Photography (N0211A310019)

Programme objectives

Continuing studies in photography are aimed at furthering the student's creative and intellectual development, deepening their knowledge and talents with regard to their individual focus and abilities. The Master's degree emphasizes intensive, deep and concentrated work on one's own education in close cooperation with teachers and leads students to the ability to reflect in the creative and theoretical field. The program encourages curiosity, an authorial approach with a deeply cultivated morality, honoring all things human, fosters discussion and a respect for other points of view while maintaining one's own integrity. It develops the ability to work with feedback, positive criticism, and dialogue as essential tools for the reflection and expansion of the creative personality and its work for the benefit of society.

Profile of a programme graduate

A graduate of the Master's program in photography is a complex, independent and creative personality and potentially, a successful visual artist. They are equipped with the knowledge, skills and competences that make them capable of creative independent or team work, reflection on their own work, critical thinking in relation to the use of a wide range of media, especially photography and technical images. They can approach visual art and visual culture from a theoretical, historical, technological, social, and/or philosophical perspective. In addition to developing their talents and acquiring additional knowledge, the student refines their awareness of the role of the artist in society, deepens their attitudes and opinions based on a humanistic outlook, takes an active interest in the pressing problems of the contemporary world and society, and creates or joins platforms that help solve these problems. Based on an understanding of existing systems, it seeks positions from which systems can be reflected and changed.

Expertise

Graduates of the programme:

• understands contemporary concepts and theories of photography and technical images;
• understands and can use research methods from the social sciences and humanities for the purposes of their own creative activity, in particular the issues of artistic research;
• can characterize contemporary trends in visual arts and media culture;
• is able to reflect critically and theoretically on their own work, which they can place in the context of art history and the contemporary art scene;
• is familiar with the ways in which exhibitions, galleries and festivals operate

Professional skills

Graduates of the programme:

• can creatively use a wide range of expressive means of technical images (especially photography and moving image);
• have craft skills in historical photographic techniques, classical photography and new media that can be used in their own creative work;
• can produce art projects and presentations using knowledge and skills of graphic design (e.g. gallery installations, exhibition catalogues, books, web presentations, social media);
• can work in creative teams with other artists, graphic designers or researchers from different fields of scientific knowledge;
• can create coherent artistic presentations at a high professional level;
• can create and use artistic strategies that reflect and transform established forms in a visual way, allowing for innovation and modification;
• can present and self-promote their creative output;
• are able to collaborate with curators, theorists and art critics; are prepared to actively enter the art practice;
• can realize art projects in the role of curator or artistic director of exhibition projects; can apply themselves within art-social platforms such as festivals, publishing houses, galleries, agencies, etc.

General competencies

Graduates of the programme:

• can participate in cultural and social events;
• are able to work in a team (e.g. film crew or art-research teams);
• are able to lead and prepare a sustainable programme for smaller organisational units, such as the organisation of periodic visual arts festivals, outreach campaigns, publication of professional periodicals, programme management of galleries;
• can initiate artistic projects, can integrate their work into contemporary exhibitions, and can seek opportunities for collaboration in European art and research projects;
• are able to carry out long-term work of their own related to authorial and artistic research;
• are capable of a deep-dive in to the understanding of different cultures with which they may engage in a constructive dialogue

Rules and requirements for creating study plans

The basic framework for the conception of curricula at AMU is created, firstly, by the AMU Internal Evaluation Rules, specifying the basic principles of the accreditation process; the current practice is further formally anchored by the AMU Accreditation Regulations; it defines the parameters common to all study programmes taught at AMU and at the same time delegates part of the responsibility for subject specifications (theatre, music, dance, film/television) to the faculties.

