Photographic Center Northwest Certificate Program

The Certificate Program offers structured education for students
wishing to gain an in-depth knowledge of fine art photography.
During their Certificate Program studies, students develop their
own style of photography and grow in ability to understand,
appreciate, produce and critique photographic works.

Certificate students gain a solid education in the basics through
the black and white photography series, Introduction to Color,
Digital Imaging 1and Light Control, a basic studio course.
The required classes in History of Photography, Business of
Photography and The Interdisciplinary Approach may be
taken at any time.

After learning the basics, students customize their education,
pursuing their personal vision. For example, a certificate student
needs to take one advanced studio class and can satisfy that
requirement by taking any of the advanced studio classes offered.
Certificate students further customize their education by selecting
six credits of electives; new elective courses are offered on a
regular basis. See Classes for the broad range of choice in electives.

Students refine their ability to create a body of work in the advanced Portfolio class and in the capstone course, the thesis, which lasts a
year. During the time the students are engaged in work on their thesis,
they meet with faculty advisors and develop a body of work of gallery stature. Students then defend their work before a committee and, if successful, celebrate the award of their certificate and the showing
of their work as part of a thesis show.

Many of our students take some classes at the Photographic Center Northwest and then decide to apply to the Program. Students with
formal education elsewhere may request credit transfer. Students who
have learned through experience may ask to waive prerequisites and
then take additional electives to complete the program. Most of our
students work full-time and take evening classes; many are educated
in other disciplines.

Students considering the Certificate Program are strongly advised to
enroll in the Certificate Program by the time they have taken 22 credits toward completion of the Program.

Academic Policies for Certificate Students

Admission to the Certificate Program

Timing

Application to the Certificate Program may be made at any time
in the year; students considering the Certificate Program are strongly
advised to enroll in the Certificate Program by the time they have taken
22 credits toward completion of the Program. If application is made after
the registration period for a quarter has started, the student who is
accepted into the Certificate Program will obtain priority in registration
in the following quarter. Applications are considered individually at the
time of receipt.

Application

In order to be considered for admission to the Certificate Program,
a student must write a letter to the Director of Education which describes the following: 1) the experience of the student in photography, if any, and other background the student considers pertinent to their anticipated study of photography, 2) what the student will bring to the Program, 3) the
student's goals in photography, and 4) their ability to engage in a
long-term course of study. The Registrar or the Director of Education may request further information or an interview prior to making a decision on an application.

Supporting Documents

To be accepted to the Certificate Program, the student must provide
the school with a high school diploma, a GED certificate, or evidence
of successful completion of two years of courses at an accredited college
or equivalent credentials from a foreign educational institution, and must
sign an Enrollment Agreement. There is no application fee; all charges are
on a per class and per quarter basis.

GPA

The student is provisionally admitted for the first quarter and must
obtain a minimum GPA of 3.0 during that quarter to stay in the
Certificate Program.

Advising

Certificate students are encouraged to meet with the Registrar prior to registration each quarter. Each certificate student must meet with a faculty advisor for a portfolio review and in-depth advising session when the student has completed 22 credits. All students may consult with the Registrar or Director of Education as needed to help with academic choices.

Course Requirements

See above .
The Photographic Center Northwest reserves the right to revise
programs of study in order to provide maximum instructional benefits
without additional cost to the student.

Program Length

Certificate students taking two or three classes a quarter, three
quarters a year, will complete the program in three years, with the last
year devoted largely to the thesis class. Most of our students complete
the program in 5 years. It may not be possible to complete the certificate program by taking classes exclusively in the day; the student may need
to take some evening classes. Scheduling suggestions for completion
of the program in three years available from the Registrar.

Graduation Requirements

Eligibility requirements for completion of the Certificate Program are as follows:

•  Completion of required courses, listed above, for a total of 53 credits.
The certificate student is bound by the requirements as of the time of admission to the Certificate Program. A student may petition the Education Coordinator to waive required classes for one or more of these reasons:

•  The Photographic Center Northwest has agreed to accept a transfer
of credit from another educational institution;

•  The Photographic Center Northwest has agreed to waive completion
of a course based on the experience of the student and/or based on a portfolio review or examination and the student has successfully completed
a more advanced course at the Photographic Center Northwest, such as a waiver of Black and White 1 and completion of Black and White 2.

•  The course required at the time of the student's admission to the
Certificate Program is no longer offered and the student has completed
an equivalent course offered by the Photographic Center Northwest.

•  An attendance rate of 80% or higher.

•  Financial obligations to the Photographic Center Northwest satisfied.

•  All students are required to complete the thesis class and meet
thesis requirements, communicated to the student in writing, including
the creation of a body of work of gallery stature and defense of that
work before a thesis review panel. A student may not graduate,
regardless of academic status, if the work created for the thesis
exhibition fails to meet the school's standards.

Satisfactory Progress

There is no specified timeline for completion of the Certificate Program; certificate students may move toward completion at their own pace.
In order to remain a certificate student, the student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00. If the student falls below the minimum
cumulative GPA of 3.00, the student will be given a warning on the
student's quarterly grade report. That student must have achieved a
minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 by the next quarterly grade report for
that student, or the student will not be allowed to continue as a certificate student. The student has a right to appeal the decision and/or appeal for
re-admittance by request to the Registrar. If the student's grievance is still not resolved, the student may request that the Director of Education appoint a review committee. Readmission will be based on the student satisfying the same requirements as a student applying to the Certificate Program and student ability to demonstrate resolution of the problem that led to lack of satisfactory progress.

Transfer Credits

Students may obtain credit for recent work at other institutions,
if reflective of coursework comparable to that of the Photographic Center Northwest. Transfer credits are evaluated and approved by the Registrar. However, students must earn at least half of the credits required in the Certificate Program at the Photographic Center Northwest. Students interested in transferring PCNW credits to another institution are responsible for investigating transfer credit guidelines of the receiving institution.

Estimated Cost of the Certificate Program

The total cost of the Certificate Program below is a range, given the
variation from student to student, which courses the student chooses,
what equipment and supplies the student buys and how much time the
student spends using the facilities. The Photographic Center Northwest reserves the right to increase tuition and fees. The following is our current projection for completion of the program in three years. Please note that most of our students take five years to complete the Certificate Program,
and this would increase the overall cost.

Seattle University has recently launched a new Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography program, featuring a curriculum designed in collaboration with Photographic Center Northwest. This program offers a strong foundation in photographic technique, critical theory and creative development. Seattle University students participating in the program take courses at PCNW to satisfy studio requirements for their degree program and enjoy access to numerous elective offerings each quarter. For more information, please refer to the Seattle University Website