The photography industry is complex and competitive. To succeed, you need a course that pushes you further than simply mastering your technical skills, deepening your photographic knowledge and ability to innovate.
With Falmouth Flexible you’ll draw on other disciplines, build international connections, and explore wider contexts to engage meaningfully with this technologically and socially evolving medium. Through a range of activities including live briefs set by real clients, you’ll develop the professional skillset to make your mark in the industry, ready to join our rich legacy of accomplished and award-winning graduates.
You will:
As well as an internationally recognised postgraduate qualification, as a successful graduate you’ll leave the course with a body of work strong enough to take you to the next stage in your career and sustain your practice beyond.
This MA is designed to enhance your artistic, critical, and professional skills, regardless of where you are in your career. Live briefs with real clients will equip you with the skillset, experience, and connections to thrive in this demanding and competitive industry.
You’ll be challenged to interrogate your practice and develop your creative voice. By experimenting with new materials and techniques, you’ll push your technical abilities and creative boundaries to excel as a specialist.
As well as joining our own collective of artistic minds, designers, and makers, you’ll expand your creative circle even further, becoming part of a global network of practitioners and finding your place within the wider photography community.
"I'm very grateful for the diverse backgrounds of my tutors and the references mentioned in the modules, this has opened my eyes to wider range of practices, approaches and methodologies in photography."
“As a working photographer it's difficult to dedicate a year or two years to doing a course so I needed to do something that was flexible, that I could do around my own work. The flexible MA at Falmouth was the perfect choice."
Please note the module orders are subject to change.
You will need to complete four 30-credit modules and one 60-credit project (180 credits in total). All modules on the course are compulsory and must be passed in order to complete the award.
You will need to complete four 30-credit modules (120 credits in total). All modules on the course are compulsory and must be passed in order to complete the award. A dissertation (major project) is not required.
Positions and Practice (30 credits)
This module enables you to locate your practice within the broad contexts of professional contemporary photography.
You will consider the importance of research as a fundamental aspect of contemporary photography in both academic and industry contexts, and critically reflect on core themes in contemporary visual culture.
Through discursive activities with faculty staff and peers, as well as self-directed research and personal reflection, you will analyse your practice in relation to specific themes, and articulate your practical and conceptual motivations and intentions as an image-maker.
Informing Contexts (30 credits)
'Informing Contexts' aims to increase your understanding of how contemporary practice is enriched through critical and theoretical contextualisation, helping you develop an informed and sophisticated photographic practice.
The module will introduce you to a number of themes and debates that are fundamental to the study of the image, such as debates around looking and subjectivity.
You will also consider your own practice in relation to historical, philosophical, and ethical perspectives around photography and visual culture.
Sustainable Strategies (30 credits)
This module considers the different contexts in which the photography is published, and how its form influences how it is received and understood by audiences.
You will explore the many creative strategies involved in the production, resolution, and publication of photographic work, and consider the possibility of interdisciplinary approaches in the making and presentation of your own creative output.
As you study, you’ll also devise strategies and workflows that are conscious of material consumption and work towards professional, and ecological and environmental sustainability.
You’ll be encouraged to experiment with new materials, processes, and creative strategies as appropriate to your specialism.
Collaboration and Professional Locations (30 credits)
‘Collaboration and Professional Locations’ strives to increase your understanding and appreciation of the roles, relationships, and responsibilities that can play a major part in progressing and sustaining your professional practice.
As part of this, you will be encouraged to undertake commissions and work placements during this module, and to devise or engage in photography and visual arts initiatives relevant to your work.
You’ll also have the opportunity to collaborate on a live brief with a small group of peers. These briefs will be set by clients and allow you to gain experience with real world, industry challenges.
Final Major Project (MA only) (60 credits)
This module provides you with the chance to produce a critically and professionally informed research project and deliver it to a public audience.
Initially, you will submit a proposal outlining a scheme of work and the critical contexts surrounding your project. You’ll then work continuously on the module over the course of two study blocks.
The project will be your opportunity to demonstrate increasing autonomy in respect of your research capabilities, alongside support from your supervisor.
You will also continue to benefit from the programme’s ongoing series of guest lectures by leading contemporary practitioners and industry experts.
Want to learn more about any of the modules?
Get in touch with our expert Course Adviser team. They’ll be able to answer all your questions about the programme, our application process, funding options, and more.
Positions and Practice (30 credits)
This module enables you to locate your practice within the broad contexts of professional contemporary photography.
You will consider the importance of research as a fundamental aspect of contemporary photography in both academic and industry contexts, and critically reflect on core themes in contemporary visual culture.
