Bachelor of Arts [B.A] [Photography] From Royal Academy of Art, The Hague

In the first year of the Photography programme (the propaedeutic year) at the Royal Academy of Art The Hague, students receive a thorough introduction to these areas. Thereafter, students choose to complete the remaining three years in either Documentary or Fiction, positioning their work in one of these areas based on subsequent choices.

The department aims to train students to become self-aware and independent photographers, each with a recognisable visual language and personal vision, along with the ability to work independently, as well as on commission. They develop their own concepts and initiate projects. Their motivations, themes and ethical standards are clear to others. They know how to engage their clients or audiences and are creative in finding a business model for their work.

An important characteristic of our programme is that we use the contemporary professional field as central point in our educational approach. Students are given assignments resembling, or based on, professional assignments, and they are usually working on several projects simultaneously. We pay close attention to the ways in which students develop their initial ideas, which ultimately result in a series, complete with all the accompanying production activities. Another characteristic is the strong emphasis that is placed on the development of intellectual and visual qualities. We ask students to approach their subjects with curiosity and an open mind, and then to investigate them thoroughly. This requires an interest in the content, background and diverse ways of representing a subject.

In the process of investigation, students develop their own visual language and discover how their visions on various subjects and on the profession of photography relate to the visions of others. Our goal is to teach students how to become independent thinkers, constantly searching for authentic images from a personal perspective on both the medium and the world.

The dynamic curriculum consists of an alternating series of work discussions, seminars, workshops and lectures. Within a short period, students gain knowledge of various fields and develop skills to operate independently. Because their subjects are often situated outside the academy, students regularly work on location. In the Academy, they practise in studios and darkrooms, editing their images, working on prints and participating in collective work assessments and the preparation of publications and presentations. The students thus do not learn only from their lecturers, but also from their peers. The educational process is dominated by a commitment to continuous effort for research, authenticity, depth and professionalism. It is supported by a programme of electives and guest lectures by as well national as international professionals. Expertise from other disciplines is employed when necessary, allowing students to develop strategies for presenting their work optimally and in suitable contexts.

The primary goal of our programme is to train our students to become the professionals of tomorrow, connecting their own visual language with a professional way of working at an international standard.

Final qualifications for Photography

Final qualifications for Photography Graduates are expected to meet the following qualifications:

• Students are able to develop and implement distinctive imagery in a meaningful way resulting from their research and artistic ambition (creative ability)
• Students are able to contextualise and critically reflect on their own work and on work of others, and they are capable to utilise external feedback and positively implement this in their own work (capacity for critical reflection)
• Students are able to continuously investigate and analyse their own ambition, vision and working methods as well as the professional practice around them. Their innovate position constantly challenges the photographic medium in general (capacity for growth and innovation)
• Students are able to organise an inspiring and professional working ambiance. They are capable of practically organising their profession and are ambitious in marketing their work (entrepreneurial and organisational ability)
• Students know where to reach and how engage their audience and clients. Students are able to present their vision, research and work in a convincing manner, as well written as orally (communicative ability)
• Students understand how their work relates to the professional artistic and societal context (external awareness)
• Students understand group dynamics and are able to make independent artistic contributions to a collaborative work. Students are also capable of organising collaborating partners for their own practice (capacity for collaboration)