Photography: Degree Information

MCAD’s photography major challenges you to consider photography as a way of knowing the world.

To this end, you become well-versed in the history, contemporary practices, and cultural impact of the medium. You are provided with a full range of technical skills that will serve you in both the applied and fine art fields. You are encouraged and expected to explore your ideas from a personal perspective and with rigor.

From your first compositions and critiques to real-world work experiences, through in-person and online classes, the BFA curriculum is a systematic process that transforms you from an MCAD student into a creative professional.

Year One: MCAD Community

Develop your place in the MCAD community through classes, critiques, student activities, and more
Explore your major options
Take foundation classes

Studio: technical skills and work ethic
Liberal arts: art history and vocabulary

Year Two: Focusing Interests

Declare photography as your major
Build concentrated photography skills, both conceptual and technical

Year Three: The Community of Practice

Take electives outside of photography courses
Prepare for your transition from student to working professional
Successfully complete your Junior Review
Gain practical, real-world experience through a required internship
Choose to study abroad or elsewhere in the U.S.

Year Four: The Professional World

Deepen your investigation of and commitment to your body of work
Participate in the Emerging Talent Showcase and share your work with potential employers
Develop and complete a semester-long project to culminate in the Commencement Exhibition

Photography Major Outcomes

Reference photographic history and theory, the relationship of photography to the visual disciplines, and the central position of photography in twenty-first-century visual culture.
Demonstrate skills in the use of photographic tools, techniques, technologies, and processes sufficient to work from concept to finished work.
Explain aesthetic and commercial applications of photographic techniques.
Exhibit professional practices in terms of workflow and project management, including exhibition design, photobook production, and internet display.

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Course Descriptions:

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Required Courses 51

PH 2000 Photography 1 3

This class introduces students to important ideas and work from the history of photography as a means of contextualizing and articulating their own work. Utilizing digital photography workflow, Introduction to Photography moves from camera operation through Photoshop processing to various output formats from web to paper. Emphasis is placed on the way decisions made at each step of this process contribute to photographic form, function, and meaning. Introduction to Photography consists of technical demonstrations, readings, visual lectures, and group and individual critiques.

Prerequisites: Foundation: Media 1

PH 3060 Digital Photography Studio 3

This course provides students with an opportunity to extend their knowledge and expertise of digital image making beyond what they have applied in previous photography classes. Through a series of in-depth demonstrations and lectures, students examine advanced issues of image capture, image enhancement, and image output. The course contains a series of assigned exercises and projects including a semester-long photographic portfolio project.

Prerequisites: Foundation: Media 2

PH 3015 Photography 2 3

This course is a thorough exploration of the materials, processes, and techniques of analog photography. Students acquire a thorough working knowledge of roll film and large-format photography. This course emphasizes advanced understanding of negative exposure, film processing, tonal-range manipulation, digital scanning, and large-format output. Contemporary issues and concepts are explored through reading, visual research, and discussion and then applied through a series of visual problems. Students are evaluated on individual projects, critiques, a final portfolio, discussions, and quizzes.

Prerequisites: Photography 1

PH 3035 Documentary Style 3

This course is an introduction to documentary traditions and contemporary considerations in photography. Students access difficult subject matter and learn the ethics of real-world engagement through several long-term projects undertaken in the course. Students learn to research and write about their subject matter while using DSLR, analog, or video cameras to complete their assignments. Historical and contemporary issues are explored through readings and discussions. Students are evaluated on individual projects, critiques, a final portfolio, discussions, and quizzes.

Prerequisites: Photography 1

PH 3055 Photographic Systems 3

This course is designed to develop and expand the strategies of photographic representation through projects, readings, writing assignments, critiques, and visual image presentations. Photography is explored as a visualizing medium for related fields: sculpture, performance, literature, science, psychology, social media, etc. Contemporary interest in the materiality of photographic processes including non-camera image making and abstract photography are also explored. Attention to display possibilities as a means to construct context and shape meaning is emphasized. Digital and analog imaging techniques introduced in Photography 1 are further explored.

Prerequisites: Photography 2, may be taken concurrently

MA 3045 Studio and Set 3

This course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the aesthetic, technical, theoretical, and conceptual issues related to artificial lighting used in the various aspects of still and moving image production. Technical information covered includes portrait lighting, studio set lighting, architectural lighting, electronic flash, continuous light, camera movement, blocking for actors, and color compensation. In addition to the technical and practical aspects of this course, students are expected and encouraged to develop a personal aesthetic and a conceptual foundation for their images.