Through discursive activities with faculty staff and peers, as well as self-directed research and personal reflection, you will analyse your practice in relation to specific themes, and articulate your practical and conceptual motivations and intentions as an image-maker.
Informing Contexts (30 credits)
'Informing Contexts' aims to increase your understanding of how contemporary practice is enriched through critical and theoretical contextualisation, helping you develop an informed and sophisticated photographic practice.
The module will introduce you to a number of themes and debates that are fundamental to the study of the image, such as debates around looking and subjectivity.
You will also consider your own practice in relation to historical, philosophical, and ethical perspectives around photography and visual culture.
Sustainable Strategies (30 credits)
This module considers the different contexts in which the photography is published, and how its form influences how it is received and understood by audiences.
You will explore the many creative strategies involved in the production, resolution, and publication of photographic work, and consider the possibility of interdisciplinary approaches in the making and presentation of your own creative output.
As you study, you’ll also devise strategies and workflows that are conscious of material consumption and work towards professional, and ecological and environmental sustainability.
You’ll be encouraged to experiment with new materials, processes, and creative strategies as appropriate to your specialism.
Collaboration and Professional Locations (30 credits)
‘Collaboration and Professional Locations’ strives to increase your understanding and appreciation of the roles, relationships, and responsibilities that can play a major part in progressing and sustaining your professional practice.
As part of this, you will be encouraged to undertake commissions and work placements during this module, and to devise or engage in photography and visual arts initiatives relevant to your work.
You’ll also have the opportunity to collaborate on a live brief with a small group of peers. These briefs will be set by clients and allow you to gain experience with real world, industry challenges.
Final Major Project (MA only) (60 credits)
This module provides you with the chance to produce a critically and professionally informed research project and deliver it to a public audience.
Initially, you will submit a proposal outlining a scheme of work and the critical contexts surrounding your project. You’ll then work continuously on the module over the course of two study blocks.
The project will be your opportunity to demonstrate increasing autonomy in respect of your research capabilities, alongside support from your supervisor.
You will also continue to benefit from the programme’s ongoing series of guest lectures by leading contemporary practitioners and industry experts.
Want to learn more about any of the modules?
Get in touch with our expert Course Adviser team. They’ll be able to answer all your questions about the programme, our application process, funding options, and more.
If you don’t know if you’re fully equipped to make the most of our rigorous masters-level study, we can help. Get in touch with one of our course advisors to see whether joining our BA(Hons) Photography (Top-Up) course prior to progressing to the MA would be more beneficial.
Studying on our Top-Up will allow us to work with you to ensure you have the best chance of achieving a 2:1, which in turn will lead to a guaranteed offer and place on the MA. Please contact us for more information on +44(0) 1326 332 125.
An honours degree or Level 6 equivalent qualification.
A digital portfolio of your current photographic practice. The portfolio should indicate both your technical aptitude and the quality and sophistication of your practice.
You shouldn’t attempt to encompass a range of styles and genres of photography, but rather try to give the admissions team a sense of your practice specialisms and your interests as a practitioner.
You should title or briefly caption each image in your portfolio, explaining - if necessary - how the image is indicative of your practice and why you have selected it.
IELTS - minimum overall score of IELTS 6.5 with at least 6.0 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening
TOEFL iBT (online test) - minimum of 88 overall and at least 21 in all 4 components
LanguageCert (online test) - a High Pass from the ESOL B2 Communicator test in reading, writing, speaking and listening (2 parts)
We accept a number of additional English language qualifications as well.
Candidates without a degree or formal qualification are also encouraged to apply. If you have prior learning or experience with this subject, you may even be able to apply for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL). You can learn more about this via our APL guide.
With Falmouth Flexible, you access your course content, interactions with other students and tutors, and learning resources through Canvas, our easy-to-use online platform.
You can access the course wherever you are in the world, and you can watch, pause, and rewind lectures whenever you want.
Engaging learning activities will help you apply theory to practice. They could include:
Concise online presentations to introduce key concepts
Small group and class discussions and crits to facilitate interaction and dialogue
Online critiques to test assumptions, ideas and to receive feedback from peers and tutors
Individual and group tutorials throughout the course
Independent study
Self-evaluation and peer feedback.
All assessments are taken and submitted online.
Assessment methods for the masters degree in photography can typically include:
Coursework assessment with no formal examinations
Oral presentations
Collaborations on live, client briefs
Projects, individual reports and public presentations
As one of our students, you’ll have access to a range of services designed to support your studies and make your time with us as enjoyable as possible.
