Photography, Bachelor of Science
Program Purpose
Photography is an art that involves both a creative and scientific technique, by incorporating light to capture an image or series of images of a moment in time. Photography requires emotion, imagination, technical, and aesthetic skills to stimulate emotional responses from those who view the photos.
The Bachelor of Science in Photography, offered by the College of Technology at Wilmington University, offers students an opportunity to gain a broader understanding of photography. In this program, students will hone their skills by developing creative vision and passion combined with learning the science behind the art of photography – lighting, digital imaging, studio technique, and editing. Students will learn what is required to capture moments in different categories including sports, portraits, news, documentary, fashion, nature, food, and more.
Students who complete the Bachelor of Science in Photography program will qualify to pursue a variety of entry level jobs in photography, photo editing, school photography, and photojournalism. Some students may decide to pursue freelance photography or opening their own studio.
Students seeking a career in photography should be prepared to familiarize themselves with both Mac and Windows platforms. Photographers must also be comfortable working with digital cameras, computers, photo editing software, and high-quality printers.
Program Competencies
Students completing the Photography (B.S.) program will be able to:
- Appraise the needs of the audience and then speak in a clear and succinct manner. Research, construct, and deliver professional presentations using a variety of communication tools and techniques.
- Write with clarity and precision using correct English grammar: mechanics and usage. Correctly and ethically exhibit competence in writing for specific purposes, diverse audiences, and genres.
- Employ critical thinking strategies such as quantitative, qualitative, and scientific reasoning to analyze consequences and outcomes and then determine logical solutions.
- Employ legitimate and valid informational resources.
- Apply the ethical principles required of computer or designer professionals.
- Employ creative problem solving from project inception to completion.
- Develop a professional body of work and appropriate artifacts to provide evidence of personal vision and skills.
- Develop a digital imaging workflow that includes pre-assessment, image capture, post-processing, and ethical considerations of digital techniques.
Experiential Learning
The Office of Experiential Learning takes a 360◦ approach to experiential learning. Whether you come to Wilmington University with a vast amount of professional experience and are awarded Credit for Prior Learning (CPL), or you participate in a Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunity (Internships or Cooperative Education) embedded in your curriculum for credit, we provide a pathway to completing your degree.
Cooperative Education Option
The Cooperative Education option for the Photography program is an alternative to VFP 313 – Aesthetics of Film and DSN 490 – Internship.. Each co-op assignment is one semester long and normally the two co-op assignments span two consecutive semesters with the same employer. In order to be eligible, students must first have at least 60 credits, plus a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Students must contact the Office of Work-Integrated Learning and their Program Chair one semester before they would like to begin a co-op assignment. For additional information on cooperative education, please visit: https://www.wilmu.edu/coel/work-integrated-learning.aspx
Minimum Grade Policy
The Photography program has set a minimum passing grade of “C-” for the following courses: TEC 275, TEC 300, TEC 325, TEC 366, TEC 400, and TEC 407. Students receiving a grade lower than “C-” in any of these courses must retake the course.
Enhance your Degree with a Certificate
The College of Technology's digital media department, which is focused on giving students hands-on training and real-world skills across a multimedia platform, consists of six individual Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees: Animation and 3D, Game Design and Development, Graphic Design, Photography, Video and Film Production, and Web Design.
Each of these degree programs has been designed with three identifiable parts: Uniform First Year, Program Core, and 15 credits to be used towards a CoT Certificate. All students will begin their academic career with a uniform first year before they begin to focus on their selected degree core. After completion of the uniform first year, students will begin to enroll in their program core courses. Finally, students in each program will use 15 career-centered course credits towards earning a College of Technology Certificate as illustrated in the table below.
