CFA Photography Minor
The Photography Minor exposes students to the breadth of photography, offering experiences from traditional photography (i.e. film exposure and silver printing) to digital shooting and output. Students pursuing the Photography Minor will become familiar with a variety of photography techniques, its history and significant practitioners, and develop their own distinct engagement with the medium.
Apply for the CFA Photography Minor
Application Process
Students may apply for the Photography Minor as early as the first semester they are enrolled in a CFA Photography course, with no additional special requirements. All undergraduate students are welcome to apply from any department and at any skill level.
Applications are accepted in both the fall and spring semesters, and students will be notified of their status prior to the start of registration week. Students will be admitted to the minor based on their aptitude, appropriate level of photography skills, and space availability within the program. Once admitted, the photo minor advisor will help them determine a sequence of courses that best fits their scheduling needs and curricular interests. Additionally, photography minors are granted on-site storage space for the duration of their time in the program.
Application Materials
Completed Application Form
With signed permission from your home department advisor.
Personal Statement
Explain why you want to minor in photography and how the minor will benefit you in the future.
An Academic Audit
Including your grades. You must receive a B or better for a course to count towards the Photography Minor requirement.
Portfolio
Read more about portfolio guidelines.
Portfolio Guidelines
Your portfolio should be a collection of 10-15 images that demonstrate your current level of skill and interests. You may submit a final project from a recent photography class or assemble a cohesive body of work from recent projects. Your portfolio may take the form of an online gallery, a collection of individual image files, a multi-page PDF or a physical printed folio or book.
Porfolio Alternatives
In lieu of a formal portfolio upon applying, you may request an endorsement from your current or recent CFA Photography instructor. Please have the instructor fill out the endorsement linked from the application form. If you choose this alternative, you will need to submit a portfolio by mid-semester of your final semester before graduation to complete the minor.
Curriculum
Photography is offered as a minor through the College of Fine Arts to all Carnegie Mellon University students. Individual courses are also open to students across campus.
Elective course offerings vary each semester, and courses from various CMU schools may satisfy CFA Photography Minor requirements. Contact Jamie Gruzska for more information.
Required Courses
- Black & White Photography I | 10 units
- Black & White Photography II | 10 units
- Digital Photography I | 10 units
- Photography history course
- Photography, The First 100 Years, 1839–1939 | 9 units
- Photographers and Photography Since World War II | 9 units
minimum 39 units
Elective Courses | Fall 2025
- Images in Space | 10 units
- Intermediate Digital Photography | 10 units
- Photographic Lighting Techniques | 5 units
- Photography as Meditation | 5 units
- The Weight of Images | 10 units
- Interdisciplinary Independent Study | 5 or 10 units
minimum 10 units
Exhibition Requirement
To complete the photo minor, all candidates must exhibit a small group of work in either the Photo Minor Exhibition, held in the CFA Photo facility every spring semester, or exhibit a group of work in a public exhibition, with documentation required. Contact Jamie Gruzska for details.