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Photo credit: Keri Dennison-Leidecker

Photography
BFA

As a photography major, you will explore photographic imagery in all contexts as you prepare for a professional career in the industry, develop your own photographic vision, and deepen your expressive communication. You will gain expertise in both analog and digital techniques, using multiple photographic formats in both still and moving imagery.

A degree in photography will prepare you for a career as a fine art and/or commercial photographer, photojournalist, videographer, filmmaker, photo editor, gallery or museum director, image consultant, graphic designer, web designer, publisher, art historian, curator, arts administrator, archivist, art director, photo educator, studio manager, professional printer, photographic retoucher, and more.

The BFA is a professional degree with concentrated areas of specialization, so you will take more studio art courses than you would in a BA program. At UMass Dartmouth, you also have the advantages of a university education where you can diversify your studies and expand your career opportunities.

Your studies will include:

  • black & white darkroom photography
  • color photography using digital technology
  • video
  • large format photography
  • studio lighting
  • the history of photography
  • survey of contemporary photography
  • professional practice

Your work will culminate in a gallery exhibition and portfolio that demonstrates your individual style, technical proficiency, and aesthetic sophistication.

Working closely with faculty, you'll progress from preparatory courses to the senior seminar and BFA capstone course that will prepare you for a professional career in photography.

For the BFA in Art + Design: Photography, you'll complete 78 credits in courses related to your major, and 120 credits overall.

Course descriptions, schedules and requirements

Enhance your artistic abilities with a minor in photography. You'll develop your technical and aesthetic skills as you study traditional and contemporary artists, practices, and techniques.

For the minor, you'll complete 18 credits.

Photography student work

Student success

Marcus Howard '19 poses in front of a lake.
Marcus Howard '19

Photography alumnus works as a photo retoucher at Life is Good.

Internship placements

  • City of New Bedford
  • Fall River Herald News
  • Lakeville Community Access Media
  • Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
  • Southcoast Living
  • The Marble Collection

Graduate schools

  • George Mason University
  • Lesley University
  • School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
  • Simmons College
  • Virginia Commonwealth University

Career placements

  • Amherst College
  • Blazing Editions
  • Examiner.com
  • Fall River Herald News
  • New Bedford Standard-Times
  • Panopticon Imaging, Inc.
  • Precision Images
  • Regal Press
  • Ross-Simons
  • Spinner Publications
  • TD Garden
  • WHDH-TV

College of Visual & Performing Arts undergraduate median starting salary:
$55,000

NACE Data Collection of Class of 2023 Undergraduate Alumni

UMassD advantages

  • Internships: enhance your studies while gaining first-hand photography experience
  • Studio facilities include a 19-station black & white darkroom, film-developing facilities, fully equipped lighting studio, digital printing/scanning lab, and large-format cameras
  • Campus Gallery: opportunities to exhibit your work on campus

Rankings

  • 100% of photography majors were employed within six months of graduation - Class of 2023 NACE survey

Expand your opportunities

Master of Fine Arts in Visual Design: Continue your education with a master's in visual design. You can choose to specialize in digital media, graphic design, illustration, photography, or typography.

Master of Art Education: With an emphasis on how the arts are integrated into daily life, the MAE program leads to a single-level professional certification in Massachusetts as an art teacher in grades Pre K-8 or 5-12.

Photography faculty

Sarah Malakoff headshot
Sarah Malakoff
Victoria Crayhon headshot
Victoria Crayhon
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