Prerequisites: Photography 1, or Introduction to Animation, or Introduction to Film, or Web + Screen

MA 4000 Professional Practice 3

The primary focus of this class is to provide media arts students with the tools that will enable them to enter professional practice immediately following graduation. Each student is required to produce a polished resume, artist statement, website, professional identity system, and portfolio. Topics include long-range goal creation and planning; financial, legal, and other business considerations; grant writing; and communication and marketing skills involving verbal, written, and visual presentations. Topics are presented through lectures, critiques, and presentations by experts in the field.

Prerequisites: Junior standing

PH 4010 Internship 3

Internships provide an opportunity for students to gain practical experience in a particular career area and valuable on-the-job skills. Internships may be arranged by the director of career development or initiated by students. All internships must be preapproved through the MCAD Career Development Office and by the chair of the department. For an internship to be approved, a mentor relationship and learning experience should exist beyond a simple employment opportunity. 3-credit internships require working 135 hours at the internship site and keeping a journal of hours and activities.

Prerequisites: Successful Junior Review

PH 5010 Advanced Photography Seminar 3

This course is designed to enable and support students working on independent projects in photography. Students are encouraged to articulate concerns and shape them into a body of work. Appropriate advanced technical skills and readings are introduced with particular attention to verbal and written critical skills. Critiques, image lectures, discussions, technical demos, student presentations, journals, and exhibition/publication submissions encourage individual investigation and creative expansion.

Prerequisites: Successful Junior Review

PH 5100 Senior Project 6

During senior year, each media arts major is required to develop and complete a substantial body of work in their major. This course provides a forum for the critical evaluation of this work and curatorial guidance in preparation for the Commencement Exhibition. Course content includes critical readings, position paper, individual and group discussion, school presentation, and informational meetings.

Prerequisites: Successful Junior Review, senior standing

AH 1701 Introduction to Art and Design History 1 3

This course familiarizes students with the major stylistic, thematic, cultural, and historical transformations in art history from prehistoric times to the nineteenth century. Students develop critical tools for the interpretation and understanding of the meaning and function of art objects, architecture, and design artifacts within their original historical contexts. Classes are primarily lecture with some discussion.

AH 1702 Introduction to Art and Design History 2 3

This course introduces students to issues in modern art, popular culture, and contemporary art and design. Topics may include the expanding audience for art, the transformation of the art market, the impact of new technologies, the changing status of the artist, and the role of art in society. This course is taught as a seminar with some lecture.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Art and Design History 1

Art Historical Contexts3

Select one of:

AH 2101 Interrogating Post Modernity: The Fine Arts Since 1945 3

This course introduces students to global fine arts production (drawing, painting, sculpture, artists books, performance, public, and socially engaged) since 1945. Using a series of case studies this class examines the historical, theoretical, and aesthetic developments in and relationships between fine arts media. Students engage with a combination of primary and secondary texts, apply visual analysis skills, contextualize artworks, and investigate various political and aesthetic points of view.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Art and Design: History 2 (may be taken concurrently) or instructor permission

AH 2103 Applied Arts and Designed Objects 3

This course traces the history of applied arts and design objects through furniture, products, packaging, and multidimensional forms of graphic design. Students examine applied arts designed objects as part of an evolving human culture of habit, convenience, and status. Various movements and styles within the histories of design genres, as well as the processes and manufacturing of consumer objects are considered.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Art and Design: History 2 (may be taken concurrently) or instructor permission

AH 2105 Print Culture, Art, and Communication in the Age of Mass Reproduction 3

Since the advent of print and the printing press, text, image, graphic design, comics, and advertising have played significant roles in our cultural formation. This course examines the history of mass reproduction of printed matter from the advent of modernity, including books and periodical designs, to the present.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Art and Design: History 2 (may be taken concurrently) or instructor permission

AH 2107 Photography, the Moving Image, and Digital Culture 3

The production and reproduction of static, moving, and digital images have grown from work produced by an exotic technology used only by specialists to a socially ubiquitous representational form that generates millions of images, clips, cartoons, gifs, shorts, and films daily. This course surveys the development of (re)produced and moving images from their commercial applications, entertainments, and art to the all-pervasive media in which our popular cultures and artistic cultures exist. Individual artists and makers, as well as their works and contextualized movements within changing technological, economic, and institutional frameworks, are considered.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Art and Design: History 2 (may be taken concurrently) or instructor permission

varying Art History Electives 6

Take 6 credits of art history courses

Select one of:3

PH 3050 Photographic Book 3

The central goal of this class is the understanding and shaping of photographic meaning through book conception and production. Projects and exercises develop skills in sequence, image layout, image and text relationships, and physicality. A major portion of the class is devoted to producing a book of one's own work. Creative use of page layout software, refinement of digital printing techniques, and the use of online publishing software are explored. Activities also include critiques, image and book lectures, technical demonstrations, field trips, and student presentations.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Photography, one 3000-level photography course

PH 3070 Expanded Processes 3

This course concentrates on hand-coated photographic prints using historic and contemporary chemical recipes and high UV light sources, including the sun. Using large-format negatives, students utilize a variety of processes, including cyanotype, salt print, palladium/platinum print, gum print, and liquid light. Emphasis is placed on the chemistry, the safety, and the relationship of print syntax to photographic meaning.

