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Photography

BFA

BFA students learn to create images and distinctive stories that reflect their unique perspectives by engaging deeply with the photographic medium.

Location: On Campus (Boston)
Format: In-person, Full Time
Length of Program: 4 years
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography

Rooted in a spirit of experimentation, our curriculum gives students the tools to discover their own motivations as artists and to create images that communicate them meaningfully. Merging the traditions and possibilities of the medium—both analog and digital—students develop visual literacy and a rich appreciation for the complex language of images.

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What You’ll Learn

Sophomore Year – You’ll learn to use a large format camera with black and white film developed and printed in our darkrooms. You’ll achieve technical excellence in silver printing and begin to develop a personal vision. These first steps help you build the technical skills and visual literacy needed to start shaping your own artistic voice.

Junior Year – Here you’ll dive into digital capture, color management, and wide-format inkjet printing.  You’ll also explore bookmaking, photobooks, and alternative processes, giving you tools to tell stories in new and creative ways.

Senior Year – Your senior year is all about bringing your vision together. Your focus shifts to extended projects, portfolio development, and crafting artist statements. You’ll present your thesis projects in a gallery exhibition and produce a professional catalog.

You’ll be taught by practicing artists and visiting professionals who are nationally and internationally recognized. At the end of each semester, you’ll present your final work to a panel of faculty and accomplished guest artists, curators, and writers. 

 

BFA Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the Photography BFA program are expected to be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes.

  • Develop visual, conceptual, and aesthetic expertise
  • Learn black & white analog film and paper techniques
  • Know color theory and color perception
  • Develop digital media competence
  • Gain aptitude with medium and large format and digital cameras and accessories
  • Understand photographic history
  • Become familiar with contemporary practices in photography
  • Gain an understanding of professional practices
  • Develop an ability to conduct critical analysis and articulate meaning, content, and ideas
  • Exercise the discipline of studio practice
Program Chair
Billie Mandle Chair, Photography

Career Outcomes

BFA students gain the skills and experiences needed to pursue a successful career and are equipped with the creative agency, analytical skills, and discipline needed to pursue their vision.

Our alumni exhibit and publish their work with impressive regularity and win eminent awards and grants such as the Fulbright Fellowship and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.

Career Paths

Fine Art Photographer, Editorial Photographer, Commercial Photographer, Fashion Photographer, Educator, Entrepreneur, Photography Editor, Digital Asset Manager, Publisher, Creative Director, Multimedia Artist, Museum Professional.

Internships

Museum of Fine Arts Boston, WGBH, Daylight Books, Abelardo Morell STudio LLC, Barbara Bosworth, Sage Sohier Photography, Panopticon Gallery, Musee Magazine, Boston Cyberarts, Griffin Museum of Photography, Artists for Humanity, Bodega LLC

Alumni Employers

New York Times, TIME, The New Yorker, National Geographic, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, NYU, Kate Spade, Boston Globe, Rhode Island School of Design, Danforth Art Museum, Photographic Resource Center, Panopticon Gallery

A woman in an early 20th-century dress and large hat stands by a door, gazing confidently at the camera. The sepia-toned image has a soft, vintage quality—perfect inspiration for any Photography BFA portfolio.

Gertrude Käsebier Awards

The Gertrude Käsebier Awards recognize excellence in student photography each year across the undergraduate program. Five prizes are awarded annually across all three levels of the undergraduate program, including a travel award for a graduating senior.

Established in 2018 by an anonymous donor, the Gertrude Käsebier Photography Fund is intended to foster creativity, motivation, healthy competition, and attention to the qualities of the fine print within the Massachusetts College of Art and Design Photography department. Recipients are selected through a juried process led by both MassArt Photography faculty and an invited external juror who makes the final selection.

The awards ceremony, held each May, brings together students, faculty, and the broader College community to celebrate achievement and strengthen the culture of artistic excellence within the department.

Students holding books on a bright pink background

Annual Photo Book Auction

Each year, seniors in the photography department reach out to generous and talented photographers who donate signed copies of their artist’s books. This celebration includes a night of silent auctions, socializing, food, and a chance to view beautiful, rare photobooks. Proceeds from the auction support the senior photography catalogue of student work, published every spring semester to signify and archive the work of our graduating class.

Follow @massartphotobookauction 
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BFA/MAT Pathway

Undergraduate students interested in teaching K-12 may also explore a five year BFA/MAT program in which they major in Photography and in the fifth year undertake an Masters in Arts in Teaching degree through our esteemed Art Education department.

Art Education BFA/MAT
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Boston, MA 02115

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