, and any award given will be stated on your offer letter.

For courses with a Foundation Year, the tuition fees for Year 1 are £10,750 and £14,200 for Years 2-4 in 2025/26.

For more information, go to our International Fees, Scholarship and Finance section.

Irish Nationals living in the UK or ROI are treated as Home students for Tuition Fee Purposes. 

The University of Chester supports fair access for students who may need additional support through a range of bursaries and scholarships. 

Full details, as well as terms and conditions for all bursaries and scholarships can be found on the Fees and Finance section of our website.

Who You'll Learn From

Dr Cian Quayle

Associate Professor
Dr Cian Quayle

Lynne Connolly

Senior Lecturer
Lynne Connolly

Dr Tim Daly

Senior Lecturer
Dr Tim Daly

Stephen Clarke

Lecturer in Fine Art, Graphic Design and Photography
Stephen Clarke

Your Future Career

Job Prospects

During the course, students have the opportunity to meet with practitioners, curators and writers, who provide invaluable advice and insights. These experiences help you to move into a diverse range of photography careers, including art practice, documentary and fashion, as well as specialist areas such as medical illustration and cinematography.

Careers service

The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.

Careers and Employability aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.

We are here to help you plan your future, make the most of your time at University and to enhance your employability. We provide access to part-time jobs, extra-curricular employability-enhancing workshops and offer practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications and mock interviews. We also deliver group sessions on career planning within each course and we have a wide range of extensive information covering graduate jobs and postgraduate study

Enquire about a course