Falmouth’s comprehensive online library of books, journals, and resources
A Student Advisor team to answer non-academic queries
Online software tutorials via LinkedIn Learning
The Students' Union community
Career advice, CV creation, practice interviews, and more via our careers platform
As a Falmouth Flexible MA Photography student, you'll also be entitled to a free student membership of the Association of Photographers.
[MUSIC PLAYING] - We started during the COVID time, when we couldn't meet. But otherwise, they have a policy to meet each other two or three times a year during a big conference or a big meeting, like Paris Photo or Unseen in Amsterdam.
- Yeah. All my work is outside. It's in the field. So I've got no need for a studio, notwithstanding the fantastic facilities that Falmouth has. But I'd echo what Hilde just said, actually.
Firstly, there are opportunities to physically meet up at symposiums down in Falmouth. And also, I went on a trip in 2019 with probably about 30 or 40 of us on the course to Arles for a few days. And that was good not only to see the work, but also just to network and exchange ideas.
But I have to say, throughout the course, or throughout the first four modules-- the first four taught modules in particular-- there was a very strong exchange of ideas in meetings, formally, organized through the course, and informally, as well. And even now, I mean, although we graduated in July, we actually finished our MA right at the end of-- let's get this right now-- right at the end of 2020, almost two years ago.
And since then, there's a small group of us that are still-- from our cohort-- that's still very much in touch through WhatsApp groups. And we also meet up from time to time as well.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So you've to be very organized. You've got to be very disciplined, as Hilde said just then. I don't know how it works now, but everything was being released at the end of-- on a Friday, for the following week. So you really had to be very, very disciplined, very organized with your diary.
But actually, I love reading-- the academic reading and reading around the subjects. That's something that interests me. We had to-- I don't think you'd have to do this anymore-- but we had to do a blog, a critical research journal. So that forced us to actually write about what we were learning about and so on and so forth, and also how we were developing our own ideas.
And it was all about organization and discipline. If your passion is there to do it, you can get so much out of this course. But it's not something that you can undertake lightly and think, well, I'll give it a few hours a week. It takes a lot more than that to really get the most out of it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
- I really was searching for the boundaries of photography. And I think it's a trend also. Because when I grew up, we had the analog photography. Then the digital came. And now a lot of people are researching beyond the flat image-- as my work becomes 3D and I did some experiments with augmented reality and with movements and with camera-less photography. And at the moment, the course is going also into sustainability. So they are the trends. And that's what I went through as well.
- What I really benefited from was an understanding of current practitioners who are relevant to the sort of work that I was doing. And that was a big gap in my knowledge. I kind of knew a few people, but I just got pointed in so many directions of my tutors, and also fellow students as well, of have you seen this person's work, have you seen that person's work? And that made me a better informed person-- I guess, student-- as I started to think about how I wanted my work to look itself. So that was a big, big benefit.
I have to say, some of the tutors-- not some-- all of the tutors on the course just seemed to have such a depth of knowledge of photographers and practitioners, and actually in many cases know them. And so then the ability for me to actually make contact with some of these photographers directly through Insta and what have you, through their websites, was really very, very helpful, indeed.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
- Three of the modules are with other cohorts. So people who are before or started after you. So you're meeting a lot of people. And all the photo festivals have online reviews to go to. And as Nick says, it doesn't stop. He has his book published. It's really cool. And everything comes from there.
So yeah, go to the weekly meetings. And also, we didn't touch on that-- there are also guest speakers almost every week during the modules. So that's also very cool. And they are recorded. Everybody is recorded. So you can meet [INAUDIBLE] it, see it, listen to it. So that's very cool as well.
- I think the fact that it's flexible, it's part-time over two years, so it gives you breathing space. And of course, there are the holiday gaps as well.
My best advice is, if you really want to do it, do it because it's a really exceptionally taught class. And the friendships you make around it are very important, and the networking and the contacts. And it also gives you an awesome-- if you're a member of the RPS, you automatically, through exemption, become an associate. I've now since become a fellow. So it really gives you even further credibility and credentials in the photography world.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Total course fee
£12,150 (including £250 acceptance fee)
Payment options
Payment methods
Payments can be made online or by phone, using a credit or debit card, or by bank transfer.
Please visit our fees and funding page for more information or call us on +44(0) 1326 332 125 to speak to a Course Advisor.
All students on the course are expected to have access to their own photographic equipment.
What this will consist of will vary according to your practice and preferred ways of working. Typically, this will mean a good quality DSLR plus the lenses you require.
You will also need to purchase the Adobe Creative Cloud and have a laptop/desktop capable of running these applications.
For further advice, please call us on +44(0) 1326 332 125 to speak to a Course Advisor or check out more ways to get in touch.
