Photography (BFA)

Everyone has an opinion about a photograph. Anyone can take one. But the medium is deceptive. Behind photography’s mass appeal is a highly technical artistic discipline with distinct intellectual traditions.

Photography blends art and technology. When you study photography, you’re exposed to digital and film-based photographic practices. You’ll learn camera and darkroom techniques for colour and black-and-white prints, digital photography tools and printing skills. You’ll also take courses that give you:

• An historical and theoretical understanding of the medium
• Concepts and vocabulary to discuss photography critically
• A social and aesthetic base to look at photography's social and artistic impact
• A broad understanding of how to construct contemporary images

You’ll leave us as a fine arts photographer, able to control the camera to express yourself, to produce a coherent body of work and to take your skills into many creative enterprises.

A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree takes a minimum of three or four years (90 – 120 credits) of full-time study, depending on your academic background.

Program options

• Major in Photography (60 credits)

Photography is a discipline with a distinct artistic and historical identity. This program recognizes that contemporary photographic practice encompasses a rich diversity of formal and conceptual approaches.

As a Photography Major you will receive a strong historical and theoretical understanding of the medium. You will also acquire the concepts and vocabulary necessary for critical discussion of your own photographic work and the work of others. Emphasis is placed on photography's social and artistic ramifications.

Photography students have access to a full range of digital and analog outputs. Exposure to these techniques and technologies help to bring about a broader understanding of contemporary image construction and media specificity.

This program is available for Fall admission only.

Photography portfolio

Your work 

• Please include 15 to 20 images consisting of black-and-white and/or colour photographs.
• Your work should show evidence of both technical skill and conceptual development.
• The Portfolio Evaluation Committee prefers cohesive, well-edited portfolios that indicate an applicant’s specific interests and/or thought process.
• Work in animation, film or video may be submitted as supplementary material.  

Letter of intent 
Your letter of intent should be no longer than one page, written in English or French, and address the following: 

• What are your reasons for applying to this program? Discuss the particular area(s) within the field of photography that interest you. 
• Describe your educational background and any relevant experience. List all courses and workshops you have taken in photography (including where and when). 
• Discuss the conceptual unity of the portfolio contents and the context in which the work was produced (for example, in a course, for a specific event or exhibit, as part of a self-directed study, etc.). 
• What are your aspirations upon receiving your degree?

Your degree can lead to many paths such as:

• Working as a practising artist
• Working in individual studio or community photo collectives
• Editorial and curatorial work
• Teaching
• Graduate studies