Prerequisites: Large-Format Photography

Foundation Studies 19

FDN 1111 Foundation: 2D 3

Foundation: 2D is an introduction to creative thinking that develops students’ skills in research, observation, interpretation, and self-expression. An emphasis is placed on exploring new ways to read and see the world, as well as new ways to report on it. Students learn basic two-dimensional principles through the use of various media, tools, materials, and processes. As a result, students develop a visual and verbal language for analyzing, organizing, shaping, and communicating two-dimensional form and meaning.

FDN 1112 Foundation: 3D 3

This course is an introduction to understanding of visual creation for the development of knowledge, imagination, and perception. Students are introduced to basic three-dimensional concepts as well as materials and technical production processes. Classroom activities include shop demonstrations of tools and techniques, information, lectures, and discussions appropriate to promote the balanced fusion of practice and theory.

FDN 1211 Foundation: Drawing 1 3

Foundation: Drawing 1 is an introductory drawing course designed to prepare students for study in all majors of the college. Students develop basic drawing skills, including the ability to perceive and express visual relationships, organize a two-dimensional composition, and depict and manipulate form, space, and light. Students work from direct observation of still life, interior space, and landscape.

FDN 1311 Foundation: Media 1 3

Students are introduced to the digital resources at MCAD while exploring digital media and laptop computing. Areas covered include the Service Bureau, student servers, Media Center, and digital resources. Students discuss media and media artists as well as study various software applications including Adobe Photoshop and web development tools.

FDN 1312 Foundation: Media 2 3

Building on the skills acquired in Foundation: Media 1, this class takes up more advanced software applications. Through discussions and lectures, students explore various modes of media presentation, the power of moving images, and web work. Using a variety of software and hardware, students learn the basics of nonlinear editing, sound recording, and video recording.

Prerequisites: Foundation: Media 1

FDN 1411 Ideation and Process 3

Everything we make has its beginning as an idea, which takes form as an artist/designer makes a series of decisions to guide its creative evolution. This course is designed to help students explore the development of new ideas and their own process of making. Students also create visual tools to track their creative process from idea through construction and then to post production analysis. The course consists of discussions, critiques, exercises, and visual logs.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing

FDN 1412 Sophomore Seminar: Contemporary Practice 1

Practice is more than working methods: it’s the context, marketing, and creative space that maintain creative work. Contemporary Practice introduces students to the foundations, variety, and tools of a professional practice. Students upgrade websites and documentation, enter contests, and create professional presentations of their work. Classes consist of lectures, student presentations, and guest speakers from a wide range of disciplines.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing

Studio Electives 26

varying Studio Electives 26

Photography majors take 26 elective studio credits in any media they choose

Humanities and Sciences 24

HS 5010 Liberal Arts Advanced Seminar 3

The Liberal Arts Advanced Seminar enables students to pursue their own research and writing goals within a seminar setting. Projects are student-originated and consist of both a written piece and a public presentation. Class sessions are discussion-based and interactive. Group learning is emphasized.

Prerequisites: Junior standing

varying Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning 3

Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning classes increase students’ appreciation for the power of scientific and quantitative approaches to knowing the world.

varying Histories, Places, Philosophies 6

6 credits of histories, places, philosophies electives

varying Creative or Professional Writing 3

Creative or professional writing elective

varying Humanities and Sciences Electives 6

Humanities and sciences electives

EN 1500 Writing and Inquiry 3

Key to the creative and critical growth of the engaged, successful artist is participation in a culture of writing and inquiry. Students in this course focus on the kinds of writing they will encounter and produce in their coursework at MCAD and as creative professionals. Regular writing workshops allow students to concentrate on experiential and practical approaches to writing. Students explore a variety of texts and objects through class assignments, and then develop clear compelling essays employing a variety of rhetorical and narrative strategies.

Total Credits:

120

Photography: Degree Information
Bachelor of Fine Arts

Year One: MCAD Community

Year Two: Focusing Interests

Year Three: The Community of Practice

Year Four: The Professional World

Photography Major Outcomes

Considering Transferring?

Tell Me More about Photography at MCAD