Course Essentials
Welcome to the Photography BA at CCCU. This is a course built around developing your technical skills, creative voice, and visual thinking, supported by a team deeply committed to your development. You'll exhibit your work multiple times throughout the degree, collaborate with external partners on live briefs, and engage with industry professionals — all as an integrated part of your studies. Alongside this, you'll become part of a wider creative community, working alongside students from across the performing and visual arts. We're looking forward to seeing where your practice takes you.
Rob Ball
Course Director
Your Teaching Timetable
Teaching for your course will begin w.c 21 September 2026.
To help you plan your first few weeks, you can view an overview of the teaching activities for your course.
View your first semester teaching timetable.
On a mobile device, click the arrow next to “Search” at the top right of the page to view your timetable.
If your course is taught in groups, the overview will show activities for all groups. You will only need to attend sessions for your allocated group.
Once teaching begins, your individual timetable and group allocation will be available in MyTimetable provided you have completed online registration and created your computing account.
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Your Semester 1 Modules |
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Image Creation |
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Being a Photographer |
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Success Modules - you will complete 3 of these 5 credit modules* |
*Success Modules
Your Journey to Success at CCCU is a compulsory success module. You'll then choose two more Success modules from a choice of eight.
These modules are completed online (asynchronous learning) and are not timetabled, so they won't appear in your teaching timetable.
Key dates
Academic Calendar: Semesters
View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2026-27 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays.
Welcome
Photography at CCCU is a course for students who want to develop a rigorous, individual practice, one grounded in both technical skill and critical thinking. You'll work closely with Rob Ball, Carl Bigmore and Melanie King throughout your degree, receiving regular, hands-on guidance from a team with active professional practices.
The course is embedded within a wider community of creative practitioners: performers, musicians, designers, producers and dancers - and we encourage you to draw on that breadth. Alongside this, you'll work with external partners on live briefs, exhibit your work publicly, and build the kind of professional relationships that extend well beyond graduation.
Follow us on Instagram at CCCU Photo — instagram.com/cccuphoto
Getting started
Your Course
In your first semester you will study Image Creation and Being a Photographer, led by the course team. These modules lay the groundwork for your practice by introducing core technical and conceptual approaches that will develop across all three years. You'll be asked to start working on your own creative projects early on during the course.
Teaching takes place through a combination of studio sessions, seminars, workshops and one-to-one tutorials, all delivered on campus. The balance shifts depending on the module, but you should expect a mix of group critique, contextual lectures, technical instruction and self-directed project time from the outset.
In the first few weeks, teaching will focus on orientation, getting to grips with the facilities, meeting the team and establishing a working practice that will carry you throughout the degree. You'll be introduced to the studios and darkrooms and specialist equipment. You will also meet our excellent technical team.
Don't worry if things feel unfamiliar at first; the early weeks are designed to ease you in while getting you making work quickly.
Blackboard
Blackboard is the university's virtual learning environment, where you'll find module handbooks, assignment briefs, reading lists and any resources shared by the team. You'll also use it to submit work and access feedback. Make sure you log in before Welcome Week and familiarise yourself with where your modules are held - if you have any trouble accessing it, contact the IT helpdesk.
To help you prepare
Before you arrive, it's worth looking at the Learning Skills Hub. In particular, look at anything covering academic writing, referencing and research skills - these will support the written elements of your modules from the start.
It's also worth spending time looking at current photographic practice before the course begins - in books, at galleries and online. The pre-course reading list on this page is a good starting point.
In terms of equipment, you will have access to the university loans system which provides the essentials for photographic practice including digital and analogue cameras, studio lighting, lenses, tripods and a wide range of materials to support your process.
Your Must Do Tasks
Once you have been invited to register for your course, there are some key tasks you'll need to complete to make sure you are ready to become a CCCU student.
Registration invitations are sent towards the end of August. We'll send yours to the email address you used when you applied, so please check this inbox regularly to make sure you don't miss any important information.
Pre-course reading
Cotton, C (2020) The Photograph as Contemporary Art, Thames and Hudson.
Badger, G (2010) The Pleasures of Good Photographs, Aperture.
Langford, M, et al (2024) Langford's Basic Photography: The Guide for Serious Photographers, Routledge.
International student success programme
International students: don't miss out! Make sure you register for our international student success programme which provides practical advice on preparing to live and study in the UK.
Contact details
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