The curriculum is created in accordance with the AMU Study and Examination Regulations, which, based on the specifics of higher artistic education, defines the main compulsory subject within the typology of subjects: it is a key artistic (or talent) subject of a profiling basis, for which the assessment is always carried out on a commission basis and which does not allow for re-attestation. An important role in the assessment system is played in many disciplines by the so-called 'cloistered examination', i.e. the presentation of an artistic output before a committee: the principle is a comprehensive assessment of the student's knowledge and skills acquired in several sub-subjects and applied in a collectively produced work (e.g. in theatre disciplines). Another specificity of the curricula is the flexibility allowed in the distribution of credits (60 ECTS per academic year) between the winter and summer semesters, based in some disciplines on the more significant study and creative load associated with the completion of artistic outputs in the summer semester.

The theoretical and historical basis of the field is a compulsory part of all study programmes, in the case of academic programmes in the form of compulsory subjects of a profiling basis co-determining the profile of the graduate and forming part of the state final examination.

Each study plan also includes compulsory completion of discipline-specific English language instruction, with a minimum of 6 ECTS per study cycle.

Classification is awarded according to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), which was introduced under the Bologna Agreements of 1999 with the aim of unifying and integrating the higher education system in the European Union.

Courses completed by examination are graded on an A-E scale (F = fail), other courses are graded pass/fail; a combination of both certifications is not possible.

The standard length of a lesson is 45 minutes. The basic organizational forms of instruction are lecture, seminar, exercise, and workshop; the last three forms of instruction include, to varying degrees, the creation of artistic outputs. Teaching takes place either on a weekly basis or in the form of intensive blocks or workshops.

The curriculum automatically assumes prerequisites in the form of sequences of courses, indicated by an ascending number after the course title. This type of prerequisite is not specifically mentioned in Annex BIII for individual courses. If a course has a non-sequential prerequisite, it is explicitly listed in Appendix BIII for the course. In the same sense, we do not list prerequisites; these are determined by the mandatory inclusion of the course in a particular year and semester along with other courses. The curriculum does not make use of equivalencies.

The study plan consists of compulsory, compulsory elective, and elective courses. The first year is therefore more focused on systematic teaching, while the second year emphasizes independent artistic work.

For students starting in the academic year 2025/2026

The key compulsory courses in the 1st year are Artistic Research 1–4, taken as two courses per semester (Artistic Research 1–2 in the winter, Artistic Research 3–4 in the summer). In the 2nd year, the focus is on Diploma Seminar 1 and 2. Skills-based learning is developed through Graphic Design and Photography 1–4, and in the 2nd year further through New Media and Multimedia 1 and 2.

The programme offers students three groups of compulsory elective courses.

Each semester, students select one of the Studios (Documentary Strategies, Imaginative Photography, Intermedia, Classical Photography, New Aesthetics), from which they must obtain a total of 16 credits. Other compulsory elective courses include practice- and craft-oriented photography and art Workshops (9 credits). A further group consists of courses in History and Theory of Art and Social Sciences (6 credits).

Course of Study – Studio Choice

Applicants admitted to the Master’s programme select one of the specialised Studios of the Department of Photography (Classical Photography, Documentary Strategies, Intermedia, New Aesthetics, Imaginative Photography). Their choice is part of their Master’s project. After completing each semester, students may decide to change their studio, based on the development of their work and following consultation with both their current and future studio leaders. The Department encourages such changes, with the only limitation being the capacity of the chosen studio. Transfers are always made into the studio course corresponding to the semester of study (e.g. 1st year WS – Documentary Strategies Studio 7; 1st year SS – New Aesthetics Studio 8).

Teaching is carried out over twelve weeks in ZS and over fourteen weeks in LS.

In the summer semester, the last two weeks of teaching are the so-called „implementation“ weeks. During these weeks, teaching is not scheduled, but students work on completing their creative outputs or theoretically oriented written work according to an individual schedule.

Teachers of all subjects are available to students for individual consultations by mutual agreement between students and teachers.

General information about admission process

The purpose of the admission procedure is to test the applicant's ability to further develop their talents, theoretical knowledge and professional skills. The candidate applies for admission to the Master's programme by submitting an application form and a Master's project with compulsory theses.