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Uniform First Year
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Animation & 3D Program Core Courses
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Game Design & Development Program Core Courses
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Graphic Design Program Core Courses
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Photography Program Core Courses
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Video & Film Production Program Core Courses
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Web Design Program Core Courses
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College of Technology Certificate Courses (options vary by program)
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Accelerated Graduate Certificate Option
Students in the Photography B.S. degree program may choose an accelerated option with:
Technology Project Management Graduate Certificate
Students selecting this option can complete both their undergraduate degree and the graduate certificate by completing 120 credits (105 undergraduate credits and 15 graduate credits). The five graduate courses (15 credits) needed for the graduate certificate would count as five courses (15 credits) towards undergraduate electives in your degree.
Students who complete the Technology Project Management Graduate Certificate also receive the benefit of completing five graduate level courses that count towards a Master’s degree in Information Systems Technologies (MS-IST). Students selecting this option are not required to pursue the MS-IST degree.
Admission requirements include:
- A minimum GPA of 3.25
- Completion of at least 60 credits towards your degree program
- A meeting with an academic advisor to submit an Accelerated Option Intent (AOI) form upon completion of at least 30 credits; and
- Recommendation of the Program Chair
Note: Students will not be eligible to register for graduate level courses until they have successfully completed at least 60 credits towards their bachelor’s degree and have an approved AOI form. Students must receive their B.S. degree in order to receive the graduate certificate.
Minimum Grade Policy: Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA in their graduate courses in order to earn the certificate.
Photography Curriculum
The Photography program has set a minimum passing grade of “C-” for the following courses: TEC 275, TEC 300, TEC 325, TEC 366, TEC 400, and TEC 407. Students receiving a grade lower than “C-” in any of these courses must retake the course.
General Education Requirements (39 credits)
Photography Core (63 credits)
College of Technology Certificate Electives (15 credits)
Students should choose a College of Technology certificate to fulfill this elective core. If not pursuing a College of Technology Certificate, students may choose from the following undergraduate College of Technology courses to fulfill their electives: ANI, CSC, DFM, DSN, GMD, ISM, MKR, SEC, TEC, UAV, VFP, VFX. Selecting an elective outside of this list will require approval of the Program Chair.
Free Elective (3 Credits)
Students with less than 16 transfer credits are required to take FYE 101 as one of their electives.
Completion Degree Requirements
What is a Completion Degree?
A completion degree is a personalized version of a bachelor's degree created exclusively for students who have completed an associate degree at an accredited institution. Completion degrees are available for most Wilmington University Bachelor of Science degrees. A student who expects to transfer a completed associate's degree should communicate with a Wilmington University academic advisor before registering for courses. A transcript with documentation of the conferred degree must be received by Wilmington University to confirm eligibility.
Note that a minimum of 120 combined credits are needed to satisfy the Completion Degree requirements, including both transfer credits and credits earned at Wilmington University.
Photography Completion Degree
The Photography completion degree program has set a minimum passing grade of “C-” for the following courses: TEC 275, TEC 300, TEC 325, TEC 366, TEC 400, and TEC 407. Students receiving a grade lower than “C-” in any of these courses must retake the course.
VFP 313 and DSN 490 may be completed as Co-Ops. Students must notify the Office of Work-Integrated Learning at least one semester in advance.
The following courses are prerequisites for the Web Design Completion Degree:
DSN 121 Basic InDesign
DSN 210 Basic Photoshop
DSN 235 Vector Drawing
HIS 230 History of Art and Design
TEC 215 Basic Photography
Accelerated Option with Graduate Certificate
Accelerated Option with Technology Project Mgt Graduate Certificate
The certificate requires 15 graduate credits. Students will complete IST 7060 and four of the six IPM courses listed. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA in order to earn the certificate.
Choose four (4) of the following:
| IPM 6000 | IT/IS Project Scope Development and Management | 3 |
| IPM 6010 | IT/IS Project Scheduling | 3 |
| IPM 6030 | IT/IS Project Risk Management | 3 |
| IPM 6040 | IT/IS Project Quality Management | 3 |
| IPM 6050 | Agile Project Management | 3 |
| IPM 6090 | Special Topics in IT/IS Project Management | 3 |