Success only comes with a remarkable tenacity and individual flair. But will the class of '95 speak with a fresh voice, or will their efforts be clouded in the dreams of their masters? The recent plethora of various and variegated 'options' and 'modules' which go to make up most British qualifications has all but subjugated the identity of the true PHOTOGRAPHIC course. 'Media' has become the byword of the 90s, with many institutions - particularly the 'new' Universities created in the last two or three years from former technical colleges - jumping on the creative bandwagon to further expand their curricular base.
Today's graduates should not come out with a limited perspective; the career marketplace has become chameleon-like and there is more and more need for students to have a multi-faceted creative background. Thankfully, though, photography in its purest form is still fervently practised - but curiously, in many cases, where you would least expect to find it.
So what are the college and course options for the coming year, and where are those havens of pure silver?
For any potential student of photography in Britain, an essential prerequisite to formulating his/her future has to be a copy of the latest ADAR Handbook - the bible of the 'Arts' course (telephone +44 1432 266653). With every Arts course in the country listed, there is certainly the need for the general guidance notes, but what is perhaps the most useful item in this publication is a section that relates the first-hand accounts of students who have had recent experience of going through the ADAR process.
I contacted a number of the colleges that were listed as having Photographic courses, and a number that had Graphics courses with options to specialise in photography in the third or second and third years. I had decided to spread my net widely, to get as broad a picture of availability and content as possible.
Photography courses are available at either Higher National Diploma (more vocational/less academic qualifications required) or Bachelor of Art (Degree status) levels. The majority of colleges that I chose to contact were running HND courses - arguably with a greater applicability toward future employment. One such college, Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design, runs not only a two-year HND course but also a broad-based BTEC National Diploma, providing as their literature states, 'a grounding in the multiplicity of skills needed in the industry'. This course is set up specifically to take younger students from the age of sixteen who, on completion, may then wish to progress to the HND course.
Salisbury College on the other hand provides an 'in house' stepping-stone of another type. Instead of introducing students at the age of sixteen on a BTEC Diploma, they have opted for a two-year HND (intake age eighteen) to be followed by an optional one-year BA.
Looking around the country, Newcastle College and Berkshire College of Art and Design have very popular and highly-thought-of HND photography courses, no doubt due to their ability to attract respected professional practitioners on a 'visiting lecturer' basis. Falmouth College of Arts - better known for accomplishments on canvas and in stone - has a lively department in photographic communication that has produced some exciting work from the students.
There are of course those colleges that have traditionally been considered as 'photographic' colleges. Both the Kent Institute of Art and Design and Nottingham Trent University have been in the forefront of photographic education for over quarter of a century. Although recently renamed, they have remained loyal to the cause and continue to provide excellent facilities, propagating the highest standards - Kent within the framework of HND, Nottingham Trent with a BA (plus Honours).
Gwent College of Higher Education (it is now an associate college of the University of Wales) has since its inception been regarded as the place to study this particular genre (due to Magnum's David Hurn running the course - Editor). Not only is there a full-time BA Honours course offered, but also a part-time BA Honours course specifically designed for the mature student. The college is also presently hoping to achieve validation for a two year part-time MA course, being taught one day a fortnight with a proposed start-up date of January 1996.
By contrast, if you're a city slicker and prefer the buzz of the metropolis, then the London College of Printing School of Media offers a one-year postgraduate Diploma in Photojournalism (run incidentally by an ex-Gwent graduate). The benefit here is that your potential clients are literally round the corner and that the course tutors encourage their students to build up a network of contacts as they progress through the year.
Finally, if you feel more inclined toward a design-oriented style of photography, you might do worse than to apply to a BA Graphic Design course with a photography 'option' in the second and third years. I came upon just such a course at the Norwich School of Art and Design, and was surprised to find some of the best darkroom facilities I have encountered in any college. And some superlative photography. Now visit our Gallery of Student Work to see examples from many of these colleges and courses.