Master of Photography

You will have access to a range of specialised photographic facilities to support your area of practice; including shooting studios, professional capture equipment, post production editing facilities, computer labs and fine art large format printing technologies.

Learning in this program is a balance between practical studio-based activities and theoretical reflections upon contemporary photographic art and culture. A strong emphasis is placed on guided, self-directed learning and independent research to develop your individual photographic practice and locate your work within an appropriate theoretical context. Your individual projects are developed in consultation with an academic advisor. 

Regular engagement with academic staff and your peers in cross disciplinary group tutorials and critique sessions will assist you in refining your photographic practice and clarifying appropriate concepts, materials and methodologies to produce resolved works. 

Lectures, seminars, presentations, and field trips to public, commercial and artists-run galleries and culture resources will expand your understanding of contemporary photographic practice and complement the studio-based learning within this program.

Assessment in this program models professional practice in the creative fields, ranging from the presentation of photographic folios, reflective reports, curating and critiquing exhibitions, essay writing to contextualise and locate your work within the cultural and creative industries, documentation of processes and the development of an Appropriate Durable Record.

RMIT has many close links with photographic and aligned creative industries which take a variety of forms. Academics are professional photographers, photo-journalists, artists, editors, writers and curators maintaining strong linkages within national and global photographic practice and the community.

External industry experts and speakers are regularly engaged to speak to students through a number of forums, and international study tours are available.

RMIT holds existing and longstanding partnerships and connections with the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Centre for Contemporary Photography, the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) and many other institutions.

Work integrated learning

You’ll draw on expertise from photography industry professionals through weekly forums that examine various issues, opportunities and perspectives of the industry and models of contemporary art practice.

Through a professional practice seminar series, you will develop a proposal for an arts industry body that will be assessed by an expert with extensive experience in government and non-government galleries, funding bodies and publishers. The arts industry expert will provide feedback that you’ll have the opportunity to incorporate into your final proposal. 

RMIT’s School of Art has a long tradition in and focus on international engagement. The awards available assist graduates to build international experiences into their practice and emerging careers.

SITUATE

SITUATE is a residency program in the School for artists, curators and researchers, and honours students (along with postgraduate students) may apply for this program. SITUATE connects people through art by creating onsite real-time opportunities for creative experimentation, cross-cultural dialogue and global mobility. SITUATE manages a series of Reciprocal Residencies where we send RMIT affiliated and Australian artists overseas and receive artists from the partner organisations. Exchanges include:

• The Austrian Arts Residency Exchange

• The Canadian Indigenous Arts Residency Exchange

• The Taiwanese Arts Residency Exchange

• The Japanese Arts Residency Exchange

iAIR

The School of Art has a longstanding global focus provided through many activities, but particularly the International Artists in Residence program iAIR Program, which provides students with access to international artists and academics who often feature as guest lecturers throughout the year.

You’ll have the opportunity to apply for overseas art residencies, which have placed previous students in East China Normal University in Shanghai, China; Krems, Austria; Tokyo Wondersite, Japan; and the University of Lethbridge, Canada.

Other opportunities

RMIT’s Global Experience Office (GEO) supports students to undertake exchange or short-term mobility activities with over 165 partner universities worldwide.

Half of the program is dedicated to studio time, making your studio central to the learning environment. Individual photographic practice will be complemented by guest lectures, workshops and studio visits by international and local industry professionals.

Your creative research will encourage you to explore new ways of creating and skills for continual innovation, while critical frameworks will help you to develop your knowledge in building a sustainable enterprise and practice around your art.