Photography
Express your vision of reality through the language of photography
Milan
On campus
ENG
First Level Academic Diploma in Photography
Language
English
Start date
October 2025
Frequency
Full time
Fruition
On campus
Duration
3 Years
Credits
180
Course Coordination
Carlotta Cattaneo Carter
Learn how to observe and interpret the world to create connections and provide new perspectives on the world, telling the story of ordinary life and extraordinary things. This is what the Photography Undergraduate Programme in English at IED Milano is all about
Over the three years, you will have the opportunity to expand your knowledge and vertical skills, preparing for a profession where experimentation and continuous practice are the key learning areas. This method will guide you towards achieving successful results, in an effort to introduce a new vision that can make people feel fully involved in the process.
You will have the opportunity to learn in depth about the photographic scenario, working on research and design projects and exploring the multiple opportunities offered by this profession: you will be able to explore the different fields of application, use multiple tools, and be inspired by the socio-cultural context and the many different aspects involved in this profession. You will work with your classmates and also with students from other IED programmes. You will make a journey together across human connections and the destination will be the unfolding of your lateral thinking, which will be fully revealed in your own idea of photography.
Eyes open on the world and on new things, a strong desire to know, to learn, to look around and try: if you can see yourself in this description, the Photography programme at IED Milano could be your perfect match.
Issued Degree:
Diploma Accademico di Primo Livello (DAPL), corresponding to a Bachelor of Arts Degree (BA) – EQF6 Level (European Qualification Framework).
Credits:
The course awards 180 CFA (Academic Formative Credits), corresponding to 180 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System).
Information to decide
Learning how to create photographs that will communicate your perspective
The three-year Photography programme in English at IED Milano provides intensive training that will allow you to explore the technical, creative and practical aspects of contemporary digital and analogue photography.
During the three years, you will study a variety of humanities subjects that will inspire your expressive skills and build your ability to interpret the contexts where photography is found. Along with the cultural aspects of the profession, you will also acquire and experiment with the technical ones: you will learn how to use the equipment properly, how to manage lighting and also shooting outdoors under different light conditions. You will spend time working with high-tech equipment in photo studios and darkrooms.
Over the three years of your Photography programme in Milan, you will be able to approach photography in its various applications, working on practical projects and attending workshops and seminars led by professionals from all sectors. You will discover and experiment with many different genres, from commercial photography, to documentation, editorial and artistic photography; you will also become more conscious of the different career opportunities available, and you will be able to use the style that best matches your expressive skills and preferences.
With the many projects and workshops, you will have the opportunity to put your skills - but most of all yourself - to the test: the process is primarily focused on human growth, as you take inspiration from the outside world and interpret the information through your own expressive means, creating new and impactful connections between emotions and different disciplines.
The aim of the Photography programme at IED Milano is to provide academic, practical and methodological tools for you to develop critical thinking skills and full awareness throughout all the phases of photographic project design: whether it is self-production, teamwork or a project, whether of artistic, commercial or documentary interest, we will support you in everything from research, planning, management and production until you are completely independent in your work
The three-year Photography programme in English at IED Milano is for students like you who want to approach a dynamic profession that never stays the same, feeling the need to communicate through the language of photography, and offering their personal vision of the world.
Having preliminary training is not a requirement, as the most important thing is your passion about photography, your interest in the work of great masters, your curiosity for new photographic avant-garde. You should feel eager to learn a language that is technical and creative at the same time, with the power to convey your feelings and emotions just as you perceive it all.
The programme being delivered in a foreign language is also a good choice if you want to build relationships with other students from different countries, taking a multicultural perspective that will create value through the sharing of ideas and experiences.
The three-year Photography Undergraduate Programme at IED Milano will allow you to exchange ideas with your lecturers and experience a learning method where photography is not just a rigid discipline but rather a constantly evolving and changing subject. We will take you through an exciting journey to discover this language, so complex and so changeable, with its own rules and intuitions. This language is alive and evolves within the cultural context of our times, taking shape through contamination between analogical processes and new technological tools and applications.
