Photography

Photography empowers you to create bold, persuasive visual statements that can inform and inspire. Images are powerful visual statements with the ability to sway opinions and change the world, yet few people think deeply about what photographs really are, how to read them critically, or how to effectively construct them in a persuasive manner. A firm knowledge of photography enables you to not just create compelling images, but also critically analyze and truly understand the ideas behind the photographs you create and see daily.

Photography students learn fundamental technical and aesthetic aspects of lens-based image production, alongside deep photographic theory that enables them to make powerful visual statements. Our curriculum also emphasizes essential visual literacy skills; instead of accepting photographs at face value, students learn how to analyze and discern the meaning behind photographs.

The Photography Program offers a range of degree options, which allows students to create a path of study that best aligns with their interests and aspirations. Students can obtain a Bachelor of Arts while majoring in visual arts with a concentration in photography or InterArts. Students can also pursue an interdisciplinary major combining photography with another area of study. Minors in photography and InterArts are also available.

The Photography Program offers a wide variety of lens-based image making courses. Students may choose to study 19th century photographic practices, film-based darkroom techniques, studio lighting, digital imaging, video, and AI-driven image construction. Classes are also offered in a host of genres including photojournalism, landscape, portraiture, the human figure, artist books, and digital mixed media. The Photography Program also offers a senior capstone course, which challenges visual arts majors to develop a body of work from their own ideas using their choice of media, culminating in an exhibit at the end of the semester.

One vital aspect of Loyola’s Photography Program that sets it apart from other photography programs is that it is firmly situated in a Jesuit, liberal arts university. Photography students at Loyola acquire all the skills necessary to make strong, persuasive visual statements, with the foundation of a deep humanities background. Our photography students do more than make beautiful images; they create profound visual statements with the power to reflect and change the human experience for the better.

Due to the small, hands-on, high-impact nature of our courses, students have ample opportunity to interact with our award-winning faculty and develop creative work that can be further refined through independent studies and other research and mentorship opportunities across campus. Students also have the opportunity to exhibit their work on and off campus, including peer-reviewed exhibitions, the annual student exhibition, and via public calls for entry across the region. Additionally, students enrolled in the visual arts capstone course exhibit their work in the university’s Julio Fine Arts Gallery.

The Photography Program is supported by substantial facilities, including two digital labs with multiple mural printers, a 16-station black and white darkroom, a dedicated alternative process darkroom, and a host of camera equipment, from large format film cameras to state-of-the-art digital cameras. The program maintains a fully outfitted 18’ x 24’ photographic studio, with an array of strobe and LED-based lighting instruments for both motion and still image capture.

The university also has its own gallery space, the Julio Fine Arts Gallery. The Julio Gallery features exhibitions from regionally and nationally renowned artists, as well as talented Loyola faculty. Photography students also have opportunities to present their work in the Julio Gallery in capstone exhibitions, the annual student showcase, and solo exhibitions.

Loyola’s Evergreen campus is situated in the heart of Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore has a thriving arts community with multiple internationally acclaimed art museums, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum, the American Visionary Art Museum, and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. Home to numerous art galleries, collectives, artist studios, and maker spaces, the region provides opportunities for students to interact with local artists.

Additionally, the world-renowned museums and galleries of Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia are less than an hour away by car or train.

Loyola maintains a robust study abroad program, with over 60% of undergraduates participating in the program by graduation. While there is not a specific study abroad location for the Photography Program, all the study abroad locations offer the opportunity to explore the photographic skills acquired at Loyola. Many study abroad locations offer students the ability to see influential art pieces in-person in their home country or in one of many world-class museums.

Photography students at Loyola have the opportunity to explore many internship and assistantship prospects in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., regions. Loyola photography students have worked with and/or assisted local photojournalists and photographers across a diverse array of specialties, including wedding, event, commercial, real estate, and portrait photography. Students have also interned at museums, news organizations, and galleries. On campus, students have interned with Loyola’s Office of Marketing and Communication and Loyola Athletics.

Our alumni have gone on to develop thriving careers as freelance photographers and graphic designers, start their own wedding and event photography companies, become published music photographers, work as real estate photographers, and work in galleries and museums as photographic specialists and collection managers.

Photography Program alumni have gone on to pursue a wide range of post-secondary education options including M.A., MFA, MBA, and Ph.D. programs. Recent graduates have pursued advanced degrees in museum studies, graphic design, journalism, photojournalism, primary education, psychology, and marketing.