The BA (Hons) Top-Up in Photography, Media and Graphic Design offers a dynamic opportunity to refine your creative identity and develop the professional, technical, and theoretical skills needed to succeed in today’s competitive creative industries. This one-year course enables students from a Foundation Degree or equivalent Level 5 qualification to achieve a full Honours degree.
You’ll specialise in one of three creative pathways — Photography, Media, or Graphic Design — while engaging with a shared curriculum designed to strengthen your critical understanding, creative practice, and professional development. The programme combines conceptual thinking with practical application, preparing you for a successful career in the creative sector or for postgraduate study.
Pathways:
- Graphic Design
- Media
- Photography
Key Units:This module encourages you to explore the theoretical and cultural frameworks that underpin contemporary creative practice. You’ll critically engage with key debates, movements, and methodologies within photography, media, and design, developing a deeper understanding of how social, political, and technological contexts shape visual communication. Through essays, presentations, and research projects, you’ll strengthen your ability to analyse creative work and articulate informed, original perspectives on your chosen field.
Creative Practice allows you to experiment, innovate, and refine your artistic and technical skills within your chosen pathway. You will produce a series of exploratory projects that push your creative boundaries, exploring advanced techniques, media, and processes relevant to your specialism. This module supports the development of your personal style and visual language, encouraging conceptual depth and professional-level outcomes that demonstrate your readiness for industry or further study.
This module focuses on preparing you for your future career. You’ll develop a professional portfolio, website, or showreel to showcase your creative identity, as well as learn how to position yourself in the creative marketplace. Topics include self-promotion, networking, freelance practice, intellectual property, and working with clients. You’ll also explore potential career pathways, from independent practice to agency work, entrepreneurship, and postgraduate opportunities.
- Planning for Major Project
In this preparatory module, you’ll define the focus, scope, and aims of your final Major Project. You’ll undertake in-depth research, concept development, and project planning to ensure your creative direction is both conceptually sound and achievable. The process includes proposal writing, research documentation, and experimentation, culminating in a detailed plan that demonstrates critical awareness and professional-level project management.
The Major Project represents the culmination of your learning and creative development throughout the course. This self-directed project enables you to apply your technical skills, conceptual understanding, and professional insights to produce a substantial body of work within your chosen pathway. You will respond to a brief — either self-initiated or industry-related — demonstrating your ability to produce design, media, or photographic outcomes that meet real-world expectations.
You’ll critically evaluate your process, problem-solving approaches, and final outcomes, ensuring they are fit for purpose in meeting the needs of a client, audience, or industry context. The module encourages independence, creativity, and critical reflection — essential qualities for success in the professional creative industries.