Taking the Photography programme in English at IED Milano will open you up to a learning experience with a significant impact on your future career. If you are coming from abroad, studying in Milan will allow you to quickly get in touch with the opportunities and networks offered by a place that is recognized as the most European city in Italy, being the Capital of Design and Fashion. On the other hand, if you already live in Italy, with the three-year Photography programme you will have the opportunity to enjoy an international experience, exchanging views with peers and lecturers from all over the world, while still being at home.
There are many advantages connected with this programme that will allow you to gain high levels of professionalism. These include access to a high profile network, excellent faculty, working on projects of growing complexity, experimenting contamination between different disciplines, but also the use of laboratories, full access to studios or darkrooms, and the use of high-tech equipment in general.
Over the three years, you will build your overall confidence across each term, as you gain experience in a wide range of fields and prepare for moving into the professional world. Upon completion of this three-year programme, you will be able to work as a Photographer, Photographic Publishing Specialist, Photographic Archives Manager, Art Buyer, Studio Manager but also as a Photo editor and Curator.
Syllabus
first year
On your first year, you will approach preliminary subjects that will help you understand the profession from a theoretical and cultural perspective. You will become familiar with the tools and methods that will form the basis of your future career development.
HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ART
HISTORY OF APPLIED ARTS
DESIGN METHODS
COMPUTER GRAPHICS 1
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTION 1
PHOTOGRAPHY 1
PERCEPTION THEORY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF FORM
ART SEMIOTICS
second year
The second year will see a further progression into theoretical subjects, but also more practical learning with the opportunity to work on hands-on projects under the supervision of your lecturers. This will be the time when you start to take your first steps into the job market, working on projects where you can personally grow and get involved.
COMPUTER GRAPHICS 2
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTION 2
PHOTOGRAPHY 2
PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION
PHENOMENOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS
SOCIOLOGY OF COMMUNICATION
HISTORY OF CINEMA AND VIDEO
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
ADVERTISING COMMUNICATIONS
third year
The last year will focus on consolidating methods, project design skills and your own sense of style, as you work more and more on both individual and group assignments. Finally, you will be working on a dissertation project that will be the expression of your photography mastery and professional skills acquired throughout the whole programme.
COMPUTER GRAPHICS 3
THEORY AND METHODS OF MASS MEDIA
PHOTOGRAPHY 3
INTEGRATED MEDIA TECHNIQUES
ART DIRECTION
PHOTOGRAPHY 4
Faculty
Carlotta Cattaneo Carter
Course Coordinator
Matteo Bricchi
Photographer
Paula Andrea Callejas Greiffenstein
Designer and co-founder of Minrl jewels
Sergio Lovati
Photographer and Artist
Ivo Sekulovski
Photographer, Visual Artist, Photographer
Claudio Morelli
Journalist, photographer and filmmaker
Thomas Wiedenhofer
Photographer, Producer
Federico Lanzani
Photographer
Giorgio Majno
Photographer
Marco Nero
Advertising photographer and filmmaker
Magali Avezou
Independent curator
Sha Ribeiro
Photographer
Stefano Vigni
Photographer, editor, lecturer
Mattia Campo
Freelance Camera operator
Sonia Marin
Professional Photographer
Claude Marzotto Caotorta
Graphic Designer
Silvio Wolf
Visual Artist
Carlo Furgeri Gilbert
Photographer and filmmaker
Luca Rotondo
Freelance Photographer
Erica Bernardi
Curator
Marianna Schivardi
Filmmaker
Claudia Buzzetti
Freelance Project Manager, Content Curator
Alexandra Von Fuerst
Photographer
Maia Sambonet
Visual Designer
Inside the labs
+4
DARKROOM
+2
PHOTO STUDIO
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