Get a degree in arts, design and architecture

The aim of the Major in Sound in New Media is to explore, discover and comprehend the emerging digital technology and its aural impact in society; to find and exploit the possibilities it opens to acoustic communication, sonic interaction and new interfaces for musical expression and to evaluate, understand and deal with the challenges it poses to art, design, and creative production in the auditory domain.

Game Design and Development is a multidisciplinary major that offers a unique mix of technical and artistic aspects of game development. The major produces visionary, out-of-the-box thinkers who have the ambition to push the boundaries in the world of game design.

ViCCA explores emerging knowledges and practices at the intersections of visual cultures, curating and contemporary art. We facilitate students to develop and contextualize their own practices within and in between these contexts. The major is open to artists, curators, scholars and practitioners with different backgrounds and experience, who are looking for opportunities to understand, challenge and shift the paradigms of contemporary art and the world around us.

Please note! Applying for ViCCA is possible every second year. The next intake, after studies starting in 2022, will be in 2024 with the application period starting in December 2023.

A photograph has an all-piercing force in society and culture, impacting individuals, communities and nations alike. In our image-saturated world, the significance of a powerful photograph hasn’t been lost. If anything, artists and photographers with something to say are needed now, more than ever before.

In a technology-saturated world, it is indispensable to understand and study the impacts that technology has on individuals, organisations and society. The New Media major brings together a multicultural group of students with very versatile skills and backgrounds.

The Master’s Programme Art and Media Visual Communication Design (VCD) major is an international learning community committed to investigating new modes of action within visual communication. As a critical response to the contemporary conditions, the studies enable you to reconsider the established notions of graphic design. The major supports you in rethinking and redefining your own design practice, in order to situate it in wider societal and environmental frameworks.

Nordic Master in Visual Studies and Art Education (NM NoVA) is a double degree program between Aalto University (Finland) and Aalborg University (Denmark) in which students achieve a comprehensive understanding of Nordic practices and traditions in art education, visual culture, and cultural work.

The studies in Collaborative and Industrial Design (CoID) focus on design's role in society. Students develop skills enabling them to work as design experts and leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators in a range of roles within industry, business, communities, education, and public sector.

What alternative materials can best replace plastic? How can traditional crafts be merged with contemporary design? What kind of products do we need in our changing society?

Grounded in research-based knowledge of societal, cultural, and global change, the studies in Fashion, Clothing and Textile Design nurture creative exploration and conceptual thinking on a high artistic and professional level.

The Master’s Programme in Creative Sustainability (CS) provides a multidisciplinary learning platform in the fields of design, business, and materials and chemical engineering.

IDBM is a pioneering study programme that embodies the vision of Aalto University by integrating design and technology with global business development.

In Master’s Programme in Film and Television, major in Cinematography, the student deepens his/her vocational competence to achieve a greater mastery of the overall artistic, production and technical entity of his/her professional area in various film, TV and advertising productions.

Are you interested in studying Costume Design at the forefront of the field? Would you like to explore costume from a practice-based perspective that stimulates new concepts and ideas? Do you want to be part of international costume-related events? The Costume Design major of the Master’s Programme in Design for Theatre, Film and Television aims at creating the future professionals for the field of costume design, supporting the development of a dynamic artistic vision and a research-oriented approach for the performing arts and the film and media creative industries.

Master’s programme in Film and Television, major in Film Directing in Elo Film school Finland strengthens the student’s capacity to generate and develop cinematic ideas, storybuilding and narration skills in addition to developing the director’s personal cinematic style and directorial identity.

The goal of the major in Documentary Film is to form innovative, critical, and analytical documentary filmmakers for both the national and international arenas. The students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the history and conventions documentary filmmaking. Moreover, the program will encourage students to engage future perspectives of documentary filmmaking as a storytelling, art and research form.

Students will be able to develop their artistic and research skills through creative enquiry, practice and collaboration. They will be able to combine practical mastery and conceptual thinking, increasing their professional competence and situating them at the forefront of the documentary filmmaking field.

The major in production design involves training artistic designers who are responsible for the visual, operational and production entity of a film production.

The aim of the MA degree is to develop the student into an expert of viewing and seeing, a storyteller and an artist.

Create the soundtracks for the hit films of tomorrow - our sound design programme will equip you with the skills and theory you need as a professional sound designer and sound engineer in all areas of film production. You'll learn how to think about sound in terms of dramatic composition and to understand sound and space.

The goal of the Master’s Programme in Film and Television, major in Film and Television Producing, is to deepen the student’s skills in their chosen direction – towards independent audiovisual entrepreneurship, a research or development project in the film producing field, a deeper understanding of artistic leadership or some corresponding advanced competence planned together with the student.

The aim of the Master's Degree Programme in Screenwriting for Film and Television is to strengthen the student's individual expression, skills in writing for film and the abilities required in artistic and production-related process work and group work. Master’s students become familiar with the central theoretical questions in the field and its research.

Would you like to be part of the magical world of animation, create visually engaging stories and breathe life into characters? Animation major explores both the theory and practice of this most imaginative and joyous form of art. The programme is the first of its kind in Finland, and students will become part of a wide network in the Finnish and international animation community. You will be thoroughly supported by our dedicated professors in finding your own voice and maximising your artistic potential to launch a successful career in animation.

Architecture is technical and artistic, it is a social art and also an artful science.

Interior architecture addresses the close human scale of space and furniture to create meaning and value to people and organisations, and to transform and renew the everyday living environment. Dealing with the design of immediate interior and exterior environments, interior architecture requires understanding on human culture, needs and aspirations, the bodily experience and senses, and the spatial, material and technological means to meet these. A skilled interior architect is capable of integrating diverse elements into functional and experiential design solutions that exceed the users’ and clients’ expectations and are socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.

The programme educates interior architects with a distinct design personality. It comprises studies on spatial design and furniture design. Concrete design assignments form a major part of education. The studies emphasise advanced practical design skills combined with conceptual and strategic design thinking and research-driven design. Students are encouraged to expand the frontiers of the discipline by addressing systems level problems and societal challenges across the scale of built environment.
Students graduated from the programme are eligible to work as professional interior architects.

"A diverse group of students with different backgrounds is inspiring. Every teacher has a different expertise and some different perspective to bring to the discussion, and the topics we learned broadened my knowledge of the city from very different perspectives”

School of Arts, Design and Architecture Master's graduates are successful in finding jobs corresponding to their education. On this page you can find information on job titles, job sectors and career development of our graduates.

As one of the leading international universities in our fields, Aalto's teaching, research and impact are well respected and we are often ranked among the best in the world.

Finland’s excellent reputation in education, combined with a wide range of courses offered in English, makes Finland and Aalto University an attractive study destination for international students.

Read and watch real stories from Aalto students and alumni on student life at Aalto, social impact, interesting projects and unique career paths.