TWO students travel thousands of miles and spend hundreds of pounds to study at Newport's world-renowned documentary film course.

American Gina Brocker, 25, and Croatian Dragana Jurisic, 32, both live in Ireland and are enrolled on the University of Newport's documentary photography course.

Despite being based across the Irish sea, both were so keen to attend UWN they fly in for three days every fortnight.

Ms Brocker, who is originally of Michigan in the US and is currently living in Limerick, said the course was recommended to her from across the pond.

"My undergraduate tutors at my university in Baltimore, Maryland, told me this was an excellent centre."

"The tutors are what make the course here. They are all working photographers which is something that isn't all too common to university courses."

Her choice of transport is the plane - which she says costs her £37 each way to cover the 305 mile distance.

She chose to live in Ireland as her dissertation focuses on a group of Irish Travellers.

Ms Jurisic has lived in Dublin for nine years.

She works as a professional photographer, and has been commissioned by the Irish government to depict poverty in the country through photography. She travels the 188 miles from Dublin in Newport to study.

"The course is great. It's a good opportunity to meet like minded people and the tutors are very good," she said.

Both students have now handed in their dissertations and are about to take their final exams - due to take place at the end of January.

Both students have spent approximately £2,000 in flights just to study on the 18-month course.