London MA Program Advice

I did it back in 2000 when it was just a PG Dip. The first term was great. After that, it wasn’t really that useful. But I’m another of these “anti-education” types here on LS, I don’t really think photography can be “taught”, maybe mentored, certainly not theorised.

Savannah,

I did the program in 2006. It really all depends on where you are in your development. It is not really technically minded, so don’t expect more than an intro to Photoshop. You need to be very self-motivated to do the course. Many photographers have of course found their way on their own and used the $20,000 it would cost to do the program as a non-UK student to fund a long term project. Also, the pound is more than twice the dollar at the moment. . . living in London will cost you at least another $10,000 for the year. I have heard very good things about the ICP program although of course you do not get the MA degree in New York. It’s also possible of course to do a few 1-2 week photo workshops at various places around the world instead. Learning from the other students on the MA as well as the one-on-one tutortials with tutors and a few others can be helpful, but is an MA essential for becoming a great documentray photographer? I think not. As John says, and indeed Josef Koudelka does too, photography can’t really be taught—you either ‘have it’ or you don’t.

Best,

Davin