The admission procedure is two-rounds. In the first round, the committee will assess the submitted homework without the presence of the applicant. The second round consists of the following parts: a test on art history and theory and a general cultural overview; a conceptual assignment on a given topic; an interpretation of the homework; and an interview during which the applicant will explain their motivation and vision for the study.

The admissions committee assesses the applicant's talent and knowledge requirements for study by means of a score with a minimum threshold. The Admissions Committee will propose applicants who have met this threshold to the Dean of FAMU for admission to study.

Applicability to other types of academic programmes

The Master's degree programme in Photography is a continuation of the Bachelor's degree programme in Photography. Graduates of the follow-up Master's programme in Photography are eligible to apply for admission to the doctoral programme in Film, Television and Photographic Arts and New Media.

The programme is also open to graduates of Bachelor's degree programmes from art schools of various disciplines, as well as from schools providing education in the humanities and social sciences. In principle, the programme is open to all talented and motivated graduates of undergraduate programmes in any field.

Parts of the state final examination and their contents

The GCSE consists of two parts:

1. The Graduate Art Performance
2. Written Thesis

State final exam

1. The Graduate Art Performance (linked to the courses Artistic Research 1-4*; Final Examination 1-4; Exhibition Project 1-3; Author's Presentation; New Media and Multimedia 1, 2; Preparation for the Artistic Part of the Final Project; Graphic Design and Photography 5-8)
2. Photography book (related to the courses Graphic Design and Photography 5-8)
3. Thesis defense (related to Master Thesis Seminar 1, 2)
4. Theoretical examination in the history and theory of photography (related to the courses Texts and Contexts 1, 2; Master Thesis Seminar 1-2)

In the theoretical oral examination, two questions/topics are drawn (see list of topics below). The student has 30 minutes to prepare independently. The examination consists of two parts:

• Theoretical oral examination - lecture: a coherent presentation by the student in the form of a ten-minute lecture on the first topic drawn. Additional questions from the committee members are asked after the lecture. The lecture does not have to exhaust the topic systematically; the student should present his/her approach to the topic and combine historiographical data with theoretical opinion. It is advisable to choose a few specific examples (artists, theorists, etc.) on which the student will demonstrate his/her attitude and understanding of the problem convincingly.
• Theoretical oral examination - debate: Debate with the members of the committee on the second topic drawn.

*Artistic Research 1-4 courses replace the Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter Master's Practical Class courses starting 2025/2026.

Thematic areas of the theoretical oral examination

1. Specificity of photography and intermediality
2. Reproducibility (graphic, photographic and digital reproduction techniques; the problem of reproduction and documentation of art)
3. Photographic portraiture and the problem of identity in modern and contemporary times
4. Objectivity as an epistemic ideal: scientific photography
5. Photographer as witness: ethical and political dimensions of photography
6. Vernacular (amateur and commercial) photography
7. Apparatuses and machines of vision: the technical conditions of photography
8. Art as post-production: found, appropriated, recycled, archived photographs
9. The photographic canon and its institutionalization (historiography, exhibition, market)
10. Photography and new media (remediation, calculated and operative images, technological convergence)

The list of literature on SZZ is published on the department's website: https://photography.famu.cz/en/exam-history-and-theory-photography

Other academic duties

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Characterisation of professional practice

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Anticipated job placement for graduates (typical employment)

Due to the systematic care and attention given to their talent, the graduate is an artistic personality or professional with a solid educational foundation and the potential for further creative growth. In addition to various opportunities in different genres of photography (artistic, documentary and documentary, reportage, advertising, fashion, portrait, industrial or scientific photography, for example), they are also equipped for publishing, curating, teaching and collaborating on audiovisual works. Furthermore, they can work as a freelance visual artist, team photographer, freelance photographer or art director. Graduates can also find employment in scientific projects or within various cultural platforms (galleries, magazines, festivals, agencies, etc.). Graduates can continue their studies in the doctoral programme at FAMU or in doctoral programmes of other Czech or foreign schools.