Application offers
We offer a range of bursaries, early application offers, and alumni discounts.
Loans
You may be eligible for funding from the UK Government.
Please visit our Funding options page for more information or call us on +44(0) 1326 332 125 to speak to a course advisor.
Total course fee
£12,150 (including £250 acceptance fee)
Payment options
Payment methods
Payments can be made online or by phone, using a credit or debit card, or by bank transfer.
Please visit our fees and funding page for more information or call us on +44(0) 1326 332 125 to speak to a Course Advisor.
All students on the course are expected to have access to their own photographic equipment.
What this will consist of will vary according to your practice and preferred ways of working. Typically, this will mean a good quality DSLR plus the lenses you require.
You will also need to purchase the Adobe Creative Cloud and have a laptop/desktop capable of running these applications.
For further advice, please call us on +44(0) 1326 332 125 to speak to a Course Advisor or check out more ways to get in touch.
Application offers
We offer a range of bursaries, early application offers, and alumni discounts.
Loans
You may be eligible for funding from the UK Government.
Please visit our Funding options page for more information or call us on +44(0) 1326 332 125 to speak to a course advisor.
At Falmouth we are continually rethinking online study to bring you the richest learning experience.
We understand the importance of learning with peers, which is why up to twice a year, you’ll have the opportunity to meet your classmates and tutors in person at our optional face-to-face events. From international photo festivals to hands-on workshops, they’re a chance to fully immerse yourself in the subject you love and share experiences with like-minded creatives.
Professional opportunities, mentorships, and lasting friendships can blossom from our face-to-face events. You’ll gain global perspectives, valuable feedback, and deepen your knowledge.
"The face-to-face events really help you to firstly meet the other people on your course, meet the academic team, meet support staff, but also appreciate the wealth of photography around the world."
Our graduates go on to achieve great things: from successful careers in travel, fashion, and editorial photography to becoming award-winning documentary photographers and internationally celebrated portrait photographers.
Talent and technical ability are vital, but we’ll also prepare you for the realities of life in the industry, encouraging you go out and gain first-hand experience with commissions, work placements, and a live brief project set by a real client. Past clients have included organisations such as Oxfam, the Royal Photographic Society, and the Wellcome Photography Prize. You’ll develop the professional and transferrable skills – from pitching to collaborating – needed to thrive in many fields of the creative industries.
In addition to the guidance offered by our tutors, you can also access RealWORKS, our careers and employability service throughout your studies, and for up to 5 years following graduation.
Our expert team will help you identify potential opportunities in the UK or internationally, prepare for job interviews, advise you on starting up your own business, and more.
Find out more about the careers available to you as an MA Photography graduate:
The Falmouth Flexible Graduate Show took place in London - meet some of the participants and see their incredible photography practice in our video.
MA Landings exhibition 2022
Discover how Photography graduates showcased their Final Major Projects and see work designed and curated by current students in the 2022 Landings exhibition.
See what current and former MA Photography students are up to in our latest @falmouthflexiblephoto Instagram posts:
Designed with employer-focused learning at the core, our MA Photography team work with global organisations, staff, and alumni to provide you with the breadth of experience and networks needed to accelerate your career. The team is based around the world and come from a range of backgrounds in professional photography.
We also invite guest lecturers to enhance what you're learning and bring the subject to life.
Here's a small selection of our previous speakers:
Geoff Dyer (writer)
Kalpesh Lathigra (photographer)
Mariama Attah (curator)
Julia Fullerton-Batten (photographer)
Silvia Rosi (photographer)
Lua Ribeira (photographer)
Amak Mahmoodian (photographer)
Anastasia Samoylova (photographer)
Charlotte Cotton (curator)
Step 1: Submit an online application form
Step 2: Submit a copy of your first degree certificate or Level 6 equivalent qualification and your IELTS certificate if English is not your first language
Step 3: Submit a digital portfolio of your current photographic practice. The portfolio should indicate both your technical aptitude and the quality and sophistication of your practice. You shouldn’t attempt to encompass a range of styles and genres of photography, but rather try to give the admissions team a sense of your practice specialisms and your interests as a practitioner. You should title or briefly caption each image in your portfolio, explaining - if necessary - how the image is indicative of your practice and why you have selected it.
Late applications may be considered if places are available. Find out more about applying:
In this month’s blog post we look at two recent books made in Greenland that focus on home and place with separate approaches.
These photobooks focus on travel in different ways, from the world of global tourism, to white saviours and the healing power of the natural world.
Russet Lederman, writer, editor, and photobook collector, discusses the new Women and the Photobook pop-up library created by MA students